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The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE) helped raise $97,000 to an outdoor hockey rink for Lubicon Cree in Northern Alberta.
Ottawa (15 Feb. 2011) It was a dream of the children of Little Buffalo to have an outdoor hockey rink to spend time together in a positive environment. Now, the community of about 500 Lubicon Cree, located 100 kilometres northeast of Peace River, have had that dream fulfilled.
Through the Albert Federation of Labour (AFL), unions, including the the Health Services Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE), employers and human-rights activists were brought together to work on a project to improve the lives of a forgotten First Nations community in Alberta. The group raised $97,000 to help fund the construction.
Despite the wealth of the province due to the extraction of oil and gas resources from the Lubicon territory, the communities live in some of the poorest conditions lacking the most basic necessities and struggling on a daily basis.
Despite the seemingly overwhelming issues faced by the Lubicon, they found allies to help make a difference in the lives of band members. Operation Hockey was launched in July 2010 by the Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee of the AFL and Amnesty International.
HSAA president Elisabeth Ballermann attended the inaugural hockey game on the new rink. View that game here.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE