2026 PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering

Strengthening Our Community by Learning, Sharing, and Honouring Our Cultures

To: ​​PSAC Locals/Branches in the B.C. Region

• Gathering details: November 13-15, 2026
• Conference location: Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront, 1133 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 3T3
• Application Deadline: Friday, September 4, 2026, 11:59 PM Pacific Time Zone

We are pleased to inform members that the 2026 PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering will be held in person Friday, November 13 through Sunday, November 15, 2026. All delegates are expected to attend the full Gathering.

More information about travel and loss of salary will be available as part of the full delegate’s package, which you will receive on confirmation of registration.

We encourage you to personally inform PSAC Indigenous members in your area to ensure they are made aware of this Gathering. In workplaces where members continue to work from home, please share with your contacts or ask to post the information on the Union’s electronic bulletin board (if there is one at your workplace).

Gathering Objectives

The 2026 PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering, held under the theme “Strengthening our Community by Learning, Sharing and Honouring our Cultures,” will bring Indigenous members together in the spirit of respect, relationship, and reciprocity. Through cultural teachings, workshops, sharing circles, and meaningful dialogue, participants will strengthen connections, honour our diverse Nations and traditions, and build collective capacity.

Guided by five core pillars identified by the Organizing Committee, the Gathering seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Honour Cultural Roots and Ancestral Strength
  • Root our gathering in intergenerational respect by celebrating the land, traditions, and protocols passed down through generations.
  • Draw collective strength from cultural practices to ground our work moving forward.
• Cultivate Lateral Kindness and Healing Communities
  • Address the systemic impacts of lateral violence within our workplaces and communities.
  • o Establish strategies to practice lateral kindness as a traditional tool for building safe, supportive, and healthy environments.
• Amplify Collective Voices and Build Leadership Capacity
  • Enhance our capacity as Indigenous leaders across our workplaces, communities, and the union.
  • Redefine leadership frameworks to reflect traditional community values and collective representation.
• Leverage Union Tools to Empower Indigenous Members
  • Utilize union resources, collective agreements, and platforms to strengthen and expand the Indigenous community within PSAC BC
  • Champion our collective bargaining voice to advocate for meaningful workplace equity and safety.
• Clarify Roles and Align Governance Pathways
  • Demystify the distinct roles, responsibilities, and connections of the National Indigenous Peoples Circle (NIPC).
  • Empower Indigenous members in the PSAC BC Region to engage with NIPC to advance regional and national priorities.     

The Gathering Organizing Committee is working hard on inviting engaging speakers, offering relevant and action-oriented workshops and other additional activities. We hope to share this information as it is confirmed during the weeks of the application process.

Gathering Information

The Gathering will begin Friday, November 13 at 3:00 PM at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront with registration taking place from 12 to 2 pm. The Gathering will recess for the day at 6 PM.

The Summit will continue Saturday morning at 9 AM until 5 PM and reconvene on Sunday at 9 AM. The Summit will adjourn 2 PM on Sunday, November 15, 2026. 

Delegates who reside within 60 kilometres of the venue:

• Will be entitled to claim loss of salary for Friday (and Saturday and Sunday if normally scheduled to work). There will be no overtime compensation;
• Will be entitled to claim meal allowances on the Friday as per the PSAC Travel Policy as well as KMs or reimbursement of transit fares, and self-parking charges (if incurred);
• Will be entitled to claim a $50 per day allowance (or actual cost if higher) for the Saturday and Sunday;
• Hotel accommodation will not be provided.

Delegates who reside more than 60 kilometres from the venue will be considered as in travel status, which means the following costs will be covered:

• Will be entitled to salary for Friday (and Saturday and Sunday if normally scheduled to work). There will be no overtime compensation;
• Travel costs, including ground transportation;
• Meal and incidental allowances (except those provided) as per the PSAC Travel Policy;
• Hotel accommodation costs at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel;
• Hotel onsite self-parking: parking is available at the Hotel for $47 per night. To use this service, delegates will need to register their vehicle’s licenses plate with the Hotel upon check-in. Alternatively, several off-site parking lots are located within a 5-10 minute walk from the hotel. One convenient resource for finding these parking alternatives is SpotHero.

