Conservative MPs are calling on Parliament to immediately pass Bill S-233, legislation aimed at amending the Criminal Code to impose tougher penalties for assaults against healthcare workers and first responders.Dan Mazier, Shadow Minister for Health, and Todd Doherty, Shadow Minister for Addictions, warned that nurses, paramedics and other frontline workers face daily attacks while the federal government has done little to address the problem. “Violence isn’t in the job description,” Mazier said. “Nurses and paramedics have cared for us, for our families and for our communities. It’s time politicians in Ottawa cared for them too.”A survey by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions found six in ten nurses experienced violence on the job over the past year, with nearly half facing physical assaults and almost one in five reporting sexual abuse.Doherty, who first introduced the original bill, C-321, two years ago, said the current version, S-233, has been fully studied and passed unanimously in the House of Commons. .“It should already be law,” he said. “The only reason it isn’t on the books today is because the Liberals prorogued Parliament and Mark Carney called an election.”Doherty plans to request unanimous consent in the House of Commons to pass S-233 at all stages, aiming for it to become law before Christmas. The move has been backed by the Canadian Nurses Association and the Paramedic Association of Canada. Kimberly LeBlanc, CNA president, said the bill would ensure courts treat assaults against healthcare workers as an aggravating factor in sentencing.“Any MP who blocks this bill or delays its passing is failing in their responsibility to our frontline healthcare workers,” Mazier said.
