CRA Newsletter February, 2024

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

We’re starting to feel some stirrings of spring in southern Ontario, where this is being written. But should we welcome it or worry that the early warm weather is just another instance of the strange winter many of us have been experiencing?

The good news out of this winter comes in the form of a new federal dental care program. While we’re not directly affected, thanks to the benefits that many of you helped to win, just about everyone knows family or friends who will benefit and get care that they may have been putting off.

Now we need a push for a universal public pharmacare program. You can send a letter to your MP at https://cupe.ca/act-now-pharmacare.

Annual Membership fees for new members

Some new members may have been confused by our emails asking them to e-transfer their $25 annual fee because it wasn’t deducted from their January payment. CUPE Pension staff must submit names to RBC for automatic deduction in late fall. So, if you joined in November, December, January or February, your 2024 fee wasn’t deducted. Going forward you’ll see it come off your January pension cheque each year.

Donations

In February, your executive approved 2024 donations to the same organizations we supported in the past: Council of Canadians, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, IRIS, Canadian Health Coalition, Seniors for Climate Action Now, and Justice for Workers.

There are still funds available to use throughout the year. If you have a donation suggestion, please send it to cuperetirees@gmail.com. Suggested organizations should advocate on behalf of seniors and retirees in matters relating to issues such as, but not limited to: 

a. Public and workplace pensions

b. Public health, including the expansion of public health for mental, dental, eye and other care

c. Alternative economic and fiscal policy 

d. Saving the climate from environmental degradation

e. Housing

The full policy will be available at cuperetirees.ca.

Getting Together

Our 2024 budget also includes funds to support some of the costs involved in organizing regional, or even area, meetings. We don’t have the means to support individual expenses but can help with the costs of meetings rooms, etc.  Members who met last year in Quebec City, at both the SCFP Quebec and CUPE National conventions, and in Toronto during the CUPE Ontario convention enjoyed getting together to talk about common concerns (benefits!) and actions as well as just touching base.

If you want to help organize a regional meeting, either in person or through the CSRA Zoom account, please get in touch with your chapter representative. You can find the complete list and contact emails at cuperetirees.ca.

Webinars

We’re also looking for ideas for future webinars. Last November, with our credit union, we were able to present a webinar on fraud. If you missed it, you can still watch. Look for the post on the CUPE Retirees or Retraitées et retraités du SCFP Facebook pages.

Coming & Going

There wasn’t a sudden spate of retirements; it’s been almost a year since we published these lists. Please join us in welcoming the following new members:

BC       Kelly Dussin

            Dan Gawthrop

AB       Gayle Bunch

            Lisa McPherson

SK       Deborah Mihial

            Alex Lenko

MB      Carmelle Chartier

            Sheree Capar

ON       Russ Armstrong

            Stephane Lalonde

            Gus Oliveira

            Dan Scheibli

QC       Louise L’Heureux

            Yves Lalonde

            Réal Leboeuf

            Jean-Guy Simard

            Daniel Bernier

NL       Edward White

National Office            Catherine Louli

                                    Lynne Hotte

                                    Robert Lamoureux

                                    Gavin Leeb

                                    Nicole Monohan

                                    Wendy Morrison

                                    Louise Payette

                                    Anne Healy

                                    Heather Farrow

With condolences to colleagues, friends and family, we bid farewell to:

AB       Royle Harris

SK       Douglas Lavallie

ON       Margart E. Irwin

            Linda Jewett

            Ken McClelland

Airlines
            Anu Lawson

QC       Claude Hétu

            Denise Quintal

NB       Zoel Savoie

In solidarity,

Pat Daley, President

Shelly Gordon, Vice-President

Leanne McMillan, Treasurer

Carole Lefebvre, Secretary