Health Science Association of Alberta (HSAA) members took to the sidewalks outside of the Foothills Medical Centre and the Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre on Oct. 2, to protest the government’s last offer contract offer to the union.

The HSAA members rejected a tentative offer put forward by the Government of Alberta by 59.4 per cent on Sept. 10, however, the union did not call for strike action and has instead asked for continued negotiations towards a deal.

Members at the Chumir protest were wearing pins saying that they were ready to strike if the need arose. The HSAA represents 30,000 health care workers such as paramedics, social workers, respiratory therapists, and health facilitators, among others.

HSAA Calgary District Board Member Sondra Baker said that HSAA members were being asked to continually do more with less, and that burnout among healthcare providers has led to caregiver fatigue for some.

“That’s the last thing we want, because we care so much for our patients. We care so much for Albertans, but there’s only so much we can do. We’re human at the end of the day, and we’re tired,” she said.

“We’re really trying to work out a better pay for our members. We’re trying to work out more staffing. We need more health care staff. We have some of our staff members and some of our departments, like my own, in Indigenous health, but we’re not able to hire.”

Were the government willing to make an agreement with the HSAA that would meet the needs of the members, they would be thrilled she said. In the meantime, the association would continue to do whatever it could to support members.

“We’re willing to do whatever it takes for our members, whatever means necessary, but we really want to come together and work collaboratively with the government and with Albertans, and be able to just get back to our jobs that we so drastically love,” said Baker.

HSAA Board Member Shawn Lorenz said that the HSAA Day of Unity was being held in order to bring attention to the needs of HSAA members.

“The government needs to fund us. Albertans deserve a well-funded, well-resourced health care system and being treated by professionals,” he said.

“We know that Albertans, in general, support health care workers. Like 81 per cent are concerned that our members are going to leave and make the system a little bit worse, and 80 per cent of them support us getting a raise that will support our members to stay in the job and staying in Alberta.”

Protest at Chumir not tied to SCS issues

The protest being held outside of the Chumir, said Lorenz, was not tied to any political issues around the health care centre, but rather to support HSAA workers.

Calgary-Currie MLA Janet Eremenko, who attended the protest, said that the government had been able to dodge some strikes earlier in 2025, but that workers have continued to ask for respectful deals from the government.

“Instead, we’re getting a totally anti-working, anti-worker agenda, and it’s doing some very real damage to the workers and to the front line services that we all count on,” she said.

Eremenko said that the province was now in a labour crisis with multiple strike actions that could have been avoided.

“The bridge building could have started long before this. They’re playing politics. This is ideology over pragmatism and just some common sense considerations around investing in the system where it’s actually needed and where it’s actually felt by families like yours and mine,” she said.

“It didn’t have to get here. I hope, certainly, that days of action like this that are happening down here at the Chumir and across the province, at minimum, will amplify and increase the visibility of just how important this cause is and how it impacts our everyday lives.”

Minister of Finance Nate Horner said on Sept. 10 that he was disappointed the government and the HSAA could not reach an agreement.

“I note that unlike other failed ratifications involving a mediator’s (third-party) recommendations, the tentative agreement was based on terms and conditions proposed by HSAA and recommended by the union to their members. It is now up to the union to determine why the ratification vote failed regarding their own proposed deal,” he said.

“Alberta’s government remains ready to return to the bargaining table when the union and its bargaining team, gain a better understanding of their members’ interests and priorities. Out of respect for the bargaining process, I have no further comment at this time.”