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"We hope this financial assistance will go some way to helping these young people achieve their dreams." — James Clancy, NUPGE National President
Ottawa (02 Oct. 2015) — Each year, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) offers four scholarships that reflect its pursuit of equal opportunity for all workers. They are offered to the children and grandchildren and the foster children and grandchildren of current or retired NUPGE members who are starting a post-secondary education in a public educational institution. The National Union is pleased to announce the winners of these awards.
Scholarship for Aboriginal People
Kassidy Jerome is the daughter of Victoria Jerome, a member of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU/NUPGE) and the granddaughter of Dorothy Young (SGEU/NUPGE), a retired SGEU/NUPGE member. Recognizing that “many Aboriginal people in Canada live in poverty and suffer from poor health,” Kassidy called on governments to ensure that they provide quality public services for Aboriginal People that demonstrate positive outcomes.
She stated that: “We as a society have an obligation to support quality public services that demonstrate they have a positive impact on the vulnerable and underprivileged in our at risk communities…Working together with Aboriginal partners will assist in creating quality public services which are so very important in enhancing the quality of life for First Nations, Inuit and Métis citizens of Canada.”
Scholarship for visible minorities
Matthew Lee is the son of Andria Lee, a member of Health Sciences Association of British Columbia (HSABC/NUPGE). Reflecting upon his own family’s experience immigrating to Canada, Matthew wrote about the role of unions in providing quality public services to provide a better quality of life for all workers, including those who are visible minorities.
Matthew states: “Our working family is an example of how the unions have supported, and advocated for the under-represented and disadvantaged workers — to ensure that high quality public services can enhance the quality of life of visible minorities.”
Terry Fox Memorial Scholarship
Gavin Jaeger-Freeborn is the son of Diane Jaeger of Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE).
In his essay, Gavin recognized that health care is available to all Canadians but that
“people with disabilities often require access to additional health care services that are knowledgeable about their disability. It is essential that public services create equitable health services that include everyone from maintenance to public health care. Without these public services people with disabilities may not receive the correct treatment to minimize the limitations of their disability.”
Tommy Douglas Scholarship
Sara Wang is the daughter of Yanfei Chen of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union (MGEU/NUPGE).
In her essay, reflecting on Tommy Douglas’ life, Sara noted that: “Tommy Douglas grew up in a Canada without universal health care, strong worker protection or [a] social safety net. By the end of his career, they were all healthy realities. His colossal contributions still impact every single Canadian citizen today so much that it is impossible to imagine Canada without Medicare, nation-wide pension plans or labour rights.”
"The contributions of these young people were so well written and filled with such insight," said James Clancy, NUPGE National President, "that we hope this financial assistance will go some way to helping them achieve their dreams."
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NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 360,000 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