Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

At their meeting earlier this week, the PSAC National Board of Directors adopted a resolution brought forward by REVP Kay Sinclair, which commits the PSAC to lobbying the federal government to accept the counsel of enlightened medical and law enforcement professionals and support the work of Insite. Similar resolutions have been adopted by the BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress.

• Read the text of the resolution.

Insite, located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, commenced operation in 2003 and is North America’s only safe injection site for IV drug users. Dedicated to the principle of harm reduction, the goal of Insite is to prevent overdoses and the spread of blood-borne diseases and to provide a point of access to health and detoxification services for drug users.

• Read more about Insite here.

In the face of the federal government’s apparent intent to let Insite’s license to operate expire, the British Columbia Supreme Court extended the facility’s license for one year and directed the government to redraft its drug laws in order to accommodate Insite’s operations. The Harper government has announced that it will appeal the judgment.

Regional Executive VP Kay Sinclair drafted the resolution below for the BCFL Convention last week. It hit the floor on Friday and was passed.

Emergency resolution #12 - Status of Women Canada

Because the Conservative government is cutting the budget for Status of Women Canada by $5 million dollars and announced this week it is closing 12 regional offices including Vancouver and Toronto - the two largest; and

Because the cuts and closures will result in the loss of workers’ jobs and the important community and social development work in support of women’s equality;

The Federation Will, with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), condemn the actions of the Harper government in cutting funding for the Status of Women, call for the immediate cancellation of the cuts and closures and the reinstatement of the community liaison and equality work; and

The Federation Will call for the immediate resignation of Bev Oda, Minister responsible for Status of Women Canada, and call upon Harper to appoint a woman Minister who actually understands women’s issues and supports women’s equality (someone from outside of the Conservative government), who is supported by feminist and equality-seeking women’s groups.

PSAC