August 10, 2020
July - August 2020

Partnering to protect the public

The Ministry of Long-Term Care has released its report on the recommendations that were outlined in Commissioner Eileen Gillese’s Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry Report, released in July 2019.

During the public inquiry, we learned more about what you expect from CNO — and we didn’t wait for Commissioner Gillese’s final report before taking action to improve. In 2018 and 2019, we strengthened and enhanced our processes, and we continue to do so.

In January 2020, we released Our Response to the Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry Recommendations. This document lists the 10 recommendations specific to CNO in the public inquiry report, and the actions we have taken to protect residents and patients from harm. These actions include educating nurses and other stakeholders about:

  • The possibility that a nursing colleague is causing intentional harm to a patient

  • A nurse’s professional accountabilities to protect their patients and to report any concern about a nursing colleague’s practice

  • What, when and how to report any concerns they have about a nurse’s practice.

And we continue to improve. We developed a Code of Conduct that tells the public what to expect from nurses when receiving care. The Code was developed with comprehensive consultation with members of the public, nurses, educators, nursing associations, nursing unions and government.

We continue to partner with these groups to ensure everyone in Ontario benefits from safe, quality nursing care.

The Ministry of Long-Term Care has released its report on the recommendations that were outlined in Commissioner Eileen Gillese’s Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry Report, released in July 2019.

During the public inquiry, we learned more about what you expect from CNO — and we didn’t wait for Commissioner Gillese’s final report before taking action to improve. In 2018 and 2019, we strengthened and enhanced our processes, and we continue to do so.

In January 2020, we released Our Response to the Long-Term Care Homes Public Inquiry Recommendations. This document lists the 10 recommendations specific to CNO in the public inquiry report, and the actions we have taken to protect residents and patients from harm. These actions include educating nurses and other stakeholders about:

  • The possibility that a nursing colleague is causing intentional harm to a patient

  • A nurse’s professional accountabilities to protect their patients and to report any concern about a nursing colleague’s practice

  • What, when and how to report any concerns they have about a nurse’s practice.

And we continue to improve. We developed a Code of Conduct that tells the public what to expect from nurses when receiving care. The Code was developed with comprehensive consultation with members of the public, nurses, educators, nursing associations, nursing unions and government.

We continue to partner with these groups to ensure everyone in Ontario benefits from safe, quality nursing care.

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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