Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations

President’s Report Val Avery The Report, Sept 2018 Issue When this month's issue of The Report goes to print, it will be just over a month before referendum ballots are mailed out to British Columbians asking us if we would like to see our provincial elections determined through a first-past-the-post system, or through proportional representation (PR). The second ballot question...

From June 20 to Sept. 28, a federal advisory council hosted public consultations to inform recommendations on the establishment of a national Pharmacare plan. As momentum builds for a national program, HSA members face an historic opportunity to advocate for a plan rooted in principles of fairness, accessibility, and universality. As the advisory council prepares its recommendations, our members of...

The Political Action Committee would like to inform you of an exciting learning opportunity offered through the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). On July 15, the CLC is offering a free one-hour skills-building webinar to support participants in advancing the campaign for universal Pharmacare in Canada. The summer offers excellent opportunities to engage in community outreach, and with the launch of...

The federal Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare has opened up public consultations on a national Pharmacare plan, with the launch of an online portal . HSA's Political Action Committee would like to invite HSA members to join the conversation by registering for the online discussion and emailng advisory council members at: @email. Fill out the online survey...

­­­­ HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2018 How privately-funded health care hurts us On May 1, the B.C. Health Coalition (BCHC) presented two B.C. private surgical clinics with an invoice for $15.9 million. It was a symbolic gesture seeking to highlight how unlawful extra-billing by private clinics across the province is costing the public health care system. Supporters gathered with placards...

HSA REPORT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2018 President's Report, Val Avery HSA members have known for a quite some time what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the delivery of quality health care, and our work in promoting policy recommendations has been grounded in this expertise. We are pleased to see that many of our recommendations are now coming to...

Periods are a fact of life. Monthly menstruation products are a necessity. And nobody should have to pick between feeding their family and being able to afford basic hygiene products. Yet far too many people – especially those living in poverty – simply can’t afford them. Between March 1 and 20, HSA participated in the Tampon Tuesday campaign in partnership...

HSA welcomes today’s announcement that government will fund 37,000 more MRI scans in the public system during the coming year, compared to last year. BC has had the longest wait times for MRI in the country for several years, resulting in many patients paying for medically necessary scans at private clinics. Some of these patients then use these scans to...

HSA welcomes the provincial government’s new four-part surgical strategy announced today aimed at reducing wait times for surgery around the province.The initial phase of the strategy includes funding for an additional 4,000 hip and knee replacements in the coming year – an increase of 34 per cent – with long-term funding to continue increasing the number of surgeries in future...

Periods are a fact of life and menstruation products are a necessity. Nobody should have to pick between feeding their family and being able to afford basic hygiene products. Yet far too many people – especially those living in poverty – simply can’t afford them. “We know it is a struggle for food banks and community groups to collect menstruation...