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The
5th Annual Conference of the College & University Retiree
Associations of Canada was held at the
University
of
Windsor
on the 23rd, 24th & 25th of May 2007
General
Theme: “Securing Future Pensions & Health Benefits”.
1. Fiduciary relationships.
The concept of fiduciary
relationships received considerable attention at this conference. The first
person to present the subject was Bill Miller from the Windsor University
Retirees Association, who spoke mainly of fiduciary duty with regards to
pensions. He first underlined that one should speak of fiduciary duties,
because these vary according to levels which exist in the administration of a
pension fund.. He named three levels : i) governing fiduciary, ii) managing
fiduciary, iii) operating fiduciary. However, not all agents who participate
in the administration of pension funds have fiduciary duties. For example,
actuaries, investment consultants, lawyers and editors are non fiduciary
agents, according to Miller.
The second person to speak on the subject was Leonard Rotman from the
Faculty of Law in
Windsor
, who presented the concept of fiduciary from the point of view of the law.
The scope of his presentation was then of course much broader than that of the
first speaker.
2. Two papers addressed the means by which an
association can attempt to obtain satisfaction.
The first, given by William Gleberzon, director of CARP, proposed
various external means (newspapers, radio, television, public demonstrations)
by which members of an association can exercise pressure for change. He
stressed however that one must state clearly the goal desired and develop a
meticulously planned strategy. The other paper, presented by John Meyer of
WURA stressed the importance of developing a good working relationship with
the university administration. In that type of endeavour he emphasized that
perseverance, focus and consistency were absolutely necessary.
3. Three papers were given on health related
subjects. Melody Miles, from
Hamilton
, presented a detailed review of
the care plans for the aged in
Ontario
and an overview of what’s done in the same field in the other provinces of
Canada
.
Al Grundner, director of
long-term care in
Windsor
, covered approximately the same ground as Ms. Miles, but perhaps in greater
detail.
Raissa Deber,
Toronto
, offered an analysis of the health system of
Canada
. Contrary to popular belief, she argues, the system in
Canada
is not public. However, she also maintains that it is not private. Or rather,
it is private inasmuch as the hospitals operate as private companies. And the
system is public because governments fund it. Therefore : public financing ;
private delivery.
Cornelia Baines,
Toronto
, offered ways for aging happily.
4. Last four items of interest :
a) The report of the Benefits
Committee was a follow-up of last
year’s report on non-medical benefits for university & college retirees.
Having studied the data on file the committee developed a list of levels at
which non-medical benefits may be experienced. This list should prove very
useful to all associations in gauging the quality of its non-medical benefits.
b)
The decision by the members of the
Retired Academics & Librarians of the University of Toronto (RALUT) to
publish the list of the scholarly
achievements of its members was in their view an excellent idea. A second
initiative on their part was also deemed a success. An invitation was sent to
all members to present a paper on their ongoing work, with the proviso that it
be made understandable for the public at large. The response was most
encouraging.
c)
Perhaps we should pray that
the almost incredible nature of the office space granted to the retirees of
the
University
of
Toronto
becomes an inspiration for the other universities of the land.
d) The by-laws of
CURAC/ARUCC have been translated into French.
François
Gallays
APRUO
delegate to the CURAC/ARUCC
Annual
Conference of 2007
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