News & Updates

By Tim Lim Universal health care is an issue of national pride, shared among Canadians. Similarly, Canadians take pride in the beautiful nature encompassed in the country. Yet with recent climate change pressures – from hurricanes and floods to ravaging forest fires – the effects of climate change are threatening our ecosystems and becoming more intertwined with our daily health...

BY DANIELLE DIONNE, ASHLEY GRANT, TANYA MILLER, AND MRIDULA MORGANHSA MEMBERS In May 2019, 31 social program staff at CMHA BC joined HSA. CMHA employees share why they came together and unionized, and what helped them persevere through a sometimes challenging unionization drive. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) prides itself on being one of Canada’s oldest continuing charities in...

By Jennifer Edgar, HSA member I write to share what happened when union members at my worksite took action, with support from HSA, to address workload issues in our laboratory. Through working together to collect data, we success­fully challenged the hospital’s method for calculating what constitutes “reasonable work­load,” and we persuaded man­agement to deliver concrete changes that have improved the...

HSA BASIC STEWARD/OH&S TRAINING DATES - FALL 2019 Registration Information: Stewards may register by logging into My Events Registration. Workshops are listed under Steward Education events. Basic Steward Training (3 days)Stewards play a vital role in the union. Particularly important is the steward's role in contract interpretation, organizing and the grievance procedure. In recognition of the need for educating new...

Are you a young HSA member (35 and under) interested in increased young worker participation in the union? The union’s board of directors is seeking members aged 35 and younger to get involved in a five-member Young Workers’ Advisory Group. The Advisory Group’s purpose is to work to understand how HSA is relevant to young workers and how to encourage...

This morning Premier John Horgan and Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Services Judy Darcy launched The Pathway to Hope - a ten-year roadmap aimed at better supporting people and families experiencing mental health and addiction challenges. Among a number of initiatives, the plan includes enhanced access to counselling, more Foundry centres, child and youth teams connected to schools, and...

REGISTER FOR PENSION SEMINARS FOR HSA MEMBERS AT ABBOTSFORDREGIONAL HOSPITAL AND CANCER CENTRE Thanks to popular demand and the efforts of the HSA steward team at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, Municipal Pension Plan seminars are scheduled as follows: M aking the Most of Your Pension Seminar DATE: Monday, October 28, 2019TIME: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm - light dinner will be...

Click here to email your MP The federal Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare has released its final report, and recommends that Canada adopt a universal Pharmacare program that is comprehensive, accessible, portable, and public. The report marks a major step forward in the movement to establish a universal Pharmacare program. “This is our generation’s national project,” reads...

As British Columbia heads into another summer of wild fires, Health Emergency Management BC has activated the provincial Emergency Health Provider Registry to assist in the coordination of relief staffing for health care providers. Any Health Authority is able to access the registry when local emergencies create additional staffing needs. HSA was consulted in the development of the registry, and...

The BC government is increasing the number of training seats for occupational therapy and physiotherapy, with new seats coming to Prince George, Vancouver and Fraser Valley. HSA applauds this announcement. These new training spaces are an important step forward to addressing the growing skills shortage in these professions. HSA has been advocating for increased training opportunities in these and other...