Based on coverage from CBC, CP24, and The Peterborough Examiner.
Nurses at Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Hospital have voted to “grey-list” the facility, with their union saying the workplace has become too unsafe and that long-standing security and staffing problems still are not being fixed. The Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) says 94 per cent of nurses who voted supported the move.
Grey-listing is the union formally advising current and prospective members not to take jobs or shifts at a particular site because of unsafe or inappropriate working conditions. The MNU stresses it is not a strike or job action, but it is a public pressure tactic that can make hiring and scheduling harder for the hospital.
St. Boniface Hospital grey-list vote details
The MNU announced the vote Friday, framing it as a breaking point after repeated incidents and ongoing concerns about violence, security gaps, and staffing pressures.
Union president Darlene Jackson said nurses are “done working in an environment where serious safety concerns are acknowledged but not resolved.” The union also says the employer has a clear chance to meet nurses’ conditions to get the designation lifted.
St. Boniface is Manitoba’s third hospital to be grey-listed within about the past year, after Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre and Thompson General Hospital.
Winnipeg hospital violence and security concerns
The vote follows several high-profile safety incidents. The sources cite the sexual assault of a nurse in St. Boniface Hospital’s parkade on the night of Nov. 8. Police charged a 27-year-old man with sexual assault in that case.
Another incident raised by the reporting: last month, the family of a 94-year-old woman said she was assaulted by another patient while at St. Boniface.
For nurses, these cases have become part of a bigger pattern, not one-off headlines. The union’s position is that acknowledging risk is not the same as fixing it, especially for staff working overnight, moving between buildings, or leaving after late shifts.
Manitoba Nurses Union demands and staffing issues
The MNU says nurses want “stronger protections” and “a workplace culture that values their safety,” along with concrete steps to ensure appropriate staffing ratios.
The Canadian Press version of the story adds specific measures the union is calling for, including panic alarms, better screening at entrances, and shuttles for staff travelling to and from the parkade. CBC’s reporting also points to staffing pressures as part of what’s pushing nurses to take this step.
The union represents about 13,000 nurses across Manitoba, so grey-listing is meant to send a message well beyond one hospital site.
Hospital safety measures already underway
St. Boniface has taken steps since the November parkade assault. The hospital rolled out a safety app that allows staff to get emergency notifications and connect to security.
The hospital has also said safety officers and overnight roving security have been added over the past two years, and public access has been limited to three entrances.
The union’s argument is that these measures either are not enough, are not consistent, or have not translated into nurses feeling safe on the job.
Manitoba government response on hospital security
The province has recently announced new hospital security measures, including plans to hire more security guards. The Canadian Press report says the province plans to expand the security app that provides safety alerts to more hospitals, and to hire additional security including five new positions in Thompson.
CBC reported it reached out to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for comment.
For patients and families, the immediate care at St. Boniface continues, but the grey-listing signals deeper strain: if fewer nurses are willing to work there, the hospital may face an even tougher time filling shifts unless safety and staffing concerns are addressed quickly.
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