2005

December 15th, 2005
Nurses call on emergency room crisis falls on deaf ears
Provincial Health Services Authority denies its accountability to stop "hallway nursing care" and provide solutions. More...

December 12, 2005
Will Paul Martin Live Up to His Father's Legacy?
Health Coalitions Call For Federal Government to Restore Its Role in Hospitals. More...

November 25, 2005
Nurses' lawsuit over reduced pension benefits to be heard in BC Supreme Court at 10 am, Monday, November 28
The BC Nurses' Union will be in BC Supreme Court on Monday (Nov. 28), seeking to reverse cuts to medical coverage for retired nurses that were imposed as a result of cost-cutting measures by the Campbell Liberal government in 2002. More...

November 21, 2005
Province must act against private Copeman clinic, nurses say
Club Medicare scheme violates the law by charging patients huge fees to see doctors for services that are covered by medicare. More...

November 16, 2005
Over 100 Municipal Candidates Pledge to Become Public Health Care Defenders
The BC Health Coalition has commitments from 113 municipal candidates who have each signed a pledge to protect public health care. More...

November 9, 2005
WCB can save lives and money with safety needles, BC healthcare workers say
A coalition of BC unions wants the Workers’ Compensation Board to mandate the province-wide use of safety needles. More...

November 3, 2005
Corporate donors link St. Paul's P3 scheme to BC Liberal part
New evidence reveals private players are driving the health care agenda. More...

October 28, 2005
Nurses Union disappointed that BC government has excluded Nurse Practitioners from collective bargaining opportunity
The BC Nurses' Union has sent a strongly worded letter to the Minister of Health protesting the arbitrary action of his government which will deny Nurse Practitioners access to BCNU’s resources and bargaining strength in order to address their working conditions. More...

October 17, 2005
Letter from BCNU President
Why nurses should support teachers. More...

August 23, 2005
Letter to Vancouver Sun
Spending on factual information during provincial election campaign. More...

August 10, 2005
Nurses concerns about Maximus and BC NurseLine escalate as MSP violations increase and government accountability decreases
Poor service performance, contract infractions and financial penalties, along with the government's refusal to make public Maximus' failure to achieve performance targets in their MSP contract add up to serious concerns for the BC Nurses' Union. More...

July 14, 2005
Nurses want government to abandon scheme to privatize the BC NurseLine
In a letter to the Health Minister, they cite problems with a key bidder and call for the Provincial Health Services Authority to take over this critical public health care service. More...

June 9, 2005
Supreme Court decision: A call for governments to get public health care working
Nurses’ study shows that with the right resources, BC patients could receive timely care in public facilities without using expensive private insurance schemes that undermine medicare. More...

June 1, 2005
Nurses reject ‘Club Medicare’ scheme
The province must not pay physicians for services they perform at proposed new private clinic, because patients will be charged a membership fee of $2300 a year, violating the laws of medicare. More...

May 17, 2005
Results show health care was key voter concern
Nurses welcome stronger opposition, look forward to working with re-elected Liberals and others on ways to improve public health care. More...

May 13, 2005
Premier should explain why he’s continuing to allow violations of the Canada Health Act
In the light of new fines against BC, nurses want Gordon Campbell to stand up for the rights of patients not to be charged extra fees for services covered by medicare. More...

May 10, 2005
Nurses, SEIU step up fight for safety needles
Safety-engineered medical devices a win-win solution. More...

May 5, 2005
Vancouver Island Health Authority: Nurses keep health care a key election issue across Vancouver Island
From as far north as Port Alice to southern Sooke, nurses have been leafleting the public and attending all-candidates meetings to make sure that citizens understand the extent of the cuts and closures on Vancouver Island leading into the provincial election May 17. More...

May 2, 2005
Patients Matter...Nurses Care, Kids Matter...Teachers Care
Nurses and teachers team up during election campaign. More...

April 29, 2005
Violence at Cowichan District Hospital: Nurses demand increased security after patient smashes glass, swings post
Nurses at Cowichan District Hospital are demanding the Vancouver Island Health Authority increase security immediately, following a frightening violent incident in the emergency ward last night. More...

April 29, 2005
Incubators at hospital plagued by superbug were cleaned in blood and feces-contaminated room
Risky practice for newborns stopped only Monday, after nurses alerted the WCB. Nurses want province-wide investigation into procedures followed by private cleaning contractors. More...

April 28, 2005
Health care system is failing seniors on all fronts
Speaker after speaker at an all candidates meeting on April 28 questioned candidates about their plans to address the crisis in care for seniors. More...

April 26, 2005
Interior Health Authority: Nurses step up drive to keep health care a key vote issue
Patients in the Interior Health Authority have been the hardest hit by cuts to health care services across the province, and today nurses in the Interior are stepping up a campaign to ensure that health care remains a key election issue. More...

April 21, 2005
Illegal billing: Nurses take BC government to court over private clinics
Petition asks for Supreme Court order requiring Victoria to audit private clinics and repay patients charged extra fees for procedures covered under medicare. More...

April 21, 2005
Supreme Court of Canada to hear charter challange to Campbell Liberals' contract breaking law
The highest court in the land said today that it will hear arguments on whether the Gordon Campbell government's contract-breaking law violates the equality and freedom of association rights of health care workers in B.C. More...

April 14, 2005
Fraser Health Authority: Nurses step up drive to keep health care a key vote issue
Patients in the Fraser Health Authority have been among the hardest hit by cuts to health care services, and today nurses are stepping up a campaign to ensure that health care remains a key election issue. More...

April 13, 2005
Threat highlights needed for whistleblower protection
Nurses appeal to Health Minister after St. Paul’s physician targeted for creating ‘bad press’ on long term care. More...

March 30, 2005
New surgery strategy: nurses urge government to commit to opening other closed operating rooms across the province
With private clinic surgery contracts set to expire March 31, the fast- tracking of hip and knee surgeries at Richmond Hospital may point the way to the rejuvenation of the public system and an end to contracting out. More...

March 3, 2005
Liberals duck nurses’ health care debate
Nurses are shocked and disappointed that the BC Liberal Party refused to send a representative today to an all-party debate on health care issues at the BC Nurses’ Union convention. More...

March 2, 2005
Nurses launch drive to ensure health care is key vote issue
To help illustrate what the “BC Nurses’ Agenda” is all about, emergency room nurses today described the crisis faced by their patients and released their Top Ten Solutions for hospital overcrowding. More...

February 28, 2005
Municipal Pension Plan Contribution Rate Increases Effective July 1, 2005
Effective July 1, 2005, the contribution rates that both you and your employer pay into the Municipal Pension Plan will increase by 0.99% each.
More...

February 22, 2005
Expansion of Surrey emergency room only one solution to the Fraser Health Authority ER crisis
Since 2003, Fraser Health Authority emergency room nurses have lobbied Fraser Health Authority with concrete recommendations to ER crisis. More...

February 15, 2005
Budget 2005: acute care crunch continues while seniors wait for care
While the new health care money is welcome, it’s primarily coming from Ottawa, and will not be enough to undo the damage from three years of hospital bed closures and cuts to long term care. More...

January 11, 2005
Report reveals complete breakdown in infection control practices at Surrey Memorial Hospital
Patients were put at serious risk because of restructuring forced on the Fraser Health Authority by the tight fiscal mandate imposed on health care by the Campbell government More...