Article content

Dozens of nurses across Canada have invoked labour laws to demand the right to wear N95 masks while treating certain COVID-19 patients, their national union head says, as health-care workers gird themselves for a feared wave of new coronavirus cases.

Nurses in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta have cited occupational health and safety legislation that allows employees to refuse work they believe is unsafe, after hospitals barred them from donning the higher-level masks, said Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canadian nurses treating COVID-19 patients cite unsafe-work laws to demand N95 masks Back to video

There have been “under 50” such refusals, among a group of health professionals “that never does it,” she said.

Doctors and nurses across the country have reported a shortage of N95 respirators, with many facilities now keeping them under lock and key.

You can’t expect me to go into battle without adequate equipment

That some are using employment safety laws to push for heightened protection is a new sign of the concern many health workers feel.