Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed some major challenges for caregivers and parents. Parents who have lost income since the pandemic hit are facing new struggles to cover household expenses and stay afloat. And when schools shut down in the spring, parents needed to be resourceful and adapt quickly, making childcare arrangements and helping kids with online school. While many daycare...

“Everybody depends on somebody who depends on childcare.” By Samantha Ponting, HSA Communications The pandemic has shone a light on existing inequities in Canada, when it became very clear that some groups – such as precarious and racialized workers, women, seniors, and migrants – would be hit hardest by the health crisis and the hurting economy. Gaps in our social...

As the COVID-19 pandemic took root in BC this spring, HSA members working as health science and community social service professionals were on the frontlines where they saw the immediate impacts of this pandemic. As the pandemic has continued, HSA members have also seen other impacts of COVID-19 in their workplaces and their communities, including a troubling increase in domestic...

HSA is again calling on employers to improve supply of personal protective equipment and preventative occupational health and safety measures for health care workers working through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, all members are advised to ensure they have access to appropriate PPE, and to exercise their right to refuse unsafe work if the appropriate PPE is not provided. HSA...

A Provincial Election has been called; general voting will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2020. Elections are an important time to engage in discussion and debate about the future of our province, our collective priorities and what programs and services are important to us, our families and our communities. HSA strongly encourages members to vote. The work we do...

Today we got some very exciting news! More than a decade ago, the CEO of Cambie Surgery Centre, Dr. Brian Day, launched a legal attack against public health care by seeking to strike down critical sections of the BC Medicare Protection Act. It has been a long hard fight, but today, BC Supreme Court Justice Steeves handed down a landmark...

BC's Health Minister, the Hon. Adrian Dix, joined HSA President Val Avery and HSA members on a special telephone town hall meeting on August 20 to talk about the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on British Columbians and our health care system. If you missed it, you can listen to the recording here.

HSA members are invited to join a live and interactive telephone town hall event with the Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, this Thursday evening – August 20 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (PST). This is an opportunity for members to hear directly from BC’s Health Minister about the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on British Columbians and our health care...

From Jan. 20 to Feb. 7, 2020, Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) HSA members were invited to complete an online survey investigating experiences of racism at work. Over 200 HSA members working in health care and community social services shared personal accounts of how racism and white supremacy operate within their workplace cultures and impact their daily lives...

Health care workers throughout British Columbia are asked to share their experiences with racism and discrimination in the health-care system as part of a new survey launched by Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond on Friday, July 31, 2020. The health care workers survey asks respondents about the impact of discriminatory behaviours or actions on patients and their family members, as well as...