41st Annual Convention 2013

2013

Annual Convention

Report

The 41st Annual Convention of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan was held on October 24 & 25, 2013 at the Delta Hotel in Regina. The Convention was well attended by Delegates and staff.

October 24, 2013

The Convention kicked off with a new addition to the agenda, the Members’ Forum. Delegates were surveyed in advance to select three topics that they wanted to ask questions on. The topics selected were the Market Supplement program, Staffing Levels, and Vacancy Management. Delegates were given an introduction to each topic, and then were given an opportunity to ask questions and discuss that topic. HSAS Labour Relations Officer (LRO) Kate Robinson provided the introductions, answered questions, and highlighted some of the challenges HSAS has faced.

After a short break, Delegates were given the opportunity to ask questions about the proposed Constitution and Bylaws. The proposed Constitution and Bylaws were a project of the Constitution Committee (now Governance Committee) in the past year. This project was undertaken upon direction from HSAS Executive Council. Executive Council wished to see these foundation documents in a format that was logical and easy to reference for members.

The evening took Delegates to the Members’ Social, which was an opportunity for Delegates to chat with each other, with staff, and members.

October 25, 2013

The Annual General Meeting was the first item held in the morning. This meeting included a review of the Financial Statements and reports from the President and the Executive Director.

A motion was passed to repeal the existing bylaws, last amended on October 28, 2011, and replace them with the proposed Constitution and Bylaws. Finally, the Roberta Eckberg Award was presented to Karen Kinar (Executive Council representative and Treasurer) in recognition of

her outstanding, long standing commitment and contribution to furthering and promoting the vision, well being and interests of HSAS.

After lunch, Dr. Timothy Christie, Director of Ethics Services for Regional Health Authority B in New Brunswick, gave a presentation on “Ethics in Health Care”. The presentation was thought provoking and everyone was very engaged in the speech, and the ethical dilemma cases presented to the audience for their input and discussion.

Finally, our very own LROs, Mario Kijkowski, Garnet Dishaw, and Kevin Glass each spent some time talking about what it is like to be an LRO for HSAS. Mario Kijkowski spoke to how an LRO typically finds themselves in the middle of conflict between various parties, for example, conflict between individual members, management, and opposing groups of members. He explained how often times the end result are solutions which don’t make participants happy, but at the very best there is a "rough justice". Kevin Glass spoke about our Grievance procedure, including the process of going to Arbitration. Garnet Dishaw spoke about the history of labour, and how Unions have helped make the labour environment what it is today.

He encouraged attendees to take pride in being union members, and urged them to make an effort to instill a pro-­‐union amongst their fellow union members.

The 2014 Annual Convention will be held on October 23 & 24, 2014 in Saskatoon.