State of BC Health - May
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Your monthly update from the BC Health Coalition
UPDATE BCHC continues advocacy on Pharmacare and paid sick days
BC Health Coalition members participated in the Canadian Health Coalition's Pharmacare lobby days. Big Pharma pays professionals to argue their side. We show up for our families, friends, colleagues and communities. People who lost their jobs or benefits due to COVID-19 need Pharmacare now more than ever. No coverage means avoidable suffering and pressure on our ERs.
The BC Health Coalition has also been supporting the BC Federation of Labour's calls for a made-in-BC plan for paid sick days for all workers. Read the full response to the BC Government's commitment of permanent, paid sick leave here.
TAKE ACTION
Tune... into our webinar to defend public health care in the Cambie trial
Public health care is once again under threat as Dr. Brian Day and
his supporters have appealed the BC Supreme Court’s landmark 2020
decision that resoundingly affirmed the importance of public health
care in Canada.
Be sure to register for our webinar here.
Sign your organization up to support Sanctuary Health Vancouver's letter
Workers and students with "Maintained Status" are allowed
under immigration law to live, work and study in Canada while their
applications to renew permits are in process. The government
cut MSP coverage to people in this situation in July 2017. During the
pandemic, they brought in temporary policies to reinstate coverage to
people with Maintained Status who request it, but have been quietly
increasing restrictions on these policies, cutting people off.
If
you are a member of an organization, please consider reading their
full letter here and signing your organization's name
to the open letter here by MAY 26TH.
OPINION Why the Hold Up on Paid Sick Days? It’s about Power
"Real paid sick days, as a right of employment, are not
rocket science," writes CCPA senior economist Alex Hemingway. "You
tell your boss you’re sick, you stay home and you get paid as usual.
But a majority of Canadians don’t have access to paid sick days.
Low-wage workers are the most likely to be left twisting in the
wind".
Read the full opinion piece at The Tyee here.
PUBLIC HEALTH NEWS, UPDATES, & RESOURCES
- Island Health continues to ignore concerns Re: North Vancouver Island hospitals labs. Thousands of people have expressed their concerns to Island Health, Ministry of Health and politicians regarding significant, serious problems in our North Vancouver Island Hospitals Labs caused by unnecessary centralization of clinical pathology to a private for profit Victoria based corporation. Read press release HERE.
-
Hospice Month Wildflower Bloom Campaign
On May 3, the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) kicked off Hospice Month with our first annual Wildflower Bloom Campaign to help raise awareness and funds for hospices across the province and territory. For more information, please visit their website HERE.
- Health care providers, advocates sound alarm over stalled action on pharmacare. Read more HERE.
- COVID-19: Leaked reports show B.C. health authorities withholding data from the public. B.C. doesn’t make anywhere near the same level of detail available to the public as other provinces. READ MORE.
- Why Is Surrey BC’s Hottest COVID Spot? Here’s Why Communities Become Hotspots. Read more HERE and HERE.
- "A Year in Review: Towards a New (Bio)ethics?" gathers interdisciplinary scholars, ethicists, and computational scientists for critical discussion about COVID-19 and the push for tech “solutions,” with a focus on Black and Indigenous communities. Find the event HERE.

Click HERE to donate to
the BC Health Coalition
Donations by cheque can be made out to BC Health Coalition and mailed to BC Health Coalition 302-3102 Main Street Vancouver BC V5T 3G7.
If you would like to set up monthly donations by cheque, please fill out this Donation Form and mail it in with a void cheque.
website: www.bchealthcoalition.ca
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
British Columbia Health Coalition · 3102 Main St, 302,
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories, BC V5T 3G7, Canada
This email was sent to s43. To stop receiving
r46.
You can also keep up with BC Health Coalition
on Twitter
or Facebook.
Created with NationBuilder, the essential toolkit for leaders.