As Prime Minister Stephen Harper prepares to meet with Canada's first ministers this week to discuss the economic downturn and the next federal budget, a new Nanos Research poll suggests Canadians want a stimulus package that invests in public services at the top of the federal agenda.
 
Commissioned by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), the poll asked Canadians about their attitudes on:

In the wake of rising unemployment numbers across the country, the B.C. Federation of Labour is calling on the federal government to focus on economic stimulus measures which will protect and create Canadian jobs, assist unemployed workers and protect pension plans.

Ottawa (7 Jan. 2009) - The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) is calling for a one-year national stimulus plan to create 407,000 jobs, boost the economy by 3% and shield Canadians from the worst of the global recession.

As part of its annual Alternative Federal Budget (AFB) to be made public later in January, the centre released advance proposals Tuesday to stimulate the economy in the face of what is now often described as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The B.C. Federation of Labour is dismissing the Fraser Institutes report on the economic effects of raising the minimum wage.

-The Fraser Institute has twisted its own numbers and used discredited economic theories to conclude that a $10 an hour minimum wage would be a job killer in British Columbia," said Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

Employees at 10 Metro Vancouver locations of CML Healthcare, a private medical imaging and laboratory company with locations across Canada, have voted to join the Health Sciences Association of BC. The 120 employees join HSA members working at 12 CML facilities in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.

Are you a woman considering either running for elected office, or working in a key position in a future election campaign?  If so, then the annual Canadian Women Voters Congress Womens Campaign School is for you.

Dates:  March 27-29,  2009
Location:  SFU Harbour Centre, Vancouver, B.C.

Solidarity is more than making donations. Personal contact and relationships between people from the north and the south can be as important as money.

In partnership with CoDevelopment Canada,  HSA has supported the Honduran women workers organization CODEMUH, and the Salvadoran Association for Integrated Health and Social Services (APSIES) in Central America.  In March 2009, a tour will visit both projects and provide opportunities to do some rural community health work.

Today the BC Health Coalition announced the upcoming January 2009 launch of their Seniors Health Care campaign, Broken Promises. The campaign will be focused on the growing crisis in seniors health around BC.

HSA members throughout the province who are running for office or working on campaigns in the May 2009 provincial election can apply to HSA for the following financial support from HSAs Political Action Fund:

1. Members who are candidates can apply for up to 20 days of wage replacement and/or up to $200 to cover approved personal expenses incurred to run for office.

An open letter from NUPGE President James Clancy

Dear Friends:

Thank you! In the last week you proved that change can happen.

Together, we worked hard, mobilized quickly and forced Stephen Harper to back off critical parts of his economic statement, which offered nothing to address the current economic crisis and instead attacked workers rights and the opposition parties.