Media Contacts

Ministry of Health

Communications
250 952-1887

Jeremy Deutsch

Media Relations
Vancouver Coastal Health
media@vch.ca
604 202-2012 (after-hours)

Backgrounders

What people are saying about repatriating food-service workers in VCH

Harry Bains, Minister of Labour –

“All workers deserve stable employment that treats them with dignity and respect. Years ago, dedicated people who worked hard to provide quality services to support their families unfairly lost their jobs. They had to reapply – at lower wages, and without previously negotiated seniority and other collective agreement protections – for their own positions. I am so gratified to see that terrible injustice now be corrected.”

Bowinn Ma, MLA for North Vancouver-Lonsdale –

“Previous government actions cut the wages of health-care service workers and took away jobs they relied on. For our North Vancouver community, these critical workers at Lions Gate Hospital and Evergreen House stepped up when we’ve needed them the most. This homecoming returns to them fair wages. There are no words to describe how thrilled I am that we’re now able to welcome them back into the public service.”

Susie Chant, MLA for North Vancouver-Seymour –

“Our government is committed to building a strong public health-care system that cares for patients and treats all its workers with the respect they deserve. Repatriating workers is not only good policy, it’s also the right thing to do.”

Nicholas Simons, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast –

“Food-service workers provide an essential service to patients, residents of care homes and front-line health care workers. These workers have spent time looking after us, and we have a responsibility to look after them.”

Vivian Eliopoulos, president and CEO, Vancouver Coastal Health –

“Vancouver Coastal Health values the partnership we’ve had with food-services staff, and we are very pleased to welcome them back to VCH. Food-services staff play a critical role in providing for the nutritional needs of patients, clients and residents across our acute and community sites. We greatly appreciate the contributions of our food-services staff over the years and we look forward to their reintegration, which will enhance the experiences of those we care for every day.”

Meena Brisard, secretary-business manager, Hospital Employees’ Union –

“The return of food-service workers to the public system is a recognition that these workers are critical to patient care and safety. By bringing these workers back in-house, the provincial government is reversing nearly two decades of privatization that fragmented our public health-care system, while devastating the lives of thousands health-care workers, most of whom are women or racialized workers.”

Workers being repatriated at Vancouver Coastal Health

Contractor: Sodexo

Repatriation date: July 22, 2022 (Coastal Community of Care worksites)

  • Berkley Care Centre: 33
  • Cedarview Lodge and Cedar Garden Assisted Living: 20
  • All Sechelt (Sechelt Hospital, Totem Lodge, Sumac Place, Shorncliffe Village Care Home): 27
  • Lions Gate Hospital (Patient & Retail), Evergreen House: 125
  • Powell River General Hospital, Evergreen ECU, Willingdon Creek Village: 49
  • Squamish General Hospital, Hilltop House: 29