https://www.cna-aiic.ca/fr/blogs/ic-contenu/2025/12/10/aiic-avertit-que-ladoption-du-projet-de-loi-13
Ottawa, December 10, 2025 — The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) expresses deep concern following the Alberta Legislature’s passage early this morning of Bill 13: The Regulated Professions Neutrality Act, legislation that significantly restricts the ability of health-profession regulators to uphold core ethical and public-protection standards.
Yesterday, CNA sent a letter to all Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta outlining the significant risks posed by Bill 13 and urging the government to vote against the legislation in the interest of public safety and ethical nursing practice.
CNA warns that Bill 13 represents a serious setback for safe care, cultural safety, professional accountability, and health-equity efforts in Alberta and across Canada.
“This legislation weakens the very mechanisms that allow regulators to protect the public,” said Dr. Kimberly LeBlanc, President of CNA. “Nurses have clear ethical obligations to do no harm, prevent discrimination, and provide culturally safe, competent care. Bill 13 restricts regulators’ ability to uphold these obligations, and that puts the public at risk.”
Bill 13 Limits Regulators’ Ability to Address Harmful Conduct and Uphold Ethical Standards
Bill 13 introduces new constraints that limit:
- The ability of regulators to respond to racist, discriminatory, or harmful off-duty conduct that undermines public trust.
- Requirements for training or competencies linked to cultural safety, equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and related ethical obligations—unless strictly proven necessary for basic competence.
- Long-standing public-protection functions under the guise of mandatory “neutrality.”
These constraints directly conflict with the CNA Code of Ethics 2025, which requires nurses to promote justice, uphold human rights, act without discrimination, advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and provide safe, compassionate, competent, and ethical care.
Risk Across Education, Research, and Policy
CNA notes that the impacts extend well beyond day-to-day practice:
- Education: Regulatory bodies may no longer be able to require competencies essential for safe, ethical, culturally safe care, creating misalignment between ethical standards, licensure expectations, and public needs.
- Research: Identity-informed and equity-focused research, critical for addressing health disparities, may be chilled or undermined.
- Policy & Leadership: Equity-oriented frameworks foundational to public protection and reconciliation efforts may be weakened or prohibited.
“Canada must not replicate policy directions that have deepened inequities elsewhere,” said Dr. Valerie Grdisa, CNA CEO. “Bill 13 creates confusion, lowers standards, and risks poorer health outcomes for marginalized and underserved populations.”
Though passed in Alberta, Bill 13 may influence emerging policy directions across Canada. CNA urges all governments to ensure that regulatory legislation supports, not obstructs, ethical, evidence-informed, and culturally safe care.
CNA remains committed to working with regulators, governments, health-care leaders, and communities to strengthen public protection and uphold the ethical foundations of the nursing profession.
-30-
About the Canadian Nurses Association
CNA is the national and global professional voice of Canadian nursing. Our mission is to advance the nursing profession to improve health outcomes in Canada’s publicly funded, not-for-profit health system. CNA is the only national association that speaks for all nurses in all sectors and practice settings across all 13 provinces and territories. We represent unionized and non-unionized nurses, retired nurses, nursing students, and all categories of nurses (licensed and registered practical nurses, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and registered psychiatric nurses).
For more information, please contact:
Amber Morley
Media and Communications Coordinator
Cell: 613-282-7859
Email: amorley@cna-aiic.ca
#news-release