Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations

HSA REPORT, OCTOBER 2014 BY CAROL RIVIERE DR. Brian Day's attempt to use the courts to bring US-style, TWO-tier health care to Canada was scheduled to go to trial on September 8. At his request, and with the agreement of the provincial government, the court recently postponed the trial for six months to give these parties an opportunity to settle...

HSA REPORT OCTOBER 2014 My name is Mike Pond. I'm five years sober this week and your union helped save my life. When I received my Masters in Social Work in 1995, I thought my days as a psychiatric nurse were behind me. But life has a way of throwing us curve balls. After two decades of successfully helping clients...

HSA President Val Avery at announcement with BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair and BCGEU President Stephanie Smith Health Sciences Association of BC has committed a $170,000 interest-free loan to the BC Teachers’ Federation to support teachers on strike for a better public education system for BC’s children. The loan is part of the $8 million pledged by BC’s...

Did you know that some health authority staff like youth counsellors are not allowed to text their patients? Is there any other way to communicate with a young person? That's just one of the eye-opening facts revealed by health science professionals working in BC's struggling mental health system. Hoping to make positive change and tell the story of from the...

Vancouver – A new Insights West poll commissioned by the B.C. Federation of Labour (BCFED) shows that parents support BC’s teachers 2-to-1 in the current dispute with the BC Liberal Government, and agree with teachers on key issues at the heart of the ongoing negotiations. “As we head into September, this poll clearly tells us that British Columbians are on...

BC leg of campaign on income inequality launches in Victoria Saturday After hugely successful tours in the Atlantic provinces, Ontario, and Manitoba, the National Union of Public and General Employees' Fairness Express is now rolling west making its way into British Columbia. Over the months of August and September, the big green buses will be reaching out to people about...

NUPGE’s “Fairness Express” bus will be touring BC from August 16 th to September 21 st. The Fairness Express is part of our National Union’s ongoing campaign to promote income equality, fair taxation, and the value of public services and unions. The Fairness Express will stop at community events and busy locations in more than 25 towns around the province...

HSA members throughout the province who are running for office or working in BC’s upcoming local government elections may apply for financial support from HSA’s Political Action Fund as follows: 1. Members who are candidates may apply for up to 10 days of wage replacement and/or up to $200 to cover approved personal expenses incurred to run for office. 2...

HSA REPORT, jUNE 2014 Over 300 delegates from around the province gathered in April to vote overwhelmingly in favour of continuing the fight to defend public health care, the work of the Committee on Equality and Social Action, and to work to protect and improve services for patients and clients who count on the health care and community social services...

HSA REPORT, JUNE 2014 Laura Dupont understands that her community of Port Coquitlam is all about people and families, and this is motivating her to run for the first time in this fall's municipal election. "Raising a family and spending over a decade volunteering with various groups in the community has kept me involved in my city, says Dupont. "People...