PSAC BC 2023 regional scholarship program
PSAC BC is pleased to announce the 2023 regional scholarship program is now open. This is the second year PSAC BC has offered these scholarships, which were supported by delegates to the 2021 BC regional convention.
The program consists of three scholarships in the amount of $1,500 which will be awarded to PSAC BC members, their spouses or partners, or their dependent children who will be attending university, college, or a recognized institute of higher learning on a full or part-time basis in the fall of 2023.
PSAC BC scholarships are awarded based on the merit of a 750–850-word essay, YouTube video, infographic, song, or other creative submission answering the scholarship question below.
Scholarship Question – Truth and Reconciliation in the union movement
Question: Almost 8 years after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, what role do you believe unions have to play in the process of reconciliation?
How can unions look inwards, at their own structures, practices and histories to consider how they might have participated in and benefited from historic and current forms of colonization? In your response, please include the following:
What do you think unions should look at specifically?
Have you seen or participated in any action or project that you believe was a meaningful and significant gesture towards truth and reconciliation? What do you think the union movement here in Canada and the PSAC specifically could learn from this action?
Background for this question
In 2015, in preparation for the release of its final report, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada developed a definition of reconciliation. It defined it as:
an ongoing individual and collective process [that] will require commitment from all those affected including First Nations, Inuit and Métis former Indian Residential School (irs) students, their families, communities, religious entities, former school employees, government and the people of Canada. Reconciliation may occur between any of the above groups.
Alongside this definition, the Commission created 10 principles to help guide the work of this ongoing process. Please use principles 4, 9 and 10 as well as these reports published or created by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to guide your answers to the questions.
- Principle 4: Reconciliation requires constructive action on addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism that have had destructive impacts on Indigenous peoples’ education, cultures and languages, health, child welfare, the administration of justice, and economic opportunities and prosperity.
- Principle 9: Reconciliation requires political will, joint leadership, trust building, accountability, and transparency, as well as a substantial investment of resources.
- Principle 10: Reconciliation requires sustained public education and dialogue, including youth engagement, about the history and legacy of residential schools, Treaties, and Indigenous rights, as well as the historical and contemporary contributions of Indigenous peoples to Canadian society.
Applicants
Applicants must either be a PSAC BC member in good standing, or the spouse/partner or dependent child of a PSAC BC member in good standing as of May 1, 2023.
Apply using the form below, prior to the deadline of National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21, 2022 at 12PM PT. For more information about the regional scholarships, email REVP-BC@psac-afpc.com.
the deadline is now past, thank you to everyone who applied.