SUPPORT STAFF RETIREES ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 SUPPORT STAFF RETIREES ASSOCIATION Minutes of the 15th Annual General Meeting of the Support Staff Retirees Association held on May 16, 2012, in room A-509 of the Arts Building, 70 Laurier Ave East, University of Ottawa, Canada. 1. Opening The meeting opened at 11 am. The President, Hélène Boivin, welcomed all members present. 2. Adoption of the Agenda The adoption of the agenda was proposed by J. Carey, seconded by John Cunningham, and approved unanimously. 3. Presentation by Anne Simard from Procurement Services on the new Privileges programme for retirees Mme Simard presented the parameters of the new Privileges programme, which offers rebates that have been negotiated by the uottawa with various local suppliers or retailers. She explained that access to the Privileges website requires retirees to use their InfoWeb password. Retirees will have to show their uottawa retiree card to the supplier or access the supplier s website using a promotional code that appears on the protected Privileges website for on-line purchases. 4. Adoption of the Minutes of the 14th Annual General Meeting held on May 18, 2011 Adoption of the Minutes of the 14th Annual General Meeting of the SSRA was proposed by O. Bilodeau, and seconded by H. Lavallée. Correction to point 6: adoption of the summary of revenues and expenses was seconded by Olivier Pelletier and not Olivier Bilodeau. The Minutes as amended were adopted unanimously. 5. President s Report The President welcomed Association members to the 15th Annual General Meeting. She thanked the current Board members: Madeleine Glazer (Archivist), Micheline McLaren (Activities Coordinator), Louise Potvin (Recruitment), Michèle Dextras (Secretary), Claude Dufresne (VP and Pension Committee representative), Jacques Plante (Treasurer), Roger Chagnon (Webmaster), and Michel Brabant (Advisor). Special thanks to those who work behind the scenes: Danielle Ayari (Auditor) and Elisabeth Clarke-Gilman (English translation). The President presented the activities of the SSRA for the past year, under the following five topics: a) New Privileges programme b) SSRA student bursary c) Annual conferences d) Health coverage for retirees e) Reminder about parking privileges on campus 1

2 a) New Privileges Claude Dufresne was responsible for negotiating with the Director of Procurement Services access for retirees to this new rebate programme. A letter of agreement has been signed between the Service and the SSRA. All retirees are invited to take advantage of this new benefit. b) SSRA student bursary In December, the SSRA membership form included the option to make a contribution to our student bursary. Good news: 70 members of the Association added a donation on their membership renewal form, for a total of $1425 for the bursary. 28% of all members made a donation which varied between $5 and $100, with an average contribution of $20. As well, the Campus Campaign fundraising drive in March-April 2012 has raised $800 to date from retirees (15 donations) and $482 from active support staff (7 donations), for a total of $1282 which will be added to our bursary. It should be noted that several retirees contributed to other student bursaries in specific faculties during the Campus Campaign. In all, 13% of retirees (including professors and support staff) contributed to the Campus Campaign. At Christmas, it had been announced that the Province of Ontario would match all our bursary contributions. Unfortunately in January 2012 the provincial government cancelled this programme and replaced it with direct student bursaries. However, the good news is that a private donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has offered to match all donations to the Campus Campaign made by retirees (to a maximum of $1000). As well, the Development Office will continue their efforts to recruit other donors to match our donations. With regard to tax receipts, the Development Office does not normally issue receipts for amounts of less than $20. However, given that some retirees are only able to make small donations each year, the Development Office has agreed to issue tax receipts for donations of less than $20 if the donor requests it by checking the appropriate box on the donation form. Our 2011 bursary winners were invited to join us at our Christmas dinner at the restaurant L Arôme. Their photos and letters of thanks were included in our Christmas Newsletter and are posted on the SSRA website. Normally our bursary recipients receive their awards at the Founders Breakfast, which provides an opportunity for visibility for the award. However, since the 2012 recipients were not available to attend the Breakfast this year, we have invited them to today s AGM. At the end of the meeting, we will be presenting them with a certificate along with Normand Séguin, Director of Financial Aid and Awards Office. b) Annual lectures 2

