Okanagan Sunday

After scratching together funding for its men's counselling program, the South Okanagan Victim Assistance Society (SOVAS) could be forced to cut its hours due to financial challenges.

For the past four years, Anne Reinders has been a counsellor for the program, which provides free counselling to men who have suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse, either as children or as adults.

She said that since the inception of the program, SOVAS staff have recognized its need and has been committed to coming up with ways to fund the counselling program.

Vancouver Sun

KUDOS CORPORATE GIVING

Van-Whole Produce raised $15,498 through sales of top sweet mandarin oranges this fall for the Canadian Cancer Society, BC & Yukon.

Donations of $10,000 each from Dr. Miriam Yu, and Mr. and Mrs. Sing and Patricia Yeo to Tapestry Foundation for Health Care helped launch Scotiabank Feast of Fortune supporting Rapid Access Breast Clinic at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital.

HSA members throughout the province who are running for office or working in the upcoming provincial election may apply to HSA for financial support from HSA's Political Action Fund.

1. Members who are candidates may apply for up to 30 days of wage replacement and/or up to $200 to cover approved personal expenses incurred to run for office.

2. Members who are working on an election campaign may apply for up to 30 days of wage replacement, but must confirm that they are donating at least 20 hours of their own unpaid time to work on the campaign.

Members may apply for Political Action Fund support to attend election campaign training which is:

a) non-partisan (e.g., the Canadian Women Voters Congress Women's Campaign School); or
b) offered by labour organizations with which HSA is affiliated (e.g., the BC Federation of Labour, the Canadian Labour Congress, labour councils etc); or
c) offered by political parties that meet all of HSA's 4 criteria, by demonstrating support for the following:

Due to the large number of members who have expressed an interest in getting involved in the upcoming provincial election, HSA is holding another 2-day, non-partisan election campaign school.

This workshop is designed for HSA members with little or no experience in electoral politics, but who are interested in working on election campaigns or running for political office. The school will focus on opportunities for involvement in the May 2013 provincial election, but will also touch on municipal and federal elections.

Canadian Press

The second stage of strike action by members of the Health Sciences Association hits BC hospitals today.

Workers who deliver diagnostic imaging services like x-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds will scale back to essential services as part of an effort to pressure the government to come up with a better contract offer.

In spite of an agreement reached between HSA and other health care unions and the Ministry of Health last week, some members continue to get pressure to either produce evidence of vaccination against seasonal influenza, or wear a mask during the flu season, which was declared open December 1.

For members information, at the meeting held between the Ministry of Health, HSA, BCGEU and HEU November 30, the following agreement was reached:

While the policy remains on the books the mandatory provisions of it will not be enforced. This means:

For immediate release:  December 7, 2012
 
Caring professionals from not-for-profit agencies that support vulnerable families on the North Island will be on strike Monday, December 10.

Community workers want to send a clear message to the B.C. government: stop putting vulnerable families last!

Since 2004, the B.C. Liberal government has cut $300 million in funding for programs that support vulnerable families, the developmentally disabled, at-risk youth, and children and infants in community-based programs across the province.

The Daily Bulletin (Kimberley)

Hospital pharmacists and medical imaging technicians plan to go ahead with brief strikes Thursday and Friday as a mediator attempts to reach a settlement with 16,000 health science employees at hospitals and clinics across B.C.