February 2014 Issue No. 2 Liaison Priorities

President’s Message By Cliff Boldt, BCRTA President

T here is a book I heartily recommend to you as a lesson about what was in health care before Medicare: Life before Medicare published by the Ontario Society (Coalition)

of Senior Citizen’s Organizations. It is a collection of stories about how people suffered because they didn’t have access to timely health care. One of the stories comments on the fact that before Medicare, older people didn’t live very long or healthy lives because they didn’t have proper access to health care. If you look at me—at 72 years of age, I have received health care in the last three months that has kept me alive and able to be here today. Without access to this public health care, I would be in a hospital somewhere, a complex care facility or dead! Without Medicare, I couldn't have afforded it. The end of Medicare looms on March 31 because Ottawa refuses to negotiate a new National Health Accord.

Highlights of BCRTA Board of Directors’ Meeting December 11, 2013 By Barb Mikulec, COSCO VP, BCRTA Director

P resident Cliff Boldt informed the directors that there will be a ‘stakeholders coordinating campaign’ concerning the Canada Health Accord, and how to approach federal politicians concerning our position. This planning session will be held in

early January to coordinate the campaign which will be launched immediately as the Health Accord ends in March. He also re-ports that both the NDP and Liberal parties are on record for wishing to roll back the OAS age increase going to age 67, and this would be again at the age of 65. The National Pensioners Federation and ACER/CART had joint discussions at the Ottawa Con-ference in early December. There was an enabling motion to see if there would be support for the BCRTA to host a ‘Seniors Summit’ in 2014 or 2015, with the Social Concerns committee to explore this idea with other organizations. Provincially, Cliff attended the Seniors’ Commission meeting in Victoria and a Pension Corporation meeting. Also he attended the Lower Vancouver Island branch Christmas luncheon where it was noted that the branch awarded three scholarships of $2500 each. In the Comox Valley Gerry Tiede and Lisa from Johnson presented information about Pension matters and health insur-ance. The T4A deduction of Extended Health and Dental premiums will now appear on our T4 slips which will make it easier to use this information on our Income Tax papers. Of interest to our directors on the BCRTA board, a member may serve a maximum of four years on any one committee. Ap-pointments shall be made by the Board at its first regular meeting of the year, normally in October. A call for applications for committee membership, along with an application form, shall be published in the summer issue of Postscript, the Summary of Reports booklet, and on the BCRTA website. Cliff will write the Minister of Health about being a part of the council of advisors on the Senior Advocate Advisory Committee. The Office Administrator Patricia Laursen reported that an objective for 2014 would be to revamp the filing system in the of-fice. Also the new auditors will be setting up a preliminary meeting to discuss the 2014 audit. ACER/ CART Report—Gerry Tiede said that the BC Public Sector Pensions Plan will have a conference/meeting and it has been requested that our BCRTA President be invited to attend this meeting. Gerry also mentioned that the Advocacy Committee of ACER/CART has appointed Cliff to sit on it. In the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations COSCO report, Barb Mikulec mentioned the ferry cuts which are looming and suggested you can sign a petition concerning the cuts to service and costs for seniors and these petitions can be sent to Sheila Pither. A website www.coastalferries.ca may be used to give on-line feedback to the ferry system. Another major concern is transportation both in urban and rural areas. The goal is for flexible, safe, affordable service with fair labour practises. It was noted that not all seniors are poor, but many do live on fixed incomes. Art Kube, president of COSCO, noted that the rate of pov-erty among seniors, and particularly among women, is increasing at an alarming rate. The government’s actions are making it even worse. The government should be raising revenues through fair taxes, based on ability to pay, not through fee and rate in-creases that hit hardest at those who already have the least. The next issue of COSCO News will have information about how to apply for CPP, OAS, GIS supplement and SAFER programs as there have been requests for this information. A COSCO initiative called Passing the Torch, has seven more workshops including Nanaimo (January 13, 14), Victoria (January 15, 16), Burnaby (January 27, 28), Richmond (February 17, 18), Vancouver (February 26, 27), Surrey (March 3, 4), and Abbotsford (March 11, 12). The two-day workshops to train new leaders in BC communities are led by Sheila Pither, Pat Brady, Garnet Grosjean, and Art Kube. The BCRTA has set aside financial assistance for two Branch members to attend. The registra-

BCRTA 2013-2014 Executive

http://bcrta.ca/

Table officers President Cliff Boldt 250-334-1580 mcboldt@telus.net 1st Vice-President Bob Taverner 250-752-2274 btaverner@shaw.ca 2nd Vice-President Patricia Clough 250-832-6341 pclough@telus.net Treasurer Tom Brunker 604-739-7410 ctbjumppoint@gmail.com

Acer/Cart Rep Gerry Tiede 604-538-8967 gerry.tiede@gmail.com

Past-President Doug Edgar 250-503-5494 toc2menow@hotmail.com

Directors Elaine Anderson 604-929-3306 ebanderson@shaw.ca Steve Bailey 604-936-9078 sbailey1047@shaw.ca Stefan Cieslik 250-498-2988 stefan_cieslik@telus.net Regina Day 250-352-3088 reginaday@hotmail.com Val Dyer 250-752-8824 tvdyer@shaw.ca

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If you want this newsletter sent to you by e-mail, please contact Kristi Josephson, kristi@bcrta.com to inform her.

BCRTA Board of Directors’ Meeting December 11, 2013 Cont’d By Barb Mikulec, COSCO VP, BCRTA Director

tion contact is Sheila Pither- email pither470@shaw.ca or phone 604 684-9720. Further infor-mation is also available on the COSCO website www.coscobc.ca/ The Communications Committee reported that a Facebook Pilot Project is being considered. Cliff moved a motion that a BCRTA Facebook page be created and monitored and a report will be made to the next BCRTA AGM. The Excellence in Education Committee report asked for a letter to be sent to the government and oppositions leaders of BC to adopt a comprehensive Poverty Reduction Plan with legislated targets and timelines to significantly reduce the number of children and families living in poverty. Branches are encouraged to meet with their local MLAs possibly using the BCRTA Advocacy Kit procedures to follow up government development of a Poverty Reduction Plan. Also information about the Golden Star Award has been distributed. This committee is collating information about the various Branch Scholarship/Bursary programs. Financial report—Increases were made to the President’s Branch travel, to the National Pen-sioners Federation and to BCRTA Representation funds. Health and Housing Committee r epor ted an action plan will be developed for branches and/or individual members to use to address issues in the Ombudsperson’s Report the Best of Care: Getting it Right for Seniors in BC. Our new Liaison Priorities newsletter will be sent to branch presidents, AGM delegates, Directors and committee members. The Heritage Committee made a request that Branch presidents check for heritage preservation policies by asking the school boards to agree to such a policy. The Membership Committee supports the Post-Secondary group in their efforts to restructure. Also, this committee will ask for a link to the BC Pension Corp be placed on the BCRTA website, with the information of seminar schedules and registration information. They requested that the Social Concerns and Advocacy committees explore the development of a video to supplement “What’s In It For Me” which deals with the BCRTA’s involvement with social advocacy issues. The Social Concerns Committee asks that directors place ‘heart rescue skills’ information on the agenda of their next zone meeting. This goal would encourage the branches to promote members taking courses with the goal of making the community safer.

Pension Overpayment Update

D elegates at the 2013 BCRTA AGM passed a motion directing the BCRTA overpayment com-mittee to proceed in the most effective way to assist members who were victims of pension

overpayment. To date, the BCTF has joined with us in this venture and on January 23, the overpay-ment committee met with a lawyer to determine our best course of action at this time. Our conclu-sion, based on legal advice, was that we support a stage 3 arbitration application on behalf of one BCRTA member. This will not be a short process and could take many months. On January 25th, the BCRTA Overpayment committee authorized our lawyer to proceed with the stage 3 appeal, consulting with the member involved and our committee as needed. We will keep members informed as new and relevant information is available.

Liaison Priorities Newsletter Editor Comments By Ken Kuhn

T his newsletter is a communication vehicle for sharing information. The BCRTA Board of Di-rectors’ will try to share their ideas and decisions with you but part of the “liaison” is to share

your Branch information with other Branches within BC. Please send me your articles for publish-ing in the next Liaison Priorities at kenkuhn@shaw.ca. Any comments or feedback are also appre-ciated. This is your newsletter. Please help me by sharing your thoughts and insights.

BCRTA 2013-2014 Executive

Directors Charan Gill 604-271-8725 charankgill@gmail.com Jo Ann Lauber 604-523-1653 jlauber@shaw.ca Barb Mikulec COSCO VP 604-261-6887 mikulec@telus.net Margaret Sutton 250-782-3221 margls@shaw.ca

PostScript Editor Sheila Gair 604-594-5023 sscribe@telus.net

Bcrta Staff Patricia Laursen Administrator 604-871-2262 pat@bcrta.com Kristi Josephson Assistant 604-871-2260 kristi@bcrta.com

BCRTA

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BCRTA—Liaison Priorit ies

BCRTA Board of Directors’ Meeting—January 22, 2014 By Val Dyer, South Island Zone Co-Director

I n his President’s Report, Cliff Boldt asked that Zone Directors to advise their branch presidents of the importance for action to preserve Medicare. The loss of the Health Accord, in March,

2014, will have a significant and lasting impact on health care in Canada. JoAnn Lauber, Steve Bailey, Cliff Boldt, and Barb Mikulec are part of a Steering Committee working, with COSCO and other community groups, on advocacy strategies to lobby the federal government to renew and strengthen the current Health Accord. The campaign slogan is “Keep the Heart in Medicare”. Branch presidents have already received a call for volunteers to step forward to serve as activists on this issue and many have stepped up to the plate. If you or someone you know has stepped for-ward to serve as the spearhead for this important work, watch for more information from the Steer-ing Committee to help with the good fight. Premium Increases for Extended Health Care: Patricia Clough and Cliff Boldt will be meeting with the Teachers’ Pension Plan, on February 3, 2014, to discuss the increases in Extended Health Care premiums. The de-listing of medical services (e.g. Physiotherapy, chiropractic, etc.) has re-sulted in citizens having to take on the cost of these services, which were previously covered by the B.C. provincial Medical Services Plan. Cliff Boldt, Gerry Tiede and Lisa Hansen (of Johnson, Inc.) will be visiting Kamloops, Salmon Arm and Kimberley in the Spring. Official Community Plans (OCP): Some municipal governments are seeking input, from sen-iors, on how they are affected by the various services (e.g. transportation) offered/not offered under the OCP. Target Theatre: Cliff met with Linda Ryder, President of the Target Theatre Board of Directors, and Reg Miller, Social Concerns Committee member, regarding the feasibility of developing DVD’s of plays put on by Target Theatre, for the education and entertainment of seniors, regarding such issues as loss of driving privileges, scams, medical products, etc. Target Theatre is not inter-ested in such a venture and Cliff did not see a role, for the BCRTA, in this venture. Linda Ryder will write an article, for publication in Postscript, about theatre and seniors. CHOICE (Seniors’ Day Centre) in Edmonton, Alta.: Cliff Boldt and Val Dyer (Health and Housing Committee member) reported out on their recent visit to observe the CHOICE day centre program and how it might be of value to seniors in B.C. ACER/CART: Ger ry Tiede repor ted that the five Western representatives had a two-hour conference call on (1) protection of pension plans and (2) lobbying for transparency and accounta-bility on the part of governments. He advised that he believes the contributions of the BCRTA are drivers of ACER/CART concerns (e.g. National Health Accord, Pension Myths, etc.) and senses a greater desire, by ACER/CART, to work with the BCRTA on the concerns common to both. COSCO: Barb Mikulec submitted a wr itten report and advised that the Executive of COSCO will be undergoing a change over in the next election. The petition, expressing concerns regarding cuts in ferry service, has 4,000 signatures to date. R.R. Smith: Barb Mikulec repor ted that acquir ing a banner is still a goal. She also said that the deadline for submission of grant applications is March 1, 2014 (the application may be printed off the R.R. Smith link on the BCRTA website www.bcrta.ca ). Application decisions will be made on March 11, 2014. To date, not many applications have been received so applicants have a pretty reasonable chance of success. Applications for work, in poorer neighbourhoods in B.C., are especially sought. BCRTA Table at BCTF AGM: Cliff Boldt is seeking names of BCRTA members to staff the BCRTA table, at the BCTF AGM. Lunch and travel costs will be reimbursed. Please contact Cliff at pat@bcrta.com, if you are interested. Cliff has been invited to bring greetings, from the BCRTA, to the BCTF AGM. Development of a Video to Supplement “What’s In It For Me?” for Membership Recruit-ment: Patr icia repor ted out on the research done by the Social Concerns and Advocacy

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Highlights of BCRTA Board of Directors’ Meeting—January 22, 2014 Cont’d By Val Dyer, South Island Zone Co-Director

Chairpersons, regarding the cost/benefit analysis of developing a DVD to supplement the current recruitment video. The Board decided that it was not feasible, at this time, because of the cost and the difficulty to keep the information, regarding the social activism of the BCRTA, current. It was decided that the better way to go would be to continue to post the information in Post-script, in Liaison Priorities and on the BCRTA website.

Teachers’ Council: On the subject of Teacher Emeritus, Bob Taverner advised that Education Minister Fassbinder stated that granting emeritus status, to retired teachers, is not possible because he does not have the authority under current legis-lation. Barb Mikulec and Charan Gill advised that their attendance at Teachers’ Council meetings made it clear that the Teachers’ Council has no interest in dealing with the BCRTA. The Council’s focus is geared toward: pre-service training, certification is-sues, and competency and conduct issues.

Timed Item: Guest speaker , Jack MacDermot, Assistant Director of the Communications and Campaign Division of the BCTF, updated the Board regarding the status of bargaining between the BCTF and BCPSEA and, currently, between the BCTF and the government negotiator, Peter Cameron. There are two issues for bargaining: fair contract and better support for students. In the past 12 years, class sizes are at record highs and there are 16,000 classrooms with 4 or more special needs students. (Ministry of Education Statistics). There is an increasing download of responsibilities onto teachers. The BCTF is asking the government to catch B.C. up, in funding, with the rest of Canada. (B.C. is now the 2nd lowest in Canada) The BCTF is asking BCRTA members to make their support for a fair contract for teachers and better support for students known by: sending letters to the editor, calling into phone-in radio shows, word-of-mouth, and sharing stories of classroom experiences. Christy Clarke’s 10 Year Deal does not necessarily bring stability. Real stability comes from a fair contract and student sup-port. The government’s downloading of educational costs onto School Boards is a worry (it is easy to fully fund when you are not offering any money). The system isn’t sick; it’s malnourished.

Health and Housing: Regina Day advised that the committee has developed a grant application form for the National Health Accord action plan. The form is available on the BCRTA website at www.bcrta.ca BCRTA/COSCO Steering Committee re: 2004 National Health Accord Renewal and Improvement: JoAnn Lauber reviewed the memo, sent out to branch presidents, requesting a contact/activist to lobby seniors and/or senior community groups, to visit their MP and/or MLA to voice their concern that the National Health Accord is due to expire on March 31, 2014 and will be replaced with 10 year federal funding commitment—the Canada Health Transfer which would continue to grow at 6% annual-ly, until 2017, and thereafter, the CHT would grow in line with a 3-year moving average of nominal Gross Domestic Product growth (with a minimum increase of 3% per year guaranteed). A packet of background information and information for MPs and MLAs was distributed for the information of the Board.

Pensioners’ Group Meeting of January 3, 2014: Cliff Boldt and JoAnn Lauber repor ted that the focus was an action plan to increase awareness and activism for renewal and improvement to the National Health Accord. The BCRTA has a lot to offer this collaboration of groups because of its networking capability. The Canada Health Council will receive no funding after March 2014. It had been charged with the responsibility to oversee that provinces were complying with the Health Accord of 2004.

Pensions and Benefits: As yet, no firm data has come forward re: the time of the Pensions por tion of the BCTF AGM. The Pensions portion of the BCTF AGM is the only occasion when honourary associate members (i.e. BCRTA retired teacher members) may vote. Social Concerns: The following motions were tabled: (1) That a Fir st Call speaker be invited to speak at the BCRTA Delegates’ Day and (2) That distribution of information regarding the B.C. Ferries Coalition and its Stop the Cuts and Listen to the People campaign be sent out to branch presidents. Stefan Cieslik and Charan Gill will request that the Website Committee, through Cliff, post the letter re: B.C. Ferries Coalition, from Mr. Jef Keighly, to the BCRTA website. (Following the meeting, it was decided that Val Dyer will request Cliff to post the letter.)

Excellence in Education: The following motion was car r ied: That the Directors be asked to request an agenda item ti-tled “Branch Scholarships/Bursaries” be put on the Zone meeting agenda and that each Branch be asked to bring a “paper copy” to the meeting with details of their Scholarship/Bursary program, and that the written copies be forwarded to the Excellence in Public Education Committee chairperson.

Communications: Cliff Boldt repor ted that the Facebook page is up and running. Ken Kuhn will be sent minutes, re-ports and articles and will start working on the next issue of Liaison Priorities.

Heritage: Margaret Sutton asked that an organizational char t, of the BCRTA, with a revision of such, if necessary, be given to Directors and committee members.

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Retirement Workshop: There’s More to It than Money: Ger ry Tiede repor ted that the committee is meeting, in Febru-ary, to look at revisions to the workshop.

Personnel: The Board passed a number of amendments to the procedures governing personnel so that practice and pol-icy are in line with each other.

Highlights of BCRTA Board of Directors’ Meeting—January 22, 2014 Cont’d By Val Dyer, South Island Zone Co-Director

BCRTA Excellence in Education Committee By Charan Gill, Chairperson

T he third meeting of the Excellence in Education Committee, held on January 20, 2014 again had a full agenda. One of the main objectives of the committee is to coordinate the administration and adjudication of the Golden Star Awards Program.

The committee finalized revisions to the adjudication forms and is hoping that many completed application forms will be submit-ted by the April 15th deadline. Please encourage active teachers who have programs featuring interaction of seniors and students to visit the BCRTA website for application details. Articles about the contributions of living past presidents of the BCRTA for publication in Postscript, another committee objective, will continue. The committee is also collecting information about Branch scholarship/bursary programs that support public education.

Court rules BC Government stripped away teacher bargaining rights CBC News Article and compiled by Ken Kuhn

A B.C. Supreme Court justice has ordered the province to pay $2 mil-lion in damages for stripping teachers of their collective bargaining

rights and failing to reinstate them when ordered by the court. The deci-sion follows the court's ruling in April 2013 that provincial legislation interfering with teachers' bargaining rights was unconstitutional and a breach of Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guar-antees freedom of association. “In order to provide an effective remedy in relation to the government's unlawful action, the government must pay the BCTF damages of $2 million” stated B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin. At the time, the court found the legislation deleted certain bargaining terms and prohibited bargaining having to do with a wide range of work-ing conditions, including class size and composition and support for spe-cial needs students. "The freedom of workers to associate has long been recognized internationally and in Canada as an important aspect of a fair and democratic society. Collective action by workers helps protect individuals from unfairness in one of the most fundamental aspect of their lives, their employment," wrote B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin. Griffin says usually when legislation is declared unconstitutional by the court, it is struck down. But the court decided to give the government twelve months to address the repercussions of its decision. Instead, Griffin says, the government brought in Bill 22—virtually identical legislation involving "the deletion and prohibition of hundreds of collective agreement terms on working conditions." However, Griffin writes, the legislation deleted by government is not deleted at all and is, in fact, a part of the col-lective agreement. "This means that the legislatively deleted terms in the teachers' collective agreement have been restored retro-actively and can also be the subject of future bargaining," she writes. "It is appropriate and just to award damages against the government, pursuant to Section 24 of the Charter," Griffin concludes. "In order to provide an effective remedy in relation to the government's unlawful action, the government must pay the BCTF damages of $2 million."

Teachers rally against back-to-work legislation imposed under Bill 22 on March 6, 2012

Social Concerns Committee Report By Val Dyer, Chairperson

T he Social Concerns Committee continued its efforts to promote heart rescue skills among BCRTA membership and the com-munity, at large. Director and SC Committee member, Stefan Cieslik, researched the availability of AED (Automatic Exter-

nal Defibrillator) machines in the BCTF building (where the BCRTA office is housed) and in the Holiday Inn—Vancouver, where most BCRTA Board members stay while attending BCRTA Board meetings. Stefan discovered that there is an AED housed in the BCTF building's reception area, next door to the BCRTA office. The AED has been there for 8 months. In addition, each meeting room has an informational bulletin posted, which lists the names and locations of four "Level 2 trained first-aid attendant" BCTF staff members, who are responsible for safety and first aid, within the BCTF building. Each meeting room has a telephone with an emergency red button which alerts the switchboard operator when emergency first-aid treatment is required. Stefan’s re-search also showed that there is no AED in the Holiday Inn—Vancouver. The BCRTA will send a letter, to the hotel, requesting that such a device be purchased, that staff be trained in its use and that it be displayed prominently.

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Criminal Records Check Update

Y ou may have had some inquiries recently from members regarding a letter they have received from the B.C. Ministry of Jus-tice requiring them to be fingerprinted as part of a criminal records check.

At its January 17–18, 2014, meeting the Executive Committee asked that the topic of the vulnerable sector criminal record checks be referred to staff for a report back to the January 30, 2014, EC meeting. In the meanwhile, here is what we know. The BC Criminal Records Review Act requires individuals who work with or have unsupervised access to children or vulnera-ble adults in the ordinary course of their employment to complete a criminal record check every five years. The Teacher Regulation Branch of the Ministry of Education administers the criminal record check, and the Ministry of Justice carries it out. Each year, approximately one-fifth of all certificate holders will need to complete a criminal record check if they have not done so in the past five years. The Criminal Records Review Program includes a vulnerable sector (VS) check, which was revised as of December 2013. If this check now confirms that a certificate holder’s gender and birth date match the gender and birth date of a pardoned criminal sex offender, the individual is required to provide their fingerprints to be checked with the RCMP National Repository of Crimi-nal Records to confirm whether or not the individual has a pardoned criminal record associated to a sexual offence.

Welcome to Straight Talk on the Teachers’ Pension Plan See more information on this link: tpp.pensionsbc.ca

Y our Teachers’ Pension Plan information is online and is a great source of infor-mation. The plan serves over 89,000 active, inactive and retired members and their

employers in British Columbia. Employers are school boards across the B.C. province. Members include teachers, vice-principals, principals and superintendents from school boards across the province. Contributions are a risk shared by employees and employ-ers. The plan membership is broken down as follows: over 45,300 active members who are contributing to the plan over 12,200 inactive members (members who are no longer with a plan employer

but have contributions with the plan) over 32,100 retired members The plan holds assets of over $18.3 billion in assets. The Teachers’ Pension Plan is the tenth largest defined benefit pension plan in Canada, according to data collected by Benefits Canada magazine. Investment returns pay for roughly 80 per cent of the bene-fits paid to members. Contributions from employees and employers make up the re-maining 20 per cent. Source: Teachers’ Pension Plan 2012 Annual Report, * Benefits Canada Magazine, June 2013 Did you know?

✔ The Teachers’ Pension Plan is sustainable. It is a pre-funded plan which means that each generation pays in advance for its own pension benefits.

✔The Teachers’ Pension Plan is fair to employers and employees. Employers and employees contribute to the plan. The costs are shared.

✔ The Teachers’ Pension Plan provides good value as an investment. Investment income finances about 80 per cent of the bene-fits paid to members. Contributions from members and employers make up the remaining 20 per cent.

✔ The Teachers’ Pension Plan is a cost effective way to save for retirement. The large scale and professional management of the pension plan enable it to operate very efficiently. The total cost of investment management and pension administration is about a quarter of one per cent. This is significantly less than an individual investor commonly pays. While the basic pension is guaran-teed, cost-of-living adjustments are not guaranteed. Cost-of-living-adjustments are only paid if the plan has enough funds availa-ble, so the financial risk is shared. This is a big difference between this plan and some pension plans that guarantee inflation pro-tection.

✔ An actuarial valuation is performed on the plan at least once every three years. This is a process of assessing how much money the plan has available to pay benefits now and in the future. If the actuarial valuation process reports that there is a gap between the money in the plan and the money needed to pay benefits, member and employer contribution rates are increased long enough to close the gap. The intent of this process is to keep the plan fully funded to meet its current and future liabilities.

✔ Any increases in contribution rates required by the actuarial valuation are shared and are not borne exclusively by either the employer or member. Cost increases are shared equally. This is different from many private sector pension plans where any cost increases are typically paid for fully by the employer.

