FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2026
Statement from MLA Tayte Willows calling on PC government to work with, not against, our Island nurses
Charlottetown, PE – PEI is struggling with healthcare access, and the last thing Islanders need is for the frontline workers who keep our healthcare system running to feel like they aren’t being heard.
PEI nurses have been working without a contract since April 2025 and last week the PEI Nurses’ Union shared it has now spent 32 days at the bargaining table without what it describes as meaningful movement from the employer. Their concerns include retention, overtime incentives, wages and other issues that directly affect our ability to attract nurses to PEI and keep them here for the long-term.
We need our leaders to be working in good faith with frontline healthcare workers, not leaving them feeling like they have to fight just to be heard.
This isn’t just happening to nurses. Our office has heard from physicians, radiation technologists, dietary staff, pharmacy technicians and more who all feel like they are not being heard by this government.
When we don’t have enough frontline workers, hospital beds close, wait times grow, services are reduced and healthcare access suffers. We can build new buildings but if there is no one to staff them, there are no improvements in access and quality of care. We need to make sure we are keeping the frontline healthcare workers we already have and creating the conditions that will bring more of them to PEI.
What’s more, while stonewalling in the negotiation process, this government spends tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on private travel nurses every year. Just last year over $40 million was spent on off-Island travel nurses.
So I have a simple question: if this government can find tens of millions of dollars for private staffing agencies, why can’t it find the money to properly recruit, retain and support our Island nurses?
We need to invest in Island workers to build a healthcare system that Islanders can count on.
Tayte Willows
MLA Cornwall-Meadowbank
Third Party Critic for Health and Wellness
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca