The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital - The community is mobilizing

SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BELLEVUE, QC, Dec. 13, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - The Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec region (PSAC-Quebec), the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees (UVAE) and the entire veterans' community are mobilizing to save the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital.

"While negotiations between the federal government and the Government of Quebec on the last veterans' hospital in Canada are continuing, the union and the veterans' community are wondering about the fate that will befall veterans residing at the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital if it is amalgamated with the CSSS de l'Ouest de l'Île," said UVAE president Yvan Thauvette.

To ensure that the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec negotiators do not forget how important the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Hospital is to those who hold it dear to their hearts, a demonstration will be organized this Thursday at noon.

The details are as follows:

Date and time:	December 15, 2011 at noon
Lieu:	Gathering in front of the Harpell Centre at 60 St. Pierre Street, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
March:	Demonstrators will march along boul. des Anciens Combattants to the Hospital
Who:	Michael L. Blais, CD, Founder/Director, Canadian Veterans Advocacy
	Yvan Thauvette, UVAE President
	Magali Picard, Vice-President, UVAE

PSAC-Quebec and the UVAE are demanding that a single entity be maintained as a condition for the transfer of the hospital from the federal government to the Government of Quebec.  The union maintains this is essential to preserving the quality of services that veterans are entitled to receive.

PSAC represents more than 178,000 members across Canada.  An FTQ affiliate, PSAC-Quebec has more than 40,000 members in the federal public sector, including 600 members of the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees working at the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue hospital.

PSAC-Quebec also has members in Quebec universities and in the private sector. 

For further information:

Patrick Leblanc, political attaché, PSAC-Québec, 514-706-5997, [e-mail]