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 Association des Retraités Canadiens

    Pensioners’ BULLETIN des pensionnés

    Number 4, January 28, 2002 ~ numéro 4, le 28 janvier 2002

     

    President’s Message

    On behalf of the Executive Committee, I want to extend our best wishes to all pensioners, current and deferred, for a happy and healthy 2002. I am very pleased to report that our membership is now over 230 pensioners and is growing weekly (more details on membership in a separate section later in this Bulletin).

    To keep our members up to date on association activities, we have decided to circulate Bulletins on a quarterly basis. In each issue, we will review the previous three months and outline the key events that are coming up in the months ahead. Of course, if important issues come up in between, we will issue special bulletins.

    We want to give special thanks to Colin Stephenson and his son, Jamie, who have been developing a web site for our association at www.bcpa.ca. It is expected to go live by the end of January and will provide an excellent means of information and communication for those members who have Internet access.

    As your Executive, we are fully committed to attaining the objectives in our Constitution. However, while the Constitution and by-laws give us the outline for developing our action plans, we will continue to rely upon our members for feedback, information, suggestions, guidance and assistance. Call, write, or e-mail us at any time - we welcome your input!

    Review of 4Q01

    October

    1. First Annual General Meeting
    1. Bi-weekly meetings of Executive Committee begin
    1. Letter sent to Governor Dodge

    See Bulletin #3 for minutes

    Held faithfully (except during the holidays!)


    Advising him of official formation of our Pensioners Association & seeking an early meeting.

    November

    1. Bulletin #3

    1. Telephone call from Janet Cosier

     

    1. Letter to Ted Requard, Executive Director for the Bank’s Pension Plan Review (with copy to the Governor)
    1. Telephone call from Requard
      1. E-mail to Requard

    Sent to all who had expressed an interest in the association.

    To invite the BCPA Executive Committee to a December 18 meeting with the Governor & other senior officers.

    Re lack of communication to pensioners about Bank’s Pension Plan Review. This Review started last spring (to be completed in 2002) and could contain far-reaching recommendations for pension arrangements for staff. If that happens, we will want to know the impact changes will have on the surplus in the current pension plan.

     

    December

    1. Preliminary discussion with the law firm of Koskie and Minsky.

    1. First official meeting with the Bank.

    We still have a long way to go before meeting all of our association’s objectives, but a process of communication and regular meetings between the Bank and the BCPA has been established.

    This is one of the leading law firms in Canada in the area of pension and employee benefits ( www.koskieminsky.com).

    On balance, we believe that this meeting was a positive first step.

    The Governor agreed to help us with our membership drive by sending a notice about our association to all current and deferred pensioners (privacy laws prevent the Bank from giving us a list of pensioners).

    Mr. Dodge also designated Gerry Gaetz, Chief of Corporate Services, as the primary Bank contact for our association.

     

    Looking Ahead – 2002

    Here are some of the key events that we see coming up this year. The actual timing of some events, e.g., meetings with the Bank, may be different from these projections.

    1Q02
    • January:
          Bulletin #4, BCPA Web Site, Notice on BCPA to all current and deferred Pensioners
    • February:
          Bank/BCPA Working Group meeting
    • March:
          Bank/BCPA Status Review meeting
          Release of Bank’s Annual Report for 2001 (including financial position of Pension Fund as of Dec. 31, 2001)

    2Q02
    • April:
          Bulletin #5
    • May:
          Bank/BCPA Working Group meeting
    • June:
          Bank/BCPA Status Review meeting
          Release of Mercer Actuarial Report on the Bank’s Pension Plan as of January 1, 2002

    3Q02
    • July:
          Bulletin #6
    • August:
          Bank/BCPA Working Group meeting
    • September:
          Bank/BCPA Status Review meeting

    4Q02
    • October:
          AGM (second half of October – date tba)
    • November:
          Bulletin #7, Bank/BCPA Working Group meeting
    • December:
          Bank/BCPA Status Review meeting

    Membership

    Paid membership as of 22 January 2002: 231

    (Ontario: 163; Quebec: 41; Maritimes: 9; Prairie Provinces: 10; British Columbia: 8)

    The initial estimated start-up revenue, based on 300 members, has already been obtained through the generosity of a number of Lifetime Members.

    However, the membership needs to be enlarged if the Association is to truly represent both the current and deferred pensioners. A notice about the creation of the Association was published on the Pensioner's page of the Holiday Edition of Bank Notes, and the Bank recently sent out a notice about the formation of the Association to all current and deferred pensioners.

    Your assistance in recruiting additional members is requested - the more members in the Association, the better it can represent your interests.

    The cost of membership is not great - the first year start-up "Annual" membership of $50.00 is now $37.50 (since we are in the second quarter of the Association’s fiscal year), and can be paid quarterly. If that creates a hardship, a $10.00 "Other" membership would cover the mailing costs to keep you informed on the Association's activities.

    The Association Executive wish to thank those who have volunteered their services and will be asking for your assistance as needs arise. Additional volunteers are always welcome.

    Executive Committee

    Mail to: BCPA, PO Box 4011, Station E, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B1

    Fax: 613-722-7188

    Or call or e-mail:

    Thank You

      The Executive Committee wishes to thank the volunteers who assisted with this Bulletin: René Houle, Graham MacInnes, René Marcotte, Marcel Morin, and Nancy Pratt.