2011 AGM
9th CURAC/ARUCC Annual General Meeting
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Language Institute Building, University of Regina
Regina, SK
Minutes
President John Meyer called the meeting to order at 1:45 p.m. (CST). He reminded everyone that, while discussion is open to everyone, only one official Delegate or Alternate of each Member Association is entitled to cast a vote.
1. Adoption of the Agenda
Jack Boan (Regina) moved, seconded by Joan Cunnington (OCRA),
that the Agenda be adopted.
APPROVED without dissent
2. Approval of the Minutes of the 2010 AGM
There being no corrections or amendments to the Minutes posted on the Web,
Sandra Pyke (York) moved, seconded by Tom Poiker (SFU),
that the Minutes be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
3. President’s Report
John Meyer noted a number of events for which Regina and Saskatchewan are famous. He referred Delegates to his article on the latest Newsletter, copies of which were distributed.
John reported on progress in his areas of priority:
- Increasing National and International Membership. He was happy to report that retiree associations at the University of Calgary, Université Laval, Université du Québec à Montréal, and Marianopolis College have joined our ranks. AROHE has become an Affiliate Member of CURAC.
- Strengthening Partnerships. We have had further discussions aimed at strengthening our partnership with CAUT , AUCC and CARP.
- Creating updated Databases and Policies. Progress here has been slower than he had hoped. Although we have results from Canadian Associations that responded to the AROHE Benefits Survey, we need to update our data for all our Member Associations. We also need to increase our sharing of Best Practices among our Associations.
CURAC has presented policy papers on pensions to Provincial and Federal agencies (Departments, Commissions, etc.) and might do so on a broader range of issues, thereby raising our profile. John acknowledged that public advocacy may be controversial and may be actively opposed by some of our Members.
John urged Associations to tell the CURAC Board what they would like CURAC to do for them. He also hoped that they would respond positively to our requests for information to update our data on benefits provided to post-secondary retirees across Canada. He also urged Associations to remain vigilant about institutional attempts to curtail their benefits or limit their participation in pension-plan governance, and to inform CURAC of any such struggles.
John thanked all individuals who have participated in our activities over the past year, on the Board and through our committees. He paid special tribute to Web Manager and outgoing Secretary George Brandie; CURAC “pioneers” Peter Russell, Tarun Ghose, Howard Fink, Ken Rea and Al Sinclair; Board members John Stager, David Lubell and June Panteluk; Newsletter editor Joan Cunnington; Brochure editor Marianne Van der Wel; translator François Gallays; and past Conference committees and CURAC committee members.
Jack Boan (Regina) moved, seconded by Howard Fink (Concordia),
that the President’s Report be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
4. Secretary’s Report
George Brandie referred Delegates to his written report, already circulated (See Appendix A).
He added that Roch Meynard, Co-Chair of the 2008 Montréal Conference, played an important role in bringing the retirees of l’Université du Québec à Montréal back into CURAC.
Howard Fink (Concordia) moved, seconded by Ed Williams (Memorial),
that the Secretary’s Report be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
5. Treasurer’s Report
June Panteluk referred Delegates to the Treasurer’s Report already circulated (See Appendix A). Referring to the Audited Financial Statement, she noted that we are in a very healthy financial position, thanks to the surplus from the York Conference, a doubled payment by Waterloo Insurance, and increased membership. We have a positive balance of over $10,000, some $5,400 invested in a GIC. There being no questions,
Paul Huber (Dalhousie) moved, seconded by John Stager (UBC),
that the Financial Statement for 2010-11 be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
June turned next to the Financial Estimates for 2011-12 and 2012-13, noting that the fact that the current financial year begins before the AGM requires projections to be made for two financial years. There being no questions,
Paul Huber (Dalhousie) moved, seconded by Sandra Pyke (York),
that the Financial Estimates for the next two years be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
June Panteluk noted that Brian McDonald, a retired Associate VP (Academic) from the University of Alberta (and Auditor of the Alberta Association of Professors Emeriti) has freely donated his auditing services to CURAC for the past year, and has agreed to be the CURAC Auditor for the coming year.
Paul Huber (Dalhousie) moved, seconded by Howard Fink (Concordia),
that Brian McDonald be appointed Auditor for 2011-12.
APPROVED without dissent
6. Report of the Nominating Committee
Because Past President Tarun Ghose (Dalhousie) was unable to be present, Nominating Committee member Howard Fink (Concordia) presented the Report of the Nominating Committee (See Appendix B) for the election of Directors and Officers. Those proposed for election to the Board for two-years terms are
- George Brandie (Queen’s) is nominated to become our next President. George has been our Secretary and Webmaster for the last four years.
- John Stager (UBC) has served as Vice-President for the last two years but does not wish to be considered for the post of President. He is nominated to stay on as Director-at-large.
- Sandra Pyke (York) is nominated to become Vice-President. Sandra was Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 2010 York Conference.
