Ontario Government And Association Of Ontario Midwives Reach Agreement

On March 31, 2023, members of the Association of Ontario Midwives (AOM) successfully ratified a new one-year funding agreement with the Government of Ontario.

The new agreement provides an investment of $16 million to increase compensation and expand access to midwifery services. By working together, the Ontario government and AOM are ensuring that families in Ontario can look forward to:

• More choice in patient-centred midwifery care, especially closer to home
• Easier and faster access to midwifery services — whether it’s birthing from the comfort of home, at a hospital or at a birth centre in Ottawa, Toronto or Six Nations.
• Culturally safe care for Indigenous families without having to travel long distances.

“The important work of midwives has an immense impact on the lives of parents and their newborns,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “We are pleased by this step towards a stronger partnership with a deal that benefits both midwives and growing families.”

In total, this agreement reflects more than $16 million for compensation and enhanced midwifery services, including:

• A one per cent compensation increase for all midwives in Ontario as of April 1, 2023
• Increased operational funding to support rising costs of rent, overhead and supplies
• Increased funding for better clinical equipment and birth kits
• Funding to offset travel costs, especially for midwives who travel across communities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Funding to integrate and upgrade IT systems to provide more efficient digital health and data safety.

This agreement will also support Indigenous-led midwifery care in First Nations, urban and rural communities. Indigenous midwives provide important culturally safe pre-natal, intra-partum and post-partum care, as well as traditional healing programs and ceremonies.

Ontario’s midwives play an important role in our public health care system. The government will continue to work with the AOM to support midwifery in Ontario and ensure that midwives can continue to provide high-quality care to families and newborns across the province.