Accommodation for disabilities

The PSAC Accommodation Policy strives to ensure that PSAC events are barrier-free for members with disabilities. Members are asked to specify their accommodation needs to facilitate their participation at the PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering on the delegate application form.

Family care

The objective of the PSAC Family Care Policy is to remove one of the barriers which prevents participants from attending Union activities and which provides for the reimbursement of family care expenses. A copy of the policy is available on the PSAC website here.

On-site childcare is intended to remove a barrier to a participants’ ability to attend at the Gathering and is provided only for those who could not otherwise attend, had the service not been available. Requests must be received no later than Friday, September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific. (Please ensure to include this information with your application form).

PSAC policies: anti-harassment, scent-free and smoke-free environment

During the Gathering, and at all events associated with the Gathering, the PSAC Anti-Harassment, Smoke-free Environment and Scent-free Environment policies will be in effect. Please refrain from using scented products of any type.

If you have any questions with respect to the Gathering, please contact Angela George​​​​ (GeorgeA@psac-afpc.com) for any administrative inquiries or Alex (Vital) Stuit (StuitA@psac-afpc.com).

Selection of Delegates

If you are selected as a delegate to this Gathering, you will be advised by email and/or telephone call. Please ensure you provide us with your contact coordinates that you will have access to during the month of August and September 2026.

We look forward to having Indigenous members in the PSAC BC Region gather to meet, build, encourage, and show solidarity.

In Solidarity,

Jamey Mills ​​​​
Public Service Alliance of Canada
Regional Executive Vice-President, BC​​

Darien Gomez
PSAC BC Regional Council
Indigenous Peoples Coordinator

Please apply for the Gathering using the application form below.

The deadline to apply for the 2026 PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering is Friday, September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

I am a PSAC B.C. member in good standing who self-declares as an Indigenous person. *

• Yes

An Indigneous person is a member of a First Nation, a Métis or an Inuit community. Only members who self-declare as Indigenous can attend this Gathering. For further clarification of Indigenous Peoples, please see the “Equity Group Identification” section below.

Personal information

Name *

First

Last

Preferred (personal) Email *

Not employer email, please.

Other Email

Not employer email, please.

PSAC ID number *

Cell phone *

or your home phone number if no cell

Work phone

Home address *

Address Line 1

Address Line 2

City

State / Province / Region

Postal Code

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Workplace information

Component / DCL *choose …AGRCEIUCIUDCLGSUUCTEUHEWUNDEUNEUPCEUSJEUTEUVAE

Please provide the name of your DCL.

Local / Branch number *

Participant Profile

Important note: The responses to these questions will be used in the selection process for participants to the Gathering.

To ensure that the Gathering responds to the needs of members, we invite you to complete the following questions.

How would you describe your connection to the Indigenous community? *

This would include First Nations, Inuit, or Métis Communities.

Would you like to share which Indigenous Community or Nation you belong to? *

• Yes
• No

If you answered yes above, please share which Indigenous Community or Nation you belong to here.

This is my first PSAC Indigenous Peoples Gathering. *

• Yes
• No

If you have recently attended other PSAC or Component events (such as conferences, courses, etc.), please list which events and describe how they have impacted your union activism.

I am involved in Indigenous rights in my union, workplace, and/or community. *

• Yes
• No

If you answered yes above, please provide details.

Please share why you are applying to attend this Gathering. *

Please let us know what you would like to learn and bring back from this Gathering. *

Equity self-ID

PSAC members who belong to the following groups are invited to self-declare. This information is voluntary and kept confidential and will be used for the purposes of supporting our equity initiatives and programs. Please check all that apply.

I am a Person with a Disability.

• Yes

For equity purposes, person with disabilities means persons who experience barriers arising from impairments of a physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning nature.

I am an Indigenous person.

• Yes

An Indigenous Person is a member of a First Nation, a Métis or an Inuit community.

