Issues, Campaigns and Government Relations
Just hours after Health Minister George Abbott tabled controversial amendments to the Medicare Protection Act on April 8, more than 200 people attended a public talk by physicians and international policy experts about the dangers of continued health care privatization in B.C. Dr. Michael Klein ... physician, researcher and founding member of the Canadian Doctors for Medicare ... reasserted that...
'We can't stand still. We can either go back or we can go forward. The choice we make today will decide the future of medicare in Canada.' - Tommy DouglasOttawa (3 Apr. 2008) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has issued two new public education tools as part of its ongoing campaign to defend and expand...
NUPGE releases new leaflet on renewing community-based social servicesOttawa (20 March 2008) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has released a new leaflet calling for a re-investment in our communities. It is called, No way to show we care: Renewed funding for community-based social services.Year after year, as governments relentlessly cut social service budgets, a crisis...
Rights, Not Wrongs, a conference focussing on emerging human rights issues, featuring leading BC human rights specialists in Aboriginal, peace, antipoverty, women's rights, antiracism, international issues and more, is being organized by the BC Teachers' Federation Committee for Action on Social Justice and the BC Federation of Labour. The conference will be held April 3 to 5 at the Fairmont...
The BC Health Coalition presents "Choices that Matter - True Stories from Behind the Curtain of Private Health Care" featuring: Dr. Allyson Pollock, University of Edinburgh with true stories of damage done by P3s in the UK. Dr. Wayne Hildahl, CEO of the Pan-Am Clinic in Winnipeg with his story of taking a private clinic public. Dr. Michael Klein, Founding...
NUPGE among supporters of new websiteOttawa (11 March 2008) - StraightGoods.ca is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to its family of websites: www.PublicValues.ca . The site is an online magazine presenting news about privatization and the fight to preserve public services, resources, spaces and enterprise. It will be updated frequently. Readers are encouraged to submit ideas...
On March 8, International Women's Day, the Canadian Labour Congress is launching a women's economic equality campaign ... -Equality! Once and For All!" An exciting year-long campaign, the CLC will use every opportunity to raise awareness about the lack of attention paid by politicians, employers and the media to the growing economic inequality of women, through the use of creative...
Three quarters of adults will fill a prescription this year, at a cost of nearly $25 billion. The use and cost of medicines may increase significantly if manufacturers are allowed to advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers as they do in the United States. Canadian laws that prohibit direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) are being challenged on grounds of freedom of expression...
What Finance Minister Jim Flaherty calls a budget of -focus, prudence, and discipline" is actually -feeble, paltry and disappointing," says Larry Brown, secretary-treasurer of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). See NUPGE's reaction to the federal budget here.
The Canadian Labour Congress says todays budget makes one thingclear for ordinary working people trying to make ends meet in an economy that offers less: this government is not on your side. See the CLC's analysis of the 2008 federal budget here.