News & Updates

The Health Sciences Association has partnered with Organize BC to host their interactive two-day core organizer training on March 18 & 19. We have a limited number of no-cost spaces for HSA members to attend. This training is designed for members interested in grassroots engagement in their union activism and social change work. More information on the training curriculum is...

"Buildings and equipment don't treat patients. Health professional treat patients." HSA President Val Avery went live on CFAX last week to talk about how the provincial budget failed to do anything for people waiting on long wait lists for health care. Listen to the interview here Vancouver Island Health Authority recently disclosed that 18,000 patients were waiting for ultrasound testing...

Immediate Release Health Sciences Association of BC says today’s provincial budget fails to help the thousands of British Columbians affected by long health care wait times. HSA represents 17,000 highly trained specialists working in diagnostic MRI, sonography and lab testing, physiotherapy, social work, radiation therapy, pharmacy and many other health science professions. “New buildings and machines don’t actually treat patients,”...

The BC Liberal government has rejected a call for immediate action to address the critical shortage of sonographers in BC by providing them with a competitive wage. Instead of a wage adjustment and other financial incentives recommended in a report by the joint Recruitment and Retention Committee, which includes representatives from the employer, HEABC, and the union bargaining association, HSPBA...

The HSPBA/HEABC Recruitment and Retention Committee last reported that it had submitted its Report and Recommendations concerning the sonographer shortage to the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Public Sector Employers’ Council Secretariat (PSEC), in accordance with the parties’ mandate under the Memorandum of Understanding that created the Committee during the last round of bargaining. The Committee’s detailed report outlined...

The BC Federation of Labour is lending its support to the planned Women’s March in Vancouver on Saturday, January 21, the day after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, and HSA members are encouraged to participate. The event starts at 10:00 am in the Jack Poole Plaza at Canada Place. Participants will march by both the US consulate at...

Truth and Reconciliation from a woman’s perspective Truth and Reconciliation will be the focus of an International Women’s Day workshop presented by HSA’s Women’s Committee in March. HSA is committed to work towards fostering a new relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Canadians in accordance with the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report. This workshop will examine the legacy...

Educational Objective: To explore the issue of social justice and some of the efforts HSA and its partners are undertaking to bring about just conditions both locally and globally. This year’s one-day workshop is February 17th from 9 am - 4 pm and will focus on the connection between local social justice movements and local politics. Target Audience: All members...

As the deadline for paying college registration fees approaches, HSA is advising RPN members to submit receipts for registration or renewal of their college fees as proof of eligibility for damages payment by the Nurses Bargaining Association. The damages that are being put toward the fees paid to the CRPNBC arise out of compensation paid by the employer for failure...

HSA members will soon be preparing for the 2017 HSA Convention April 7 and 8, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. The Convention Plenary will begin on April 6 at 1:00 pm. Convention is the union's annual meeting where chapter representatives from around the province determine the union's future direction. Policies, actions, constitutional amendments, and structural changes are...