- François Gallays (Ottawa) is nominated to succeed George Brandie as Secretary. François has been the principal translator of English articles in our Newsletter for many years.
- Jack Boan (Regina) is nominated as a Director-at-large for a further term of two years following his work in organizing this Conference in Regina.
- Paul Huber (Dalhousie) is nominated to become Director-at-large. Paul has chaired our Pension Committee for several years and played a major role in preparing our Briefs to government bodies in this vital area.
Howard paid tribute to Tarun Ghose, who worked very hard to assemble this slate, and whose term on the Board is now ending.
Howard pointed out that the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee for the next Annual Conference becomes an ex officio member of the Board in the year preceding the Conference. The LOC Chair for the 2012 Victoria Conference is John Schofield. John Meyer will become Past President at the end of this AGM.
Howard noted that, in addition to the nominations presented by the Nominating Committee, Delegates may also make nominations from the floor. He called three times for any additional nominations as Directors. There being none,
Ed Williams (Memorial) moved, seconded by Tom Poiker (Simon Fraser),
that nominations be closed.
APPROVED without dissent
John Meyer declared the Directors and Executive Officers proposed by the Nominating Committee to be elected by acclamation.
7. Activity Reports
John Meyer referred Delegates to the Activity Reports, already circulated (See Appendix C), the reports of activities of our various committees, and invited any Committee Chairs who wished to add any comments to do so, and to respond to any questions.
Howard Fink (Concordia) summarized the Report of the CURAC Aboriginal Post-Secondary Education Committee. (See Appendix D)
Ed Williams (Memorial) spoke on his suggestions for the future relationship between CURAC and CARP (See Appendix C). He reminded Delegates that past Boards had envisaged collaboration between the two organizations. Ed recommended collaboration in formulating short briefs to governments on non-controversial topics such as reduced wait times in health care – briefs short enough that politicians might actually read them. He suggested that such joint briefs would raise CURAC’s profile with individual retirees. He has discussed collaboration with CARP Vice-Presidents and Susan Eng, CARP’s VP (Advocacy), suggested that it would be useful for CURAC to comment on CARP position papers as they are being developed. During development, CARP papers are posted on their Web for comment by CARP members so it is easy for us to see them at an early stage.
Ed noted that CARP also has interest in lifelong learning, something that is also of interest to our members. CARP supports local initiatives on the campuses of post-secondary institutions and is looking for potential local collaborators. Ed asked that names and contact information for local people interested in or working for lifelong learning be sent to him (ewilliam@mun.ca) so that he could forward the information to CARP.
Jack Boan (Regina) moved, seconded by Marianne Van der Wel (McMaster),
that the Activity Reports be approved.
APPROVED without dissent
8. Input from Delegates
A Delegate asked if the responses from the AROHE survey on benefits are still available. President John Meyer said that the data have not yet been analyzed but the individual responses are posted on the AROHE Website.
Joy Coenstadt (York) suggested that our communications (the Newsletter, for example) be sent directly to the members of our Member Associations. Secretary George Brandie said that CURAC does not have lists of (or contact information for) the individual retiree members of our Member Associations and we are not equipped to maintain such a mountain of data, even if privacy laws allowed Associations to give it to us. Joy then asked how many Associations distribute our Newsletter to their members. President John Meyer said that we urge Associations to distribute it, but we don’t know how many do. He said that improving our communication is a matter that the Board will be discussing.
Jack Boan (Regina) said that his long involvement with the Regina Pensioners’ Association led him to be surprised if members knew of CURAC, and “doubly surprised” if any cared about it. He plans to urge their upcoming AGM to educate their members that CURAC is comprised of activists who want to get things done.
Joan Cunnington (OCRA) asked how information about a new Newsletter is disseminated. George Brandie replied that once the Newsletter is posted on the CURAC Web, he sends its URL to Associations and to CURAC Delegates of Associations, if he has that information. He urged all Associations to keep the Secretary informed of current contact information for the Association, its President and its CURAC Delegate. Joan suggested adding the Name and email ID of the local newsletter editor to the information requested on the annual Membership Renewal forms.
9. Other Business
John Schofield (Victoria) reported that the 2012 Conference will be hosted by the University of Victoria Retirees’ Association, with the collaboration of the Associations at UBC and Simon Fraser. The Conference will be held in April because hotel rates jump significantly in May in Victoria. The Conference will be in a hotel near the inner harbour, and the hotel is offering rates starting at $79 and extendable for either three days before or after the Conference. Spring has normally arrived in Victoria by mid-April so the weather should be good. He urged Delegates to pick up information from the tables near the door, and take extra copies back to their home Associations.
John urged Delegates with ideas for Conference sessions or suggestions for improving the Conference to contact the Local Organizing Committee. His email address is jas@uvic.ca .
Jack Boan (Regina) expressed his appreciation for the “exemplary work” of President John Meyer, and this sentiment was seconded by general applause.
10. Adjournment
John Meyer adjourned the meeting at 2:47 p.m., CST.