✔ The global economic outlook may be mixed but the plan has a long-term investment horizon and has proven its ability to with-stand short-term volatility. Because of its large scale and specialized expertise, the plan’s investment manager is in a unique posi-tion to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. The plan is able to access long term investments such as real estate and infra-structure that an individual investor cannot typically benefit from.

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Price Increases? No problem...I’m a senior on a fixed income By Ken Kuhn, Liaison Priorities Editor

A little “tongue in cheek” in the heading! And not entirely true. We did get an inflation adjustment in our pensions for 2013 of 1.2%. Gerry Tiede will explain that and more at our General Meeting on Wednesday, February 5, 2014 at Winslow Cen-

tre. But I am more concerned about the number of increases in premiums, taxes, and payments we are now facing. We’ve celebrated New Years. We’ve pledged to get into shape. But you should also be gearing up for these increases: Medical Services Plan premiums jumped by about 4% on January 1, 2014, increasing by $3 for one person, and more than $5

for a family of three. Teachers Pension Plan Voluntary Extended Health Care Plan increases 20% on February 1, 2014. Canada Post will increase stamp prices from 63 cents to a cool $1.00 on March 31, 2014 and start service cutbacks. BC Hydro rates will be increasing 9% on April 1, 2014 and 28% over the next five years. BC Ferries plans to halve the 100 per cent discount for seniors travelling Monday to Thursday, from April 1, 2014 onwards. BC Ferries prices increase 3.5% on February 1, 2014. The list goes on and on…and where and how will it stop? And look at all the Federal government cutbacks in services and jobs. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is elimi-nating about 500 jobs at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans related to Coast Guard services (the closure of the Kitsilano Coast Guard station as well as others across Canada), patrols to stop illegal fishing activities as well as scientific research to pro-mote conservation, protect endangered species, and prevent industrial water pollution. And at a time when 1.3 million are without jobs, the federal government has toughened the criteria that employment insurance recipients must meet to hang on to their benefits. In all, only 37 per cent of jobless Canadians are eligible for EI benefits. Dozens of groups dedicated to improving human rights or the well-being of the most vulnerable citizens have also seen their funding reduced or eliminated as Ottawa redraws its priorities and budget allocations. In short, we’re becoming the first generation in our country’s history to leave our children and grandchildren with a lower qual-ity of life than we inherited from our parents. The Federal government does not provide a comprehensive list showing all the federal programs that have been cut or eliminat-ed. The 2012 budget laid out plans for billions in annual spending cuts by government departments, including a reduction of the federal workforce by 19,000 over three years. Social programs get a 15% of the cuts.

It’s Time to Stand Up for Medicare! By Ken Kuhn, Liaison Priorities Editor

T he BCRTA, COSCO and other organizations are working hard to convince elected MLAs and MPs to demand that the Federal Government meet with the provincial and territorial

Premiers to negotiate a new Health Accord. The future of Medicare is at stake. BCRTA members can support the campaign by contacting their provincial and federal elected repre-sentatives. Letters, e-mail, telephone calls and visits are all effective means of communi-cating our concern for our future well-being and Medicare. As BCRTA President Cliff Boldt said, “If we don’t stand up for ourselves, who will do it for us?” Sign the pledge sheet and keep in place what Tommy Douglas strived so hard for health care in Canada. Don't let Harper & the Conservatives strip it away with the new Health Ac-cord. http://medicare.ca/medicare-pledge According to a survey conducted on behalf of the Canadian Health Coalition by Nanos Re-search. (Survey was of 1000 Canadians distributed equally between genders and as a propor-tion of population of Canada in each province and was done in November 2013.) Overall, Canadians are ready and want stable funding for public healthcare. Among the key findings include: • 65% of Canadians prefer the Government of Canada give fixed healthcare funding to the provinces compared to 23% who prefer funding be dependent on the state of the Canadian econo-my. • Canadians are more likely to want the Govern-ment of Canada to invest a future fiscal dividend in healthcare (45%) compared to reducing the national debt (37%) or tax cuts (16%). • More than four out of ten Canadians are wor-ried about being able to afford or have access to healthcare as a senior. • More than six in ten Canadians would be open to paying higher taxes if it meant health homecare costs or drug costs would be covered.

