News & Updates

Rescheduled HSA Annual Convention headlines a busy fall of union activity and education As the summer of 2020 wraps up, the union is gearing up for a busy fall of union meetings and education opportunities for members The union’s 49 th annual convention, postponed from April 2-3 because of the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been rescheduled to November...

Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace – Level One Mental Health and the CSA Standard Dates: October 8, 2020 or November 12, 2020 Time: 9am – 4:30pm Location: Virtual WebEx – Details to follow Each year in Canada, one in five people will experience a mental health problem or illness. Over a lifetime that number increases to 1 in...

COVID SAFETY PLANS Dates: October 7, 2020 or October 29, 2020 Time: 9am – 4:30pm Location: Virtual WebEx – Details to follow WorkSafe BC Act and Regulations set out that each workplace must have a health and safety program designed to prevent injuries and occupational diseases. Workplace health and safety programs must have safety plans to address hazards in the...

Anti-Racism in Health Care and Social Services An HSA Diversity Workshop DATE: October 5, 2020 TIME: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm LOCATION: Virtual – WebEx details to follow HSA is pleased to offer this one-day workshop offered by the H.E.A.R.T Collaborative – Health Equity & Anti-Racism Training. H.E.A.R.T. team members Adeline Huynh and Michelle Buchholz will lead members through this...

Decolonization An HSA Diversity Workshop DATE: September 29, 2020 and October 1, 2020 TIME: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm LOCATION: Virtual – WebEx details to follow This two-day virtual workshop will help non-Indigenous HSA members to develop the skills, compassion, and abilities required to recognize and change colonial systems and practices in their personal and professional lives. These are the...

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...

HSA’s annual fall regional meetings have been scheduled for September and October 2020. Regional meetings are an excellent forum for HSA members to review the issues and activities of the past year, and discuss the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. All meetings will be held online. Participants will be required to join meetings through a virtual platform. While the...

“Now is the time for a universally accessible, publicly funded, not-for-profit, and high quality child care system that fairly compensates workers in a unionized workforce.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President Ottawa (30 July 2020) — The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on families has added a new urgency to the need for a national child care system said...