Brooks Local President Heather Fournier honoured with UNA Bread & Roses Award 

Heather Fournier, president of Local 191 at the Brooks Health Centre, was honoured with the 2026 UNA Bread and Roses Award at the AGM on October 28.

“For more than 14 years, Heather has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the United Nurses of Alberta and to the members she represents,” wrote the UNA Local 191 members who nominated Fournier for the award. “During the past two years as local vice-president, she has consistently exemplified servant leadership through active participation at the local, employer and provincial levels, ensuring the voices of frontline health care workers are heard and respected.”

A Registered Nurse at the hospital in Brooks, Fournier served as Local 191 vice-president before stepping into the role of president in 2026. She has served on both the professional responsibility and occupational health and safety committees, where she is known for working collaboratively with colleagues and the employer to improve working conditions, promote staff safety and advocate for high-quality patient care.

“One of her most significant accomplishments has been her evidence-based advocacy for improved staffing,” wrote Fournier’s nominators. “Recognizing the impact staffing shortages were having on both patients and staff, she independently collected and analyzed unit data, carefully documenting trends and presenting well-supported recommendations through the appropriate union and organizational processes.”

“Throughout every initiative, she has demonstrated professionalism, integrity, and respect for the collaborative process,” they wrote. “Her sustained involvement reflects not only her dedication to the Union, but also her unwavering commitment to improving healthcare for the members she represents and the patients they serve.”

One of Fournier’s greatest strengths is the example she sets for those around her by being well prepared and taking the initiative to review policies, procedures and best practices to provide safe, knowledgeable care, her nominators wrote. “Her professionalism, strong communication skills, and willingness to support colleagues make her an approachable and trusted resource for both new and experienced members.”

“Heather has consistently demonstrated that leadership is defined not by a title, but by action,” her nominators wrote. “Whether advocating for safer staffing, improving workplace safety, representing members through UNA or dedicating her personal time to better understanding the diverse communities she serves, Heather leads with integrity, compassion, humility and unwavering determination.”

Fournier is the seventh person to be awarded UNA’s Bread and Roses Award since the honour was first established in 2020. The Bread and Roses Award is presented annually to a UNA member who demonstrates leadership, the true spirit of solidarity, unionism and the advancement of social justice at the local, district or provincial level.

Bread & Roses Award recipients

2026: Heather Fournier, Local 191 (Brooks Health Centre)

2025: Susan Beatson, Local 2 (Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre/Extendicare Michener)

2024: Pauline Worsfold, Local 301 (University Hospital, Stollery Children's Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute & Kaye Edmonton Clinic)

2023: Diane Lantz, Local 1 (Peter Lougheed Centre)

2022: Orissa Shima, Local 85 (Sturgeon Community Hospital)

2021: Marie Corns, Local 80 (High River General Hospital)

2020: Karen Kuprys, Local 154 (Youville Home)