Ontario Brokers Donate $110K in Support of Ontario Nurses

The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) is proud to announce their donation of $110,000 to the Registered Nurses’ Foundation of Ontario (RNFOO) on behalf of IBAO Member brokers across the province. RNFOO was chosen as the official charity of the IBAO’s 2022 Annual Convention in October, where the funds were raised.

“Nurses are unsung heroes here in Ontario and given the challenges frontline health care workers in Ontario have had to face in recent years, it was important to show our support for them and to do what we could to assist the people looking to join to their ranks,” said IBAO President Joseph Carnevale.

RNFOO provides scholarships, grants and awards to Ontario nurses and nursing students to enhance and advance the practice of nursing.

“We are so grateful for this generous donation—it will go a long way toward supporting future nurses and helping today’s nurses continue their education—making improvements in patient care,” said Margaret Blastorah, RNFOO President. “As we all know, Ontario is experiencing a critical nursing shortage, so it’s never been more important to encourage more people to become nurses and enable practising nurses to realize their full potential.”

A portion of every registration to the IBAO Annual Convention was set aside for the donation. RNFOO joined the Awards of Excellence Gala to share more about their cause with attendees who were offered the opportunity to contribute via donation. Additionally, during the CEO Panel, IBAO CEO Colin Simpson announced an additional contribution of $10,000 in the names of the four panelists: Matthew Turack, Group President, CAA Insurance; Rowan Saunders, President & CEO, Definity Financial; Louis Gagnon, Chief Executive Officer, Intact Financial Corporation’s Canadian Operations; and Carol Jardine, EVP & President, Canadian P&C Operations, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company.

“In the past few years, almost everyone has either personally or had someone close to them have some interaction with our health care system,” said IBAO CEO Colin Simpson. “It’s crucially important that we support nurses, because they are who care for all of us when we need them—they are truly the immune system of our society.”