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It’s great to get a few minutes to chat with you a bit about our work and my role in it. The weird thing about this new role that I have is that there is no real job description – sure the constitution mandates a few of the specific tasks – finances (which you’ll hear more about tomorrow), record keeping, and human resources for our Executive Director and Executive Liaison, but I soon realized that I…
Good morning, Well, it’s great to be with you all this morning. Are you all having a pretty good time so far? I think we’re going to have a great couple of days together. I can’t tell you the number of hours of work that goes into putting a convention like this together – mostly because I have no idea. All I know is that we’ve been thinking about this, planning it and putting it together…
Your home is destroyed by fire. You’re six months pregnant. You’re separated from your husband and two children as you flee the flames. Would you look back on that a year later and say it was a blessing? That’s how HSAA member Jennifer Oger and her husband David see what happened to them when the Beast of Fort Mac burned through their lives in May 2016. “The blessings during that time were incredible,” says David, one…
Photographed above: HSAA member Ayed Saad enjoys a Canadian experience – Tim Hortons. “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” Victor Borge, 1909-2000, Danish and American musician and humorist. He was also a refugee from war. As a Danish Jew, he fled when the Germans invaded Denmark. He arrived in the U.S. with only $20. Smiles may be the furthest thing from our minds when we think of Syrian refugees fleeing from war, but they may prove…
The following guest opinion column was published in the Edmonton Journal on Jan. 3, 2017. The family, originally expected to arrive in October, finally made it to Calgary after Christmas. Photographed above is the family of four being welcomed by HSAA members and supporters. Photographed below is Social Justice Committee chair Faika Satterthwaite hugging one of the children. This week, a Syrian refugee family of four arrives in Alberta to begin a new, safe life…
Worried about bringing Syrian refugees to Canada from Lebanon? Don’t be, says Sam Nammoura, co-founder of the volunteer Syrian Refugees Support Group. This family hasn’t just been screened, it’s been “extreme vetted” three times. The first vetting was by Lebanese security. “They have their own way of [determining] who is coming in, who they are, who they are associated with. If there is anybody who might cause a threat to Lebanon, they will be removed or…
This guest opinion column was published in the Edmonton Journal on Feb. 28, 2017. In an age of “alternative facts” and divisive politics, we can all agree on this: Alberta needs jobs. Lots of stable, well-paying jobs. What’s the best way to create new jobs and protect existing ones? To steal a familiar line: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Surprised to hear the president of a public-sector union discuss the importance of the economy? Don’t be. Public-sector…
It’s government’s #1 job: making sure you can count on health care when you and your family need it. After years of cuts, neglect and privatization, Alberta’s health care system is stretched pretty thin. But the good news is, we’re finally seeing long-overdue investments and improvements in our hospitals and health care. The bad news is, politicians and the UCP are talking about more cuts and privatization. Cuts are too risky. We know the kind of…
Our system is stretched pretty thin. Alberta’s health care system is stretched pretty thin from years of cuts, privatization, and neglect. We’re finally seeing some long-overdue investments and improvements in our hospitals and health care, but politicians and the UCP are talking about more cuts and privatization – as if they haven’t learned their lesson. Cuts are too risky. HSAA members deliver vital services to Albertans every day so we know first hand the kind of…
We’re right here – not in Bangalore, Ireland, the Maritimes or the southern U.S. – and we’re here to help you! When people hear “call centre,” they sometimes picture workers in cubicles in some far-fetched corner of the globe, toiling in anonymity, linked to the caller seeking assistance only by a phone line. That’s not how we work. HSAA’s call centre is in our new HQ in Edmonton. The Members Resource Centre (MRC) agents are direct,…
