Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations
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...
HSA’s Board of Directors has voted unanimously to waive the union’s policy on collecting union dues on all employment income to exclude employment income earned under the Temporary Pandemic Pay announced May 19. All HSA members working under the HSPBA, CBA, and NBA collective agreements will receive pandemic pay at a rate of $4 an hour on all straight hours...
HSA President Val Avery presented today to the provincial Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services, focusing on the need to address the shortage of critical health science professionals. The committee is holding virtual hearings to gather input on the development of the next BC Budget. If our public health care system is to be successful in fighting COVID-19...
The Canadian Labour Congress is hosting a free webinar this Wednesday, June 10 at 11am PST on the role of unions in combating anti-Black racism. The CLC's Larry Rousseau and Marie Clark-Walker will be joined by Sandy Hudson, a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Toronto. This is an opportunity for union members across the country to come...
Amid the horrific scenes coming out of the United States of continued police brutality against protesters in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Canada’s unions are expressing solidarity with Black communities everywhere, including in our own backyard. The fight against anti-Black racism and police brutality is based in the long, despicable history of slavery, oppression and colonization of...
TO: HSA members working in Long Term Care In an effort to slow the transmission of COVID-19 in BC’s hard-hit Long Term Care facilities, BC’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, issued two province-wide orders aimed at restricting movement of health care staff between Long Term Care facilities. The orders went into effect yesterday, Thursday March 26, 2020 The first...
By Samantha Ponting, HSA Communications Angie Combs, aboriginal patient liaison worker at Wrinch Memorial Hospital in Hazelton, BC, recalls that staff at the hospital would occasionally ask her to teach them some words and phrases in Gitxsanimaax, the language spoken by the Gitxsan First Nation. The hospital is on Gitxsan territory, which spans 33,000 square kilometers across northwest BC. “I...