Report of ACER-CART AGM

May 31, June 1 and 2, 2018 / Ottawa, Ontario

JoAnne Hoyak, RTAM Director; Vice President 2017 - 2018

Representatives from retired teacher organizations across Canada, except for regrets from the Yukon, met and discussed issues of mutual concern and interest at the CTF building in Ottawa.

Excellent pre-AGM presentations included “Advanced Care Planning” and “Deprescribing:” both were topics of importance for all seniors.

Items for discussion at the table concerned the status of the implementation of the National Pharmacare Program, a Bill C-27 update, and a review of the progress for a Ministry for Seniors.

We were also provided with a final Member Pension Plan comparison that should be utilized by RTAM in our work to have a RTAM member on the TRAF Board as five provinces do at this point in time.

Elections were held with the following results:

President, Bill Berryman, N S ; Vice President, Gerry Tiede, BC; Regional Representative East, Margaret Urquhart, NB; Regional Representative ON, Martin Higgs, ON; Regional Representative West, Gordon Cumming, AB.

ACER-CART Priorities for 2018 - 2019 include participation in the 2019 Federal election by co-operating with other like-minded groups to protect pensions, to advocate for a single payer National Pharmacare program as well as a Federal Ministry for Seniors.

In support , we will monitor the ten year bilateral health funding agreements. We oppose the conversion of defined benefit pension plans to target benefit plans as Bill C-27 and our own province advocate. We support the enhancement of the CPP and oppose any measure to privatize Health Care.

Membership in ACER-CART and attendance at the AGM gives RTAM a stronger voice because of the benefit of affiliation with a National group as well as partnerships with other National organizations that lobby in support of our shared issues and goals.

I hold great respect for the dedication and ability of the Directors who sit at the table and represent their membership with such responsibility and eloquence. 

President's Report (Continued from page 3)

committees. Some chairs had difficulty finding volunteers for their committees as no RTAM members had signed up to volunteer for those committees. Chairs were tasked with looking for volunteers over the summer. If none can be found, then they will be asking directors to fill the vacancies. If any RTAM member has the time to serve on a committee, please contact the RTAM office. Thank you to all of the directors and their committee members for their dedication and service.

The RTAM Mission Statement is “to serve and advocate for all retired members.” I am looking forward to serving this year as president. I know that there will be a huge learning curve for me as the year progresses, but I also know that I will have lots of help from the Board and MaryAnne, our Executive Director and Nicole, our Member Services Coordinator. I know that this will be an interesting and productive year for us all. Thank you for your support and input in the coming months. 