News & Updates

The Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) have agreed to open contract discussions March 17, 2010. The current collective agreement expires March 31, 2010. Health Sciences Association is the lead union, representing 16,000 health science professionals, in the HSPBA. Last fall, delegates to the unions Bargaining Proposal Conference identified -protecting quality health care"...

Tomorrow night, the Living Wage for Families Campaign and ACORN Canada are jointly hosting a public forum to discuss a motion for New Westminster City Council to become the first city in Canada to endorse a living wage by-law. Guest participants include Seth Klein (director, BC office, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) and Jaimie McEvoy (New West City Councillor). Living...

During the next several weeks, HSA members in Region 6 will have an opportunity to elect a new representative on HSAs Board of Directors. Current Region 6 Director, Rachel Tutte, is stepping down after serving 2 terms.Nominations for the position closed on February 1st with three members declaring their candidacy: Anita Bardal, a Medical Radiation Technologist at St. Pauls Hospital...

HSA members in Region 10 have once again elected Heather Sapergia as their representative to the HSA Board of Directors. Heather was acclaimed after the February 1st deadline passed with no further nominations. Heather works as a Medical Laboratory Technologist at the University Hospital of Northern BC (formerly Prince George Regional Hospital) where she previously served as Chief Steward for...

HSA members in Region 8 have elected Joan Magee to a fourth term as their representative to the HSA Board of Directors. Joan was acclaimed after the February 1st deadline passed with no further nominations. A Medical Laboratory Technologist at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, Joan is a long-time HSA activist who served as an Occupational Health and Safety...

HSA members in Region 4 have elected Brendan Shields as their representative to the HSA Board of Directors. Brendan was acclaimed after the February 1st deadline passed with no further nominations. Brendan is a Music Therapist who has worked in a variety of health care settings in Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health. He currently works, and serves as a...

HSA members in Region 2 have once again elected Val Avery as their representative to the HSA Board of Directors. Val was acclaimed after the February 1st deadline passed with no further nominations. Val previously served as a Member-at-Large and for several years as Chief Steward at Victorias Royal Jubilee Hospital, where she works as a Physiotherapist. Val has been...

In 2004, West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) collaborated with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) to produce an in-depth study about the effects of cuts to legal aid. Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC examined the recent history and cumulative effects of cuts, undermining the health, safety, livelihoods, and families...

HSA's board of directors has made a $10,000 donation on behalf of HSA members to the Haitian relief efforts. HSA joins with individuals, organizations, and governments around the world that are mobilizing to provide food, shelter, and medical aid for the Haitian people devasted by the January 12 earthquake that has demolished large parts of the country and left hundreds...

Business in Vancouver By Noa GlobermanMillions of patients travel to places like Belgium, Costa Rica and South Africa annually to undergo urgent or elective medical procedures. Whether it's to avoid the high costs, long waits or poor quality they usually associate with their local health systems, the prognosis remains medical tourism is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar industry. "What if we...