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Closure of Halifax facility of Canadian Blood Services would leave only two centres in Canada – Toronto and Calgary.
Halifax (25 June 2009) - The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union (NSGEU/NUPGE) has started a campaign to convince Canadian Blood Services not to close testing services in Halifax.
The union says the closure decision, announced in March, contradicts recommendations in a 2002 report by the agency. The report called for a blood donor testing facility in each of the three main regions of Canada to maintain a reliable blood delivery service.
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"According to their own report, the geographical challenges of our country make it necessary to have three sites - Calgary in the Western region, Toronto in the Central region and Halifax in the Atlantic region," NSGEU says.
The union has begun a letter writing campaign to convince key leaders that the closure should be reversed. It is asking its members and the public to send letters to Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services; Leona Aglukkaq, federal minister of health, and Maureen MacDonald, Nova Scotia health minister.
"There are risks associated with reliable transportation where climate conditions are increasingly unpredictable," NSGEU says in a draft letter to the leaders.
"There are risks associated with only having two sites for our entire country where one lab can be shut down due to a pandemic or contamination. There are risks associated with a big box approach to blood testing compromising Atlantic Canadian service. Time frames for blood delivery are finite. Two blood donor testing facilities for the entire country are not enough."
NUPGE
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
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Send a letter now to Graham Sher, Leona Aglukkaq and Maureen MacDonald