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  

2013

Annual Convention

Report  

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.