HEU's Equity Standing Committees are elected every two years at the Equity Conference.
Equity Standing Committees (ESCs) were established to increase equity-seeking members' involvement in the union, and propose and advise on programs to eliminate discrimination and inequality within the Union and the workplace.
HEU's Equity Standing Committees are:
- Ethnic Diversity (people of colour) Committee
- Indigenous Peoples Committee
- People with Disabilities Committee
- Pink Triangle (2SLGBTQIA+) Committee
- 2-Spirit, Women and Non-binary Committee
- Young Workers (up to age 35) Committee
- Older Persons (55 years+) Committee
Learn more about HEU's Equity Standing Committees
Each ESC includes seven members: four elected and three appointed.
Committee elections
The elected seats on the committees will selected by the committee's respective caucus on the last day of the Equity Conference. In total, 28 committee spots (four spots for each of the seven committees) will be elected at the Equity Conference.
In addition, four alternate seats for each committee will also be elected at the conference. Alternates are called up to fill in if there is an absence by one of the committee members.
You can declare your intention to run for an ESC position up to 5:00 p.m. on March 12, 2025 at the Equity Conference. You may only run for one position. Elections will take place using run-off/ranked ballot vote on the last day of the Equity Conference.
Committee appointments
Three of the seven seats on each Equity Standing Committee will be appointed after the Equity Conference. You can put your name forward to appointed up to March 13, 2025 (the last day of the Equity Conference).
Members who ran for an elected spot can also be considered for an appointment.
Appointed seats are chosen to ensure that committees have some of the following representation:
• intersectional representation (overlapping equity group identities);
• representation from different health care sectors;
• geographic regions that are less-represented
Appointed members will be notified by March 31, 2025.
- What is the time commitment for being a member of an Equity Standing Committee?
ESC members are appointed/elected for two-year terms.
Committees meet four times per year for one full-day meeting, either in-person or online. Union leave, travel, accommodations and per diems are provided to committee members so that they can participate in these regular meetings.
Committees also frequently connect outside of meetings by phone, email and/or other platforms to discuss important issues, provide feedback, and plan events.
- What other responsibilities do Equity Standing Committee members have?
Committees produce annual project plans and receive annual budget allocations from the HEU Provincial Executive to carry out Committee projects and initiatives that increase the involvement of equity-seeking members