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T he Canadian Health Coalition and concerned Canadians from across the country met on Parliament Hill on December 3rd 2013, meeting with MPs on healthcare and the expiry of the 2004 Health

Accord in March of next year. The Nanos research survey also shows that the majority of Canadians want the federal government to provide fixed healthcare funding to the provinces that does not see-saw according to the relative strength of the economy. When offered a choice between federal health care funding that fluctuates according to the health of the economy, and federal funding that provides a fixed share to the provinces to meet the needs of their residents, 65% of respondents chose the latter. “Canadians recognize that healthcare needs go up in tough times and that cutting funding at precisely the time it is most needed does not make any kind of sense,” said Michael McBane, Executive Director of the Canadian Health Coalition. “It is time for the federal government to step up, provide fixed fund-ing and help meet the urgent healthcare needs of an aging population, people with physical and mental challenges, and children and young adults with special needs.” “Canadians are ready for some common sense from the federal government when it comes to funding healthcare,” said Mr. McBane. “The need for senior and continuing care services is increasing so we need a federal seniors’ care plan not the federal cuts to health transfers announced by the Harper gov-ernment.” Medicare Pledge

As a Canadian, I believe access to quality health care must be based on need, not ability to pay.

Our public health care reflects those values of equality and fairness. We must improve our public health care for everyone, instead of ex-

panding private for-profit services that benefit only a few. I pledge my support for the protection and improvement of public health care in Canada. Don't let Harper & the Conservatives strip it away with the new Health Accord. http://medicare.ca/medicare-pledge

It’s Time to Stand Up for Medicare! Cont’d By Ken Kuhn, Liaison Priorities Editor

Tommy Douglas—The Father of Medicare “Our parents and our grandparents worked and fought and suffered to get us Medicare. We’re not going to let anyone take it away.”

DriveABLE Program causes anxiety for seniors

D riveABLE claims to assess the cognitive functions essential for driving-memory, attention span, spatial judgement and decision making. As you approach your 80th birthday you will receive a

medical form in the mail from the Superintendent’s Office requiring you to see your family doctor or specialist to have this form completed and returned to their office, usually within 30 days, but the time period can be extended for reasonable reasons. This visit must be taken very seriously and the patient must pay attention. This is where, in most instances, the referral to DriveABLE begins. The doctor may administer a memory test (SIMARD) or min-mental test asking you to repeat words after having them read to you. It is at this time that the doctor may decide that you may have some cognitive impairment and tick the box for DriveABLE assess-ment. Only about 2 percent of people receiving the medical form are asked to complete the DriveABLE assessment. COSCO’s involvement with the process began about a year and a half ago when we started receiving complaints from seniors. There were enough of the same concerns that it prompted us to investigate further. COSCO now offers a workshop—Mature Driver Assess-ment Procedures—which covers these issues. Sheila Pither met with the former Superintendent, Steve Martin, and his Assistant Superintendent, Stephanie Melvin four times. One of those included a two-hour meeting with representatives of the B.C. Medical Association in attendance. From their first meeting they developed a mutual respect and were able to collaborate on many of the issues concerning seniors. They attempted every time to request that DriveABLE be discontinued due to questionable results, extreme anxiety and fear creating an atmos-phere of failure, but to no avail. They were able to soften some areas and expand time frames. The following are the successes to date: Letters to older adults have been changed to be more respectful. Two companions may accompany you to the assessment and witness your practice session prior to your on-screen test. They

may not stay while the assessment is in progress. You do not have to “bring someone with you to drive your car.” The information line when you call the Superintendent’s Office 1-855- 387-7747 is now set up that DriveABLE is the first

choice – press 9 – real people will answer your inquiry or if you must leave a message, will get back to you within 24 hours. An appeal process is available if you feel you were unjustly assessed. Interpreters are now accepted to be part of the assessment process. If your medical situation has changed, the OSMV is open to reviewing your file. If you were not successful on the screen assessment, you will automatically be allowed to take the road assessment. Plans are in progress to have ICBC develop a letter (with COSCO input) to send to older adults somewhere around their 79th birthday. This would allow some preparation and thought about driving, perhaps when to retire your license or bone up on your skills and general driving awareness. Additional print materials will be available since some seniors do not use computers.