I am a Woman.

• Yes

I am a Racialized person.

• Yes

A racialized person in Canada is non-white in colour or race, regardless of place of birth.

I am a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

• Yes

(Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Persons, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, other sexual or gender identities which are part of the community)

I am 35 years of age and under.

• Yes

What is your year of birth?

PSAC Contact Lists

• Please add my name and contact information to one or more of our respective PSAC Equity and other PSAC Regional Committee contact lists.
• Please add my name and contact information to the PSAC BC Regional Newsletter distribution list.

Pronouns

Please indicate your pronouns (she, he, they, zhe, etc.) below:

More information on pronouns and building trans-inclusive workspaces can be found here.

Loss of salary and expenses

The following information will only be used if you are selected as a delegate to the Gathering.

Please identify if you will require loss of salary to be covered. In most cases, a full day will be needed to arrive in time for the program on Friday.

If you require Loss of Salary for Saturday or Sunday, please indicate below (for budget tracking purposes).

If selected as a Delegate, I will require an advance for expenses associated with the Gathering. *

• Yes
• No

I will need approximately $:

If selected as a Delegate, I will require loss of salary reimbursement or Leave With Pay coverage. *

• Yes
• No

Classification/Step or Hourly Wage

Number of Hours Loss of Salary Required

Which day(s) do you require loss of salary?

Time of shifts for loss of salary (e.g. 2 PM to 5 PM on Friday)

Accommodation for Disabilities

The following information will only be used if you are selected as a participant to the Gathering.

The PSAC Accommodation Policy strives to ensure that PSAC events are barrier-free for members with disabilities. Once selected as a delegate, members will be asked to specify their accommodation needs in order to facilitate their participation at this Gathering.

I am a member with a disability and require accommodation.

• Yes

You may be required to provide relevant medical documentation that will assist us to respond to your request. This information will not be disclosed except where necessary to respond to your request for accommodation.

What are the functional limitations arising from your disability?

You are not obliged to disclose your diagnosis, only your functional limitations.

• I require that the PSAC arrange for a personal care attendant to assist me in order for me to fully participate at the Gathering.
• I require documentation in alternative media.
• I require sound amplification.
• I require sign language interpretation.
• I require an oral interpretation.
• I require that the PSAC arrange for a Reader (for a person with a visually related disability) to assist me in order for me to fully participate at the Gathering.
• I will be using animal assistance (i.e. guide dog) at the Gathering.

If you require specific accommodation for a disability in your hotel room, specify here

The PSAC has reserved a block of rooms at the Hilton Metrotown for participants in travel status. This hotel is unionized and accessible.

If you have dietary requirements or allergies that the PSAC should be aware of, please specify them here:

Family care

The objective of the PSAC Family Care Policy is to remove one of the barriers which prevents members from participating fully in Union activities and which provides for the reimbursement of family care expenses. A copy of the policy is available on the PSAC website at www.psacunion.ca/family-care-policy.

On-site childcare is intended to remove a barrier to participation at the Gathering and is provided only for those who could not otherwise attend, had the service not been available. Requests must be received no later than Friday, September 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM Pacific.

If there are any requests by delegates, on-site childcare will be provided at the Gathering for the activities outlined in the agenda. Please ensure this is requested in your application.

I require on-site child care

• Yes

Enter the number of children, their names and ages here.

We will follow-up for additional information.

Mode of Transportation

Please indicate your preferred mode of travel. Delegates are expected to travel by the most direct, economical means. Please provide relevant details below.

• Air
• Bus
• Ferry
• Personal Motor Vehicle
• Carpool

Carpooling Details

Please provide any relevant details here.

Emergency contact

Please indicate a name and telephone number for someone we should contact in case an emergency arises while you are participating at the Gathering.

Name

Emergency contact phone number

Relationship to the delegate

Last Section

Is there anything else you would like to add to your application?

With this application, I agree that, if selected, I will attend and participate in all sessions of the PSAC BC Indigenous Peoples Gathering, scheduled for Friday, November 13 through Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Submit