October 14, 2026
October 2026

News and Notes

Check MYM for QA Assessment, a new process for observing Council meetings and join CNO’s Employee Reference Group.

Illustration of a CNO newspaper.

Check the MYM portal for QA Assessment information

If you're selected for the 2026 Quality Assurance (QA) Assessment Part B (Practice Assessment), you'll receive a message in the Communications section of the Maintain Your Membership portal. Notifications were sent out on September 28.

The message will include everything you need to get started, including instructions for accessing and completing your QA Assessment activities. Be sure to review the information and complete all required activities by November 6.

If you have any questions, contact QAassessment@cnomail.org. 

Observing Council meetings

Council meetings are no longer livestreamed on CNO’s social media channels. Online observation is now available through advance Zoom registration. Registration links will be posted on the Council meetings webpage when available.

Learn more.

Employer Reference Group (ERG) recruitment opens 

Are you a nursing employer looking to share your experience and insights? 

CNO is seeking nursing employers from diverse practice settings and communities to join its Employer Reference Group (ERG). The group provides a space to share insights, exchange information and contribute to discussions about patient safety and safe nursing practice in Ontario. 

Applications are open until Friday, Oct. 30.  

Learn more and apply.

Make a difference for Ontarians: Run for Council

Nominations for 2026 Council elections are now open. Council is CNO’s board of directors. If you are passionate about safe patient care, this is your chance!

Learn more about Council and whether it’s right for you.

On our website, you can find the nomination form and learn more about the skills and attributes needed on Council.  

Bring your expertise, lived experiences, and perspective to help regulating in the public interest. As a Council member, you will have the opportunity to leverage your skills in communication, service leadership, and decision-making - run for Council today!

The deadline to submit your completed nomination form is 5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 23, 2026 EST.

Committee Appointments

In addition to Council elections, CNO also has statutory committee appointments. These are a separate process from elections to serve on Council and are open to any nurse in the province. 

Statutory committees are groups of nurses and public members who make decisions on key regulatory issues, from entry-to-practice to discipline and quality assurance.

Joining a CNO committee is a meaningful way for nurses to contribute to regulatory processes that protect the public. Each year, we invite RPNs, RNs and NPs to apply to participate in any of CNO’s committees. If you are considering getting involved, learning more about committee work can help you determine if it is the right fit for you.

To join, you must submit the application by midnight on November 28. 

About CNO

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the regulator of the nursing profession in Ontario. It is not a school or a nursing association. CNO acts in the public interest by:

  • assessing qualifications and registering individuals who want to practice nursing in Ontario.
  • setting the practice standards of the profession that nurses in Ontario are expected to meet.
  • promoting nurses' continuing competence through a quality assurance program.
  • holding nurses accountable to those standards by addressing complaints or reports about nursing care.

The College was founded in 1963. By establishing the College, the Ontario government was acknowledging that the nursing profession had the ability to govern itself and put the public's well-being ahead of professional interests.

For the latest information, please see our Nursing Statistics page.

Anyone who wants to use a nursing-related title — Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) must become a member of CNO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the public Register, Find a Nurse, to conduct a search for the nurse. Contact us if you can't find the person you are looking for.

All public information available about nurses is posted in the public Register, Find a Nurse, which contains profiles of every nurse in Ontario. Publicly available information about nurses include their registration history, business address, and information related to pending disciplinary hearings or past findings.

Unregistered practitioners are people who are seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as being able to practice nursing in Ontario, but who are not qualified to do so. They are not registered members of CNO. Only people registered with CNO can use nursing-related titles or perform certain procedures that could cause harm if carried out by a non-registered health professional. CNO takes the issue of unregistered practitioners seriously. See Unregistered Practitioners for more information.

To ensure procedural fairness for both the patient (or client) and the nurse, the Regulated Health Professions Act requires that information gathered during an investigation remain confidential until the matter is referred to the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practise Committee. CNO will not disclose any information that could identify patients (or clients) or compromise an investigation. See Investigations: A Process Guide for more information.

Information obtained during an investigation will become public if the matter is referred to a disciplinary hearing. If a complaint is not referred to a hearing, no information will be available publicly.

See CNO's hearings schedule, which is updated as hearing dates are confirmed. Hearings at CNO are open to the public and the media. For details on how to attend a hearing, contact the Hearings Administration Team.

A summary of allegations and the disciplinary panel outcomes can be found on the public Register, Find a Nurse. Full decisions and reasons are also available.

Where a disciplinary panel makes a finding of professional misconduct, they have the authority to reprimand a nurse, and suspend or revoke a nurse's registration. Terms, conditions and limitations can also be imposed on a nurse's registration, which restricts their practice for a set period. Nurses can also be required to complete remedial activities, such as reviewing CNO documents and meeting with an expert, before returning to practice.

For detailed information see the Sexual Abuse Prevention section.

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