ACER-CART

Marilyn Bossert, ACER-CART West Representative, ACER-CART Communications Chair

The increase in COVID numbers in the West is very concerning, especially over the past week. It is my sincere wish that all of you are safe and are remaining well.

The majority of the Western Members conducted their Annual General Meeting in October via Zoom. The following list includes both the new and continuing: • RTAM – President Bill Cann, ACER-CART Director;

JoAnne Hoyak, Executive Director; Gordon Fardoe • STS – President Sunil Pandila, ACER-CART

Director Marie LeBlanc, Executive Director Murray

Wall • ARTA – President Lorna McIlroy, ACER-CART

Director Lawrence Hrycan, CEO/ED Daniel Mulloy • BCRTA – President Grace Wilson, ACER-CART

Director Steve Bailey, Executive Director Tim

Anderson • Yukon – President & ACER-CART Director Edith

Healy

The following are highlights from the ACER-CART Executive Meeting held in October: • A Vision for Canada, the brochure created in 2013 for the 2015 Election will be reviewed and updated. • Notices were sent to the Members requesting membership fees and an update of personnel. (For privacy reasons, Contact information is available only on the Members Only section of the website.) • Committee members were approved. It is wonderful to see the strong representation from the West. Thank you! • Pension & Retirement Income Committee (Martin

Higgs) – Monitoring closely for any indications of the resurgence of Bill C-27, especially in view of the huge Federal debt – Compiling a survey to collect Member information on (1) current COLA, (2) any concerns re: pension security, (3) information showing the number of people drawing different amounts of pension – Recommendation: ACER-CART write a letter supporting the federal proposal to increase the OAS amount. • Communication Committee (Marilyn Bossert) – The redesigned website went live in October following many long hours. Reminder to those who are having computer issues: Delete cookies and temporary files. Computers will remember the old, it appears. – w – JoAnne Lauber has shared with us a summation of the ongoing saga of the attack on the public health in British Columbia. It will be posted in the coming weeks. – Maintaining a website is never ending, and the challenge will be to keep it current. – There will be no newsletter; instead, we are encouraging visits to the website. • Health Services Committee (Margaret Urquart – The committee was unable to meet prior to the Executive meeting (Seniors are busy, even in times of a pandemic or as my husband says, it doesn’t take as much to keep us busy.) Since that time, they have reviewed the Wellness websites and have recommended some adjustments that will be added in the near future. • Legislative Committee (Bill Berryman) – Review of Protocols and Bylaws – Bylaw allowing the ACER-CART AGM to be held via teleconferencing – Protocol to set guidelines for website content

– Review of current Bylaws & Protocols • Political Advocacy Committee (Martha Foster) – Proposed topics of advocacy: • Long Term Care – a critical area for advocacy that requires a stated position. • Pharmacare – need to continue with advocacy in this area because headway is being made. • Pension Stability – continue to advocate for defined benefits. • Elder Abuse – a continuing problem that affects members nation-wide and needs to be addressed. • Age friendly communities – another area where some headway is being made but deserves continued attention.

Our ACER-CART Priorities are ambitious, and the need is evident that we need to focus the direction of our efforts, while remaining vigilant on all fronts. Consensus by the Executive was to focus on the issues of ageing (long term care issues, ageing in place, national pharmacare).

The next ACER-CART meeting is January 14, and I will be contacting you for your Member report shortly after Christmas. Please feel free to share your publication or meeting deadlines with me, and I will try to respond accordingly.

In the meantime, encourage all to visit the ACERCART website and the Member websites.

Even more important, do what you need to do to stay well. 

Highlights of the October 22, 2020, Board Meeting

à The RTAM President stated that our joint position with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society has been taken seriously by the upper echelons of education and some progress has been achieved.

Letters of understanding are being undertaken. à The RTAM President asked for feedback on his proposal to have the chapters responsible for putting forward a representative on a five-year rotating basis. à The RTAM President has called on three committees (Benefits, Membership & Chapters, and Public Relations) to “brainstorm” possible solutions to recruiting new retirees effective

January 1, 2021. The Zoom meeting will be October 29 from 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. à The status of an AGM independent chair is current Policy. The AGM Committee will provide the rationale for continuing with an independent chair within its report to the 2021 AGM. à The Independent Chair ruled that the September 30 registration was sufficient for a quorum due to emergent conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Executive Committee November Highlights

The RTAM Executive continued to develop closer ties with the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. Over the last month we have met with MTS President and Vice President to develop a joint proposal on improving working conditions for substitute teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, our proposals were rejected by the Deputy minister’s committee of Educational stakeholders which includes representatives from the Manitoba School Board Association (MSBA) and the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents (MASS).

The RTAM president, Vice President and Executive Director are also currently negotiating with TRAF executive officers to improve the Pension application form and to introduce a free first year membership recruitment initiative to new retirees.

A satisfactory evaluation of the Executive Director’s probationary period has been completed.

In order to build an electronic membership database by May, 2021, the executive approved a contest in which all RTAM members will be asked to send their email address into the office. As each member’s electronic response is received, their name will be entered into a draw for one of twenty $50 Visa gift cards. The draw will take place at the January 20, 2021 Board meeting and winners names will be posted on the website and in KIT. 