News & Updates

Ottawa (17 June 2008) - Health care is a major presidential election issue in the United States this year and Canada's public Medicare system and its advocates are attracting a lot more attention than normal. BusinessWeek magazine recently asked James Clancy, president of the 340,000-member National Union of Public and General Employees, to participate in its Debate Room forum on...

In the June 11 Vancouver Sun, the B.C. Federation of Labour, and several of its affiliated unions, including HSA, called on Canadians to move from apology to action to work to improve the lives of Canada's First Nations. The Canadian government's formal apology yesterday over horrific abuses in residential schools is an important first step. Now we all need to...

CoDevelopment Canada is organizing a small delegation to attend the 3rd Americas Social Forum in Guatemala in October 2008. HSA's Committee for Equality and Social Action supports the work of CoDev, an organization that links Canadian unions and community groups with counterparts in Latin America. Download information about the Americas Social Forum delegation here.

The Report: June / July 2008 vol.29 num.2 pril 28th is the International Day of Mourning for workers who have been killed or injured on the job or who have died from an occupational disease. Official statistics show a terrible toll of death and injury but they only tell part of the story. In BC in 2007, 139 workers died...

The Report: June / July 2008 vol.29 num.2 by LAURA BUSHEIKIN ith her characteristic modesty, it might be understandable for medical laboratory technologist Nancy Banks to ask, -What, why write about me?" when approached about being profiled in The Report . With over 30 years of HSA activism behind her, Banks says she has participated on more HSA committees than...

The Report: June / July 2008 vol.29 num.2 by LAURA BUSHEIKIN and YUKIE KURAHASHI o-Ann Tisserands job as a recreational therapist at Talarico Place in Castlegar is rewarding: in a facility where approximately 75 per cent of the residents are of Doukhobor heritage, each day brings rich cultural exchange. As well, many of the programs she coordinates have an inherently...

The Report: June / July 2008 vol.29 num.2 by SARAH OLEARY I read Maureen Headleys Executive Director column in the last issue of The Report with great interest. She explained that it is now illegal in BC to deny someone the right to work just because they have turned 65. She outlined what this means with respect to our union...

The Report: June / July 2008 vol.29 num.2 by REID JOHNSON he actions of the Liberal government in the spring sitting of the legislature should serve as a reminder to all of us why it is important to pay attention to what happens in Victoria. Two pieces of legislation were pushed through that restrict the ability to comment on election...

'Profound change is essential if people living with mental illness are to receive the help they need and deserve.' - James Clancy Ottawa (26 May 2008) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) has presented a 14-page brief to the Mental Health Commission of Canada recommending broad change in four key areas ... the national public health...

Ottawa (28 May 2008) - Canada desperately needs an effective strategic national plan to train more health professionals, says the Canadian Health Professionals Secretariat (CHPS). "Otherwise, efforts to improve access and modernize the system will fail," secretariat co-chair Elisabeth Ballermann told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health Tuesday. See full brief here. Ballermann also emphasized in her brief...