News & Updates

ADVISORY COUNCIL RELEASES INTERIM REPORT ON NATIONAL PHARMACARE: CONCERNS RAISED OVER FINANCE MINISTER'S PERCEIVED CONFLICT OF INTEREST The Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare released its interim report on March 6. The council was established with a funding commitment from the federal government’s 2018 budget, and has been tasked with recommending measures for implementing affordable national Pharmacare for...

As the province undergoes major reform to the delivery of primary care in BC, we have a valuable opportunity to learn from and build off the successes seen in other jurisdictions. HSA has long been an advocate for expanding team-based approaches to primary and community care. They allow health professionals with specialized knowledge and skills to collaborate to optimize patient...

Jas Giddha has been re-elected to serve a two-year term as a member of HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 7 from several worksites, including Surrey Memorial, Peace Arch, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack Hospitals, and the Fraser Valley Centre for Child Development. Giddha is a medical radiation technologist at Surrey Memorial and Peace Arch Hospital, and has been...

HSA members have elected Carla Gibbons to serve a two-year term on the union’s board of directors representing Region 5, which includes a number of worksites in the Lower Mainalnd, including BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital and the Vancouver Cancer Centre. A cytotechnologist at the Vancouver Cancer Centre, Gibbons has been active in the union and began volunteering as a...

Cheryl Greenhalgh has been re-elected to serve a two-year term as a member of the HSA’s Board of Directors, representing HSA members in Region 3 from several worksites spanning from Burnaby Hospital to Eagle Ridge Hospital and SHARE Community Services in the Tricities. Greenhalgh is a medical radiation technologist at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, where she serves as...

Thanks to popular demand and the efforts of the HSA steward team at BC Cancer Agency - Vancouver Centre, Municipal Pension Plan seminars are scheduled as follows: Tuesday, April 30, 2019: Making the Most of Your Pension Seminar BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver Cancer Centre 600 West 10th Ave John Jambor – Conference Room 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Making the...

Registration Information: Stewards and/or Supervisors may register by logging into My Events Registration . Workshops are listed under Steward Education events. Basic Steward Training (3 days) Stewards play a vital role in the union. Particularly important is the steward's role in contract interpretation, organizing and the grievance procedure. In recognition of the need for educating new stewards in these areas...

One of the features of the new Community Health collective agreement that expires on March 31, 2022 is a $40 million fund for low wage redress. This is different than the comparability monies distributed in the agreement that expires March 31, 2019 because it will be applied to a greater number of positions. You can find the collective agreement language...

HSA members have been invited by CoDevelopment (CoDev) Canada to participate in its 2019 Canadian delegation to Honduras and Nicaragua. This year, the Canadian delegation will focus on occupational health and safety and gender rights in the Maquila (textile manufacturing) industry, and will be meeting with one of CoDev’s partners in Central America: the Honduran women’s collective (CODEMUH) in Honduras...

On Tuesday, February 19 the BC NDP government introduced Budget 2019. Following from the Throne Speech, the budget allows us to see the actual investments being made in critical program areas and the new initiatives government has prioritized for the coming year. Budget 2019 continued to build on the government’s focus on increasing affordability for families and strengthening health care...