September 29, 2022

Proposed reg changes will get more nurses registered

The Minister of Health directed CNO and its Council in August 2022 to register Internationally Educated Nurses as quickly as possible. CNO has worked closely with government to propose changes to modify Temporary Registration and Reinstatement regulations enabling the timelier registration of nurses.

Toronto, Ont. Sept. 29, 2022 - The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) protects the public through the promotion of safe nursing practice. This includes the registration of nurses with the knowledge, skill and judgment to practice safely in Ontario. CNO’s Council has unanimously approved proposed regulations to increase the number of nurses who can register in Ontario.

The Minister of Health directed CNO and its Council in August 2022 to register Internationally Educated Nurses as quickly as possible. CNO has worked closely with government to propose changes to modify Temporary Registration and Reinstatement regulations enabling the timelier registration of nurses.

“These significant regulatory actions will further expedite the registration of Internationally Educated Nurses in Ontario,” says Naomi Thick, CNO Council President. “As leaders in nursing regulation, Council is pleased that the proposed changes serve our purpose to protect the public.”

Now that CNO’s Council has approved these regulations, they will be submitted to government for review and approval. Only after government approval will the regulations take effect. More details about these changes will be available on our website in the coming days.

“We are resolutely committed to protecting the public by registering safe and competent nurses,” says Silvie Crawford, Executive Director and CEO of CNO. “The regulation changes proposed by Council today will allow CNO to build on an already successful year, where we are breaking records for nursing registrations in Ontario.

Along with this Council decision, CNO is pleased to share applicant statistics on our website. CNO is the accurate source of information about nursing statistics in Ontario. As part of our commitment to transparency, CNO will regularly report application statistics online to give the public, applicants and our partners in the health care system timely access to valuable information. These are in addition to the extensive registrant statistics already available.

We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with the Ministry and other system partners to explore longer-term strategies to respond to the growing demand for nurses. Check the News section of cno.org for regular updates as this develops.

For media inquiries please contact: media@cnomail.org 

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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