3 This year, in collaboration with the Centre for Continuing Education, we were able to offer two lectures on health (one in French and one in English), followed by lunch. The lectures, called Get Moving At any Age! were presented by Natacha Ducharme, a kinesiologist with the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre. The lectures were very well received. The Board is planning a presentation this fall on innovative and inexpensive ways to travel. Michèle Dextras is organizing the event which will be free, and will include lunch. Details will be published in the September issue of our Newsletter. c) Retirees health coverage In the fall of 2010, the SSRA sent an electronic survey to its members regarding their health coverage. 130 retirees responded to the survey. According to the results, the majority of respondents would like to see more health credits, and 26% indicated a willingness to convert their life insurance to supplementary health credits. After consultation with Human Resources and the insurance company, we were informed that converting a mandatory insurance into an optional insurance would result in increased premiums. Therefore it was decided not to pursue this option. Nonetheless the survey results may prove very useful. They will allow the SSRA to inform unions of health coverage issues for retirees based on concrete statistics. A summary of the survey results is posted on the SSRA website. d) Reminder about parking privileges on campus All uottawa retirees can request a permit for weekend parking (Saturday and Sunday) on any exterior campus lot. This permit is free and valid for one year. Retirees can obtain a permit at 139 Louis-Pasteur by presenting a valid retiree uottawa identity card. On weekdays, retirees who are 65+ years old are eligible for a 50% reduction on parking fees at the Brooks garage. To obtain the discount, retirees must go to the Parking Office before exiting the garage. e) Conclusion The President reminded members of the importance of membership in the SSRA. The SSRA needs the signatures and support of as many members as possible, even of those who do not live in the area and cannot attend social events or are not interested in attending. This is in order to have weight and influence with the uottawa administration when promoting the interests of retirees. At the moment, the SSRA has approximately 270 members. The APRUO (Association of Professors Retired from uottawa) has invited all SSRA members to attend their AGM to be held on Wednesday, May 23rd at 1:30 pm in the Alumni Auditorium at 3

4 the University Centre. The topic will be the latest developments in the pension plan. A reception will follow the meeting. Copies of the agenda were distributed. 6. Presentation and adoption of the financial statements for the year ending April 30, 2012 a) Revenues and expenses Danielle Ayari, our auditor, presented the financial statements to April 30, The University s Postal Service is now billing the SSRA for postage, but in spite of this new expense our revenues and expenses balance. Olivier Bilodeau proposed the adoption of the financial statements, and Claude Dufresne seconded the motion. The financial statements were received. b) Budget estimates for Because our treasurer Jacques Plante was absent, the budget estimates were not available. Olivier Bilodeau proposed to carry forward last year s estimates to this year. The proposal was seconded by Jacques Séguin and approved unanimously. In order to economize on postage, Olivier Bilodeau proposed that retirees be offered the option of receiving SSRA newsletters by rather than by mail. The motion was seconded by Odette Lapierre. For: 25. Against: 1. The motion was carried. 7. Board Elections Louise Potvin chaired the election process. Four mandates are ending. Louise asked if there were any other nominations, but none were presented. Three members whose terms are expiring agreed to renew their mandates. The renewal of mandates for these three Board members was proposed by Joan Carey, seconded by Hélène Lavallée and approved unanimously. 8. Report on our activities for An overview of the social activities organized by the SSRA in was distributed. From September to April, breakfast and luncheon meetings were organized alternately between Quebec and Ontario. The Christmas and Easter events were very popular, with 60 and 36 attendees respectively. Two lectures were also organized in collaboration with the Centre for Continuing Education, and were very well received. 9. Renewal of the mandate of our representative on the uottawa Pension Committee Claude Dufresne has been the SSRA representative on the Pension Committee for two years. The renewal of his mandate for another two years was proposed by Danielle Ayari, seconded by Pauline Malette-Dupont and confirmed unanimously. Hélène Boivin thanked Claude for his excellent work on behalf of the SSRA and its members. Claude Dufresne then presented his report on the pension fund, explained the current financial situation of the fund, and its impact on the budget of the University and its employees. 10. SSRA Bursary recipients for

5 Again this year, the SSRA has awarded two bursaries to students who have demonstrated outstanding contributions in the areas of volunteerism and community service. This year s recipients are students in Chemical Engineering and in Music. A certificate was presented by our President and Normand Séguin of the Financial Aid and Awards Office to Xin Ben Yu, who is a student in the Department of Music. Dominique Lefebvre, the other recipient, was not available. Michèle Dextras is our representative on the Selection Committee for the bursaries. 11. Distribution of parking vouchers 12. Adjournment and refreshments. 5