Professional Development Funds under the 2025-2029 HSPBA Collective Agreement

Now that the 2025-2029 HSPBA collective agreement has been ratified, HSA members like you will soon have access to new professional development funds.

As you likely know from the comprehensive report and ratification meetings, there are new professional development funds included in this collective agreement:

• April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026: $400,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027: $400,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1 2027 to March 31, 2028: $600,000 Professional Development Fund
• April 1, 2028 to March 31, 2029: $600,000 Professional Development Fund
• TBD $3,500,000 one-time funding allocation for Professional Development

Your union is busily preparing to launch these new funds once the monies have been transferred to us from the employer side and disbursed proportionately amongst the constituent unions of the HSPBA. 

We will notify members via email and our website when we are ready to launch – so please make sure you are signed up for email and/or keeping a close eye on our website as these funds will be disbursed on a first come, first served basis and are usually highly popular.

Launch dates, caps and eligibility criteria

The specific launch dates, funding caps and eligibility criteria are currently under discussion and have not yet been set for any of these funds (except the eligibility criteria relative to Article 17 application detailed below). As soon as details are confirmed, members will be informed via email and information will be posted on the website.  

Article 17 and Professional Development Fund applications

One important piece of information we can share is that members will still be required to apply first to their employers for Article 17 funding as part of the application process for all Professional Development Funds for education periods commencing after April 1, 2026 (i.e. for all funds except the April 1, 2025 to March 30, 2026 fund).

Just like we did with the Professional Enhancement Bursary, we need to work together to target employers who continue to hold back millions of dollars in professional development funding that is contractually owed to health science professionals.

Under Article 17 of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association collective agreement, health authorities and other employers are required to provide employees seeking professional development with as much as $1,000 in funding in each year of the collective agreement. But for years, employers have routinely turned down these requests, often citing budget constraints. This practice is not based in fact – Article 17 funding has been negotiated in previous rounds of bargaining which means Employers need to fulfill their obligations to you – and by denying your applications under Article 17 and insisting members use up the Appendix funds, employers are not being held accountable for their obligations under the Collective Agreement.  In other words, it leaves less money overall for professional development than what has been negotiated over many rounds of HSPBA bargaining..

For the sake of member career development, and for the sake of a stronger health care system, we need every dollar available for professional development to be put to use. The employer needs to be held accountable for paying their fair share and for paying what they are obligated to pay under the HSPBA collective agreement.

Here is what you must do to ensure that you and your fellow HSPBA members get more funding to help rebuild the health care system, and to ensure that you are eligible for funding from the Professional Development Funds (note, however, that the retroactive fund covering April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 is the only fund that will not have this criteria):

• The first step is to contact your employer in writing (usually over email), asking for funding under Article 17 of the HSPBA collective agreement for the education you are pursuing. This request should (ideally) be made in advance of the educational opportunity taking place. Be sure to save a copy of this request, as you will need to provide it as part of your application to all Professional Development Funds covering the timeframe from April 1, 2026 onwards.
   
• Your union will consider your funding request according to the eligibility criteria (once set) and funding cap criteria for the specific Professional Development Fund for which you have applied.  
   
• If your employer does not reply to your Article 17 funding request, denies your request entirely, or does not provide you with the full amount of funding you are eligible for under Article 17, your union will support you in filing a member-driven grievance. Filing a grievance is a mandatory condition, and is one of the criteria that has been set in order for you to receive funding from the Professional Development Funds.
   
• Your Article 17 funding request and your grievance related to Article 17 will need to be submitted to the union when applying for the Professional Development Fund.
   
• Providing you have applied under Article 17 first, and if denied or not entirely funded by your Employer under Article 17 and you filed a grievance, HSA will then be able to consider your funding request according to the eligibility and cap criteria for the Professional Development Fund for which you have applied and fund you according to those criteria.
   
• It is expected that, if the employer approves your Article 17 funding request, that you will use that funding first before seeking further monies from the Professional Development Funds.  However if the entire cost of your educational program is not covered by your Article 17 request, or if your educational opportunity is denied based on the criteria of Article 17 funding, we encourage you to request funding through the Professional Development Fund.
   
• Any Article 17 funding you receive from the employer is counted towards the funding cap for these Professional Development Funds. This ensures available education monies for HSA members are equitably distributed.

Your union has a strong record of success with education grievances. We know that it will take time and effort to follow these steps, but millions of dollars in untapped money may become available to support professional development and improve the delivery of public health care. We also hope that, after sending a strong signal to the employer on this matter, we will see an end to the practice of routinely holding back Article 17 funding, resulting in faster delivery of support from both the employer and the union.

While you are waiting for more information about these education funds and their launches, please make sure you take these necessary steps and retain appropriate documentation, including copies communication with employers where appropriate and any relevant receipts, in order to facilitate your application once the Professional Development Funds open to members.