For Lori Zozzolotto, racism has been an obstacle throughout her nursing career. While in school to earn her RPN designation in 2007, she had the opportunity to apply for a clinical placement in an emergency department. Competition for the position was tough, and when she went to her instructor for advice, she was discouraged. “(My instructor) stepped back, looked me up and down, and said don’t even bother, you’re not going to get it,” Zozzolotto recalls. Determined, she worked hard and was selected for the role, and eventually went on to become the class valedictorian. She graduated as an RPN in 2008 before becoming an RN four years later. She also earned her current designation as a nurse specialized in wound, ostomy and continence in 2018. 

Zozzolotto’s story (which she expands on in this issue’s instalment of In the End) was part of a bigger theme – equity, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) – at RNAO’s 24th annual Queen’s Park Day (QPD) on Feb. 29. A panel discussion at the event, which featured Zozzolotto, chair of RNAO’s Black Nurses Leading Change (BNLC) Interest Group, alongside John Edwards, executive member of the Rainbow Nursing Interest Group (RNIG), and Victoria Guido, chair of the Indigenous Nurses and Allies Interest Group (INAIG), was a highlight of the event, and an opportunity for members to learn more about EDI and how nurses and nursing students can feel empowered to speak out and enact change. 

A total of 150 members of RNAO’s assembly of leaders sat down with MPPs at this year’s event to discuss EDI and other issues of importance in their communities. Systemic anti-Black racism and other forms of discrimination continue to exist in the nursing profession and broader health system, and this year’s event focused on how nurses and MPPs can provide solutions to combat it. 

“The first thing we are doing is looking at ourselves in the mirror. How can we as nurses fix our own problems in the profession to ensure everyone can experience the career advancements they want?” asked Dr. Doris Grinspun, RNAO CEO. “Nurses need to feel safe and powered within our profession and workplaces, or their talent is lost. We need the help of MPPs from all parties to make it happen.”

In 2022, RNAO’s Black Nurses Task Force released Acknowledging, Addressing and Tackling Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination Within the Nursing Profession, a report that included 19 recommendations on implementing EDI committees in all workplaces and academic settings, as well as incorporating it as a topic in nursing and interprofessional curriculums. 

“We cannot risk any nurses who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or 2SLGBTQI+ to feel discriminated against and leave the profession,” said Grinspun. 

After breakfast meetings at Queen’s Park in the morning with MPPs, the assembly of leaders attended the question period at the legislature to observe the policy debates. Members of RNAO were generously recognized by MPPs. From there, participants moved to the University of Toronto campus for greetings from Dr. Karima Velji, Ontario’s chief nurse and assistant deputy minister, who opened the afternoon with a few words on how the Ontario government is addressing EDI. “We’ve done some phenomenal work removing systemic racist practices out of the way and enabling international and inter-jurisdictional practitioners to take their true place in the health-care system,” she said of the importance of building a strong nursing workforce. 

Velji’s greetings were followed by Dr. Claudette Holloway, president of RNAO, who moderated and introduced the EDI panel discussion. “Long before it became fashionable to talk about (EDI), RNAO was on the case,” she said. “There are many stories that we will hear. Many of them emotionally uncomfortable. Let’s give each other the support that is needed.” 

With the stage set, Edwards, Guido and Zozzolotto each shared their experiences with discrimination and racism in the profession. 

“When I started my master’s research (on the influence of community on health and wellbeing for gay men)…what I found talking about the queer community is it’s all negative,” Edwards revealed. As a former professor at Humber College, Edwards has seen the need for a shift in attitudes. “As health-care professionals…we’re focusing on all that is going wrong because we want to improve (the situation), but it’s all negative.” 

The 2SLGBTQI+ community is often associated with HIV, substance use and promiscuous sex, he added. In response, he suggests more focus must be placed on the positive stories of belonging to a unique community and being able to relate to others. The now clinical nurse specialist of education at Toronto's Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital says that when he’s standing in front of a classroom and talking “about Jamieson (my boyfriend) and my cat, that creates a safe space. One that says exactly who I am.” Offering a positive picture goes a long way in allowing others to open up. 

Guido used her time at the mic to share her experiences with stereotyping in Indigenous communities, which is often overlooked. “We do have a voice and deserve to be heard. We deserve to have a seat at the table. We need to be there to (help) make the decisions in health care, politics and in every single aspect of life,” the chair of the Indigenous Nurses and Allies Interest Group said. Just because “Indigenous people do not look the way you would assume,” they all have their own unique experiences with colonialism and systemic racism, and how it affects us today. With a growing need to address the issues that Indigenous communities face, Guido, a Hamilton RN, said there’s still a lot of learning that needs to be done about the history of Ontario and the different lands that belong to different groups. 

With EDI top-of-mind, political party leaders and ministers participating in Queen’s Park Day closed out the event with some words on what they’re doing to combat racism and discrimination. Sylvia Jones, deputy premier and minister of health, talked about the recent announcement to add 78 new and expanded primary care teams across the province, and the conscious effort being made to ensure inclusion in that expansion. “You will see a number of primary care expansions (specifically for) the 2SLGBTQI+ and First Nations (communities),” Jones assured the crowd of nursing leaders. It’s important for the government to ensure people of different ethnicities, gender identities and backgrounds receive equal access to care, she noted. 

NDP leader Marit Stiles said she is also pushing for equity across the health-care system. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) communities “continue to face systemic racism every single day and unfortunately that also means nurses and other health-care staff,” she said. “Each and every single health-care professional deserves to feel safe, supported and respected.”

Wayne Gates, the NDP’s long-term care critic, echoed Stiles’ sentiments, noting that funding should go into a publicly funded health-care system so that staff can get “paid fairly and be treated with respect and dignity on the job.”

Ontario’s Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie was also in attendance and responded to a member who asked about how her party can help Black nursing students struggling to get placements. “You have our commitment that we will do whatever we can to remove systemic racism,” Crombie said. She talked about her efforts to “create a Black caucus (for the city of Mississauga, where she was mayor until January 2024) to give us feedback on how the city can eliminate the systemic, entrenched discrimination against Black people who work at city hall and within our community.” In addition to this work, Crombie noted she wants to offer grants and bursaries for BIPOC communities and look through this lens when dealing with other issues. 

What's next? 

I now feel confident enough to stand up and speak up for my patients who are Indigenous.

Victoria Guido, chair of the Indigenous Nurses and Allies Interest Group

Although there is a lot of work still to be done, Edwards, Guido and Zozzolotto are hopeful. Edwards said that seeing the relief on his patients’ faces when they know they are being treated by someone from the 2SLGBTQI+ community is rewarding. “You see this moment of relaxation…that makes me happy and that’s what I hope for all my patients, especially queer ones.” 

Similarly, Guido says she’s proud that she now has the courage to correct physicians and colleagues when they’re wrong about addressing people who are Indigenous, or when they’re assuming certain things. “I now feel confident enough to stand up and speak up for my patients who are Indigenous.”

Zozzolotto said her greatest joy is having other Black and diverse nurses come up to her and tell her how happy they are to see someone like her in a variety of leadership roles. “I’ve never been so proud to be Black,” she told colleagues in February, adding she feels like there’s nothing that can stop her now from growing in her career.