CNO is looking for nurses, with the knowledge, skills and judgment to protect and promote public safety, to run for Council in the fall.
Following a decision by Council in June, CNO is now offering more opportunities to consider the skills needed to participate on Council and to share the diversity and lived experiences you can bring to the table.
These updates give more information for candidates and voters to make informed decisions about what is involved in serving on Council to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice.
CNO encourages eligible potential candidates to learn more about these skills and attributes and consider whether running for Council is right for you. During the campaign process, candidates will have a voluntary opportunity to share aspects of their identity, diversity and lived experiences with voters. This can inform voters about a candidate’s background, so they can consider diversity, equity and inclusion as part of their vote.
Learning more about Council
Every year, Council seats become available in different districts throughout the province. Nurses can run in elections to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice on CNO’s Council, which is our board of directors. This year, elections will be held in Metropolitan Toronto, Central and Central Eastern districts.
Being part of Council represents an important time commitment, including quarterly meetings that are two to three days long and held during business hours, reading background materials to prepare for each meeting and committee work.
Council past-President and current Chair of the Nominating Committee, Naomi Thick, RN, describes serving on Council as a rewarding experience and welcomes all interested nurses to explore the opportunity. She also emphasizes she’s looking forward to competency-based elections that spotlight the diversity of nurses and what they have to offer. “We know from the research that better decisions are made at the Board level when there is diversity, and that is why it is being included as part of the election process,” she tells The Standard.
“I am excited to see how the electorate utilizes the information and the candidates that come to the Council table. This is a pivotal time for nursing regulation and governance in Ontario and we need the electorate to vote in Council members with required competencies,” she adds.
You can visit our Council Elections website for more information. We will add more details in the coming months. Interested candidates can find the nomination form on the website in October.