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AGM 2008 Organizational Changes
Representatives for the 14 retired
teacher organizations from every Canadian province and one territory (the newest
member being the Yukon Retired Teachers Alumnae) gathered at the Canadian
Teachers’ Federation in Ottawa on June 6-7, 2008, At this 17th Annual General
Meeting. the opportunity to share ideas, renew acquaintances, meet new friends,
and to report on the activities of the ACER-CART committees and the issues faced
by the member organizations were appreciated. [A full AGM report will be posted
later on this website.]
Major issues addressed at this meeting included
a revamping of the constitution and bylaws documents,
clarification of the purpose of the ACER-CART Reserve Fund and the
process for its utilization, and financial report formats. Much
sharing of events and issues among member organizations took
place, based upon well developed written member organization
reports. Johnson Inc. representatives gave information on the
variations of cancer care throughout the country, accessibility to
drug treatment, and accessibility to 24 newer cancer drugs and
their public funding status across Canada. A "Best Doctors" plan
was explained - an insurance plan that provides participants with
quick diagnosis by medical experts when a second opinion is
desired.
2008- 09 Elections
The annual election of executive officers
resulted in no changes for 2008-09. Helen Biales (RTO/ERO) was elected
president. The four Regional Representatives elected were Atlantic: Dr.
Thomas Gaskell (RTO-NSTU), Québec: Patricia Steele (QPARSE), Ontario:
Arnold Hull (RTO/ERO) and West: Vaughn Wadelius (RTAM). Wadelius was also
re-elected as the 2008-09 vice-president.
While Pierre Drouin will continue as Executive Director of ACER-CART, due to his
other professional responsibilities he has submitted his resignation as of
December 31, 2008. CTF staff support person Lynne Richard continues in her
secretarial support role for ACER-CART.
(L-R)
Thomas Gaskell (Atlantic),
Pat Brady (Past President);
Lynne Richard( CTF).
Pierre Drouin (Executive Director)
Helen Biales (President),
Arnold Hull (Ontario);
Patricia Steele (Québec),
Vaughn Wadelius (West, Vice-President);
ACER-CART
Positions Taken
Motions were passed at
the 2008 AGM directing the organization to:
Lobby the Government of
Canada to establish a national pharmacare program with a
national formulary; establish a national childcare program that
is affordable, accountable and accessible; urge government to
review and amend the Privacy Act to ensure privacy of personal
information is respected; develop national strategies to inform
seniors of their rights, available services and to reach out to
victims of elder abuse.
Take the lead in future
Pre-Budget Consultations as per ACER-CART policies
Develop a position paper
in support of the federal government taking more responsibility
for health care.
Pursue the issue of the
error in calculation of CPI by Stats Canada and request that
pensioners be reimbursed accordingly; pursue the elimination of
the OAS claw back and Age Credit reduction.
Address the following issues as
priorities for 2008-2009: elder abuse;
availability and cost of prescription
drugs;
the effect of escalating property taxes on
retirees.
Establish a search committee to replace
Executive Director Pierre Drouin.
Committee Reports
Reports of the activities of the ACER-CART committees, a regular
feature of the AGM, indicated the efforts expended during the
previous year to advocate and publicize the positions proposed by
the national organization.
Pension and Retirement Income Committee
(Arnold Hull, Chair)
Among the positions agreed upon were: encouraging negotiations
that guarantee annual inflation protection for all retirees;
guaranteed and funded COLAs as part of the pension plan with
adequate funding; encouraging seniors to check their property
assessments to ensure fairness and be aware of how to appeal;
seniors use opportunities to be heard at local property tax
sessions.
Communications Committee
(Vaughn Wadelius, Chair)
The website’s updating included slide show photo presentations on
the AGMs since 2006, improved document information, and a
revamping of the "What’s New" page. Two editions of the ACER-CART
newsletter OPTIONS were produced in 2007-08. As well,
special emails, media releases and political action updates and
news alerts for Directors were utilized. A periodically updated
member organization contacts list for sharing publications was
continued. The death of the original ACER-CART webmaster in
January was lamented. His duties were assumed by the
Communications chair.
Health Services
and Insurance Committee
(Thomas Gaskell, Chair)
Data from the surveys on two tier health care systems, type and
cost of health plans, and drug plan make-up and costs to seniors
has been reviewed. It was agreed to reaffirm current policy on
Health Care in Canada, lobby for a national formulary/drug plan,
coordinate a common front for enforcement of the core principles
of the Canada Health Act, and initiate efforts for an ombudsman
and trained provincial advocates for seniors.
Additional
Representation - CNSO
Helen Biales, our representative with the
Congress of National Seniors Organizations, was requested to seek
an awareness campaign by CNSO to take action against elder abuse.
2008-09 President Helen Biales Comments
Welcome to
the newest member of ACER-CART - Yukon Retired Teachers' Alumni
(YRTA) - our first territorial organization. Our 2008 AGM was very
busy and informative. As always, the representatives from the
member organizations updated everyone on what was occurring in
their provinces. It is always interesting to hear how differently
retired teachers are treated in each region.
ACER-CART continues to lobby politicians
on areas of concern identified by its members. This year health and the issues
surrounding it have been identified as our main focus. We plan to lobby the
federal government to develop a national pharmacare program. It is our hope that
such a program would make more drugs available in all the provinces and
territories at an affordable price.
While many other issues were discussed, we
believe we are most effective when we work on a few. Health is a contentious
issue as each province considers it part of its mandate and does not want
interference from the federal government, except to transfer funds to the
provinces. One AGM discussion dealt with how we can lobby effectively and we
agreed that members need to lobby their own MPs to let them know our issues. At
the national level, ACER-CART will be copying its government lobby letters to
the various opposition party critics.
Executive Director Pierre Drouin has
announced his retirement as of December. We thank Pierre for all his hard work
on behalf of the ACER-CART. He was honoured by the organization at the AGM
banquet on Friday night and at lunch on Saturday. The process of looking for a
replacement for Pierre has begun.
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