Dear Members,
Thank you so much for participating in our online letter-writing campaign and signing the legislative petition that has been circulating. Every bit of public pressure we put on makes a difference!
So far, our letter-writing campaign has been actioned by 729 members of the public and 348 PEINU members, resulting in 1077 emails in the inboxes of MLAs, the Health Minister and the Premier!
It is now the final push before our public rally on Tuesday Nov 17th and we can use all of the support we can get from PEINU members.
Please send a letter and share the campaign on social media if you haven’t already done so. All you have to do is fill out a form and a pre-written letter template will be ready for you to send. The entire process only takes a couple of minutes.
Following the rally on Tuesday Nov 17th, the Legislative Petition is being tabled in the PEI Legislature and so far we have 265 signatures collected, with more coming in by the end of the week. We will be delivering the final signed petitions on Monday Nov 16th, so if you haven’t signed a copy yet, please drop by the Provincial Office at 10 Paramount Drive before Monday Nov 16th at 9am.
Conciliation Update
We’re very pleased to share that all of this public pressure on Health PEI and the government has already shown results: the Employer has agreed on conciliation meeting dates of December 21-22, 2026.
As a reminder, conciliation is a step in the bargaining process to bring in a neutral third party to help the union and employer work through the issues that remain on the table and find a path toward an agreement. In December we will be working through that process with our appointed Conciliation Officer.
Rally Reminder
Getting those conciliation dates scheduled before the holidays is proof that this public pressure is working!
We will still be holding our rally on Tuesday Nov 17th from 12:30-1:30pm outside of Province House to reinforce the message that our RNs, RPNs and NPs need to be a priority for the PEI government and Health PEI, and they can’t stonewall us when we return to the table in December for our conciliation meetings.
We know that the middle of the day while Legislature is sitting is a difficult time for some of our members, but we would encourage all union members who can make it to please join us at the rally.
Sign-making Contest!
Are you attending our rally Tuesday Nov 17th? We will be bringing some official PEINU rally signs, but we also want our members to get creative and make their own signs!
Send us a picture of you with your sign and you could win one of two $50 Murphy Hospitality Group gift card, redeemable at any of their restaurants or their other venues such as The Great George, Ponyboat Social Club or Mysa Nordic Spa!
All you have to do to enter the contest is take a picture of you with your sign and send it to communications@peinu.com by Wednesday Nov 18th at 4pm. One winner will be chosen based on originality and creativity and another will be chosen based on rally spirit and the impact of your message.
*If you don’t want your picture featured in our newsletter and social media, please let us know in your submission email!
Strategic Plan Launch
Last week at our 2026 Professional Development Day, our brand and strategy agency Stiff presented our completed 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. This plan will guide all PEINU activity for the next three years and was built in direct consultation with members and our Local Presidents.
The plan is comprised of five key strategic priorities:
- Return to Grassroots
- Empower Members
- Build Capacity
- Create a New Culture
- Show Your Power
What does this mean? It means the Union’s strategy is shifting to a grassroots focus- starting with each of our members at the worksite level.
The history of this Union started with grassroots organizing. Nearly 40 years ago nurses came together on PEI and formed this Union to fight for their rights in the workplace.
We’re at a point where we need to come together again and organize.
This strategy will help us achieve that, along with an accompanying Operating Plan, Communications Plan, and a Local Presidents Guide that will help enable the Provincial Office and Provincial Council to execute on this plan.
We’ll be rolling out the strategy in the coming months, but if you would like to read more, the full Strategic Plan document will be available on the PEINU Members’ site.
Ask Kim Anything Q&A Answers from PD Day
Along with the live launch of our Strategic Plan, last week at our 2026 Professional Development Day we hosted my first “Ask Kim Anything (AKA)” Q&A session. This is planned to be a regular initiative in 2027 and it was a great opportunity to answer several frequently asked questions from our members.
All the questions and answers are now being saved on a page accessible to all PEINU members and we will continue to update this as we host more AKA sessions in the future.
Happy Nurse Practitioner Week!
Lastly, I would like to recognize that this week is National NP Week. Thank you to all of the Nurse Practitioners in our union for your extremely important role in healthcare on PEI. Your hard work and dedication is recognized, and we are proud to represent you as a part of PEINU.
All week on our social media we have been spotlighting an celebrating our NPs on PEI. Please feel free to comment and share your support for our NPs!
Thank you again to all our members who have engaged with our union this fall during such a crucial time for our union. I’m proud to represent you as President and I will continue to keep you updated as we move forward together.
Sincerely,
Kim Sears,
PEINU President