HSA’s 55th Annual Convention Wraps Up
A record-setting almost 600 delegates have concluded a busy three days of convention business at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver this evening.
At this year’s convention, delegates for the first time committed to spending 75% of convention time focussed on debating the over 300 resolutions submitted by chapters around the province.
Delegates voted in favour of policies across a wide range of issues, including:
- Amending the union's constitution to allow the addition of a new equity director position on the Board of Directors
- Donating $5,000 to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School to help cover the costs of their graduation celebration
- Advocating that the BC government provide adequate and sustainable funding for child development centres
BC Premier David Eby, Health Minister Josie Osborne, and Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside offered greetings by way of video, and on Friday morning Minister of Children and Family Development Jodie Wickens met in person with child development centre members for a breakfast briefing on new provincial funding for children and youth with special needs.
At lunchtime Friday, delegates joined members of other unions, including leaders of the BC Nurses Union, Hospital Employees’ Union, BC General Employees Union, Canadian Union of Public Employees and Professional Employees Association at a rally to express shared concerns about the Alberta government’s threats to public health care and the need to enforce the Canada Health Act.
What delegates had to say
For first-time delegate Bhaskar Sharma, a training facilitator at Open Door Group, convention allowed him to see under the hood and get an understanding of how the union works.
“Everyone’s hard work, whether the members or the staff HSA employs, worked so hard and you can really see that in how the convention was organized,” Sharma said. “I was hoping to learn more about the union, how it supports the members, and where our money goes. I can say I got all of that.”
Lola Saidmuradova, a speech language pathologist at Queen’s Park Care Centre, felt this year’s convention exceeded her expectations.
“I was hoping that the convention this year would be as good as last years, and honestly, I like this year’s even better,” Saidmuradova said. “It was nice to see that people came here this week to do the work, and everyone was really passionate.”