Bulletin 12 JAN 2016 Reunion held at the Division Mess at H.Q. in Westmount.

Transcription

1 Bulletin 12 JAN 2016 Reunion held at the Division Mess at H.Q. in Westmount. Vice-President: Roger Tardif Social Committee Director: Michel Blanchard Communications Director (interim): Jean Martin Translator: Karen Pearce Treasurer: André Ramsay Recruiting Director: Denis Turcotte Executive Secretary: Sylvain L Heureux Administrative Secretary: Mélanie Huard Social Committee: Robert Boivin Michel Frappier Jack Lapointe National Director: Céline Gingras SC Volunteers: Robert Mercier, Golf & St- Jérôme Gaétan Potvin, Golf 1. The Opening of the assembly was proposed by Christian Habel, seconded by Daniel Dupont and accepted at 17:55 by 46 membres. Roger welcomed the members. 2. Adoption of the agenda was proposed by Marcel Limoges, seconded by Victor Couture and accepted unanimously.

2 3. Adoption of the minutes of the 12 October 2015 assembly was proposed by Jean-Guy Dansereau, seconded by Claude Frédéric and accepted unanimously. 4. Deaths and a moment of silence: On 15 November 2015, Rolland Audy, Reg. #17430, of Charlesbourg Qc, died in Quebec City at the age of 85. The funeral was held 28 November 2015 in Charlesbourg and he will be buried in the St-Charles Cemetary at a later date; On 8 November 2015, Richard Darcy, husband of Angèle Darcy died in Boucherville at the age of 68. His funeral was held 14 November 2015 in Longueuil; On 30 November 2015, Luc Robert, Reg. #25521, died in Montreal at the age of 68. He was a member of the RCMP who moved to CSIS. His funeral was held in Longueuil on 11 December 2015; On 6 January 2016, Jacques Guillemette, Reg. #31786, died at the age of 63. His funeral was held 13 January 2016 at the Urgel Bourgie Salon at 1255 Beaumont, Ville Mont-Royal. WE WILL REMEMBER THEM 5. Announcements: The bulletin by the National President covering the meeting with the government can be found at Annex 3; A request for donations for the Beaconsfield Parc of Heroes can be found at Annex Recruting: This month 11 retired members asked to join the Association. They are Daniel Perron, Reg. #37783, Normand Goulet, Reg. #35489, Marc-André Aubry, Reg. #20611, Sylvain Hamel, Reg. #39696, Bernard Leblanc, Reg. #O.1476, Roger Thibault, PS231666, Nicole Thibault Robitaille, PS , Claudette Frobe, P15108, Mario Complaisance, Reg. #42488, Serge Marcoux, Reg. #37487 and Gilles Côté, Reg. # There was no opposition to their applications so Jean Brisebois proposed and Judy Mio seconded the proposition. They were accepted unanimously. We ask all new members of the Associaiton to attend an upcoming meeting to be officially inducted. 7. Inductions: Denis Turcotte inducted Roger Thibault. 8. Social Committee: Draw for Father John (Pops): A total of $ was collected and Roger Thibault drew the winning ballet of Chantal Fortin who took home $.

3 Illnesses: Gilles Gagné is still in the Bellagio Residence in Longueuil and his daughter requests you call before visiting as he has many medical appointments. She will be happy to let you know when he will be available. Outings: The new calendar of outings will be proposed at the February meeting in Verdun. 9. Finances: The Membership Fee for 2016 is 55.00$, please send the fee as soon as possible to maintain your access to the internet site. Membership Fees for 2015 (55$) should have been paid since 1 January Notices: Are you registered on the new web site? If not, go the the web site and click on the s enregistrer link. Enter your name, Regimental number and the password of your choice. For the information of members, the address book available on the web site no longer contains the personal information of members in order to conform to requirements of the Protection of Personal Information Act. addressess of all members are still available. For further information contact a member of the Executive. 11. Ombudsman : The Royal Canadian Legion has changed the eligibility criteria for license plates with the poppy. Now all regular and former members of the RCMP are authorized to buy a plate for $ To do so, fill out the form found in Annex 2 (pages 1&2) and send it, with a check and a copy of your service certificate (given to you upon your retirement) to confirm your RCMP service. A Message from the Montreal Administrative Office: «Although we suggest strongly that veterans do their best to find their Service Certificate, the Administrative Services Office can issue an attestation of employment upon the receipt of the attached form (see Annex 1) at: Cdiv_Admin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca. Members who left the RCMP with a medical pension and who had to reimburse their RCMP disability pensions, must contact McInnes at (902) (English) or (506) (French). Visit for more information. The resource person in Ottawa is Katie Holtzhauer, Manager Insurance Group, National Compensation Services, RCMP/ Government of Canada, katie.holtzhauer@rcmp-grc.gc.ca / Tel: , Cell: National Committee: National Director, Céline Gingras Céline advised us she will participate in National meetings and will give us an resume of the discussions; There is a National Committee meeting this week. 13. AGM 2015 : AGM Co-Presidents Gaston Desormeaux and Robert Lanthier from Quebec will provide an accounting of the 2015 Annual General Meeting at the next meeting We implore AGM Committee Heads to give their reports to Robert Lantiheir as soon as possible at jler.lanthier@gmail.com. 14. Varia : Christian Habel spoke to us about the Beaconsfield Park of Heroes that was opened in 2015 to commemorate the Military, Police Officers, Firemen and First Responders who have died on duty. The committee is presently looking for donors so the park can be completed. Bricks will be sold for $ each and you can write what you wish on the 6 inch by 12 inch brick. The bricks will be placed on either side of the central alley and the funds collected will help with park landscaping. The Association agreed to buy a brick in the Association s name.

4 15. Elections 2016 : Jean Brisebois explained how the elections were held this year. He explained that during the nomination period only the positions of Social Committee Director and Vice-President recieved nominations. One member did volunteer to be secretary but because the submission came after the allotted time to present nominations, the Executive Committee submitted the name of Sylvain L Heureux for the two year term; Jean asked if there was anyone who wanted to be nominated from the floor for the position of secretary. No members stepped forward so Jean confirmed Sylvain L Heureux as Secretary; Jean Brisebois presented the new committee: President, Line Carbonneau, Vice-President, Roger Tardif, Secretary, Sylvain L Heureux, Treasurer, André Ramsay, Communications Director (interim), Jean Martin, Social Committee Director, Michel Blanchard, National Committee Director, Céline Gingras, Past President, René Charbonneau. Michel Blanchard took the podium and invited members to volunteer for the Social Committee and help out during meetings and events. People are needed to help out at the entrance of RCMP HQ and the entrance to meetings and to prepare the meeting room. Please give him your name so we have some personnel to help meetings and outings run smoothly.; The participants congratulated the new committee and gave Robert Boivin a standing ovation for his years of service as Executive Secretary. 16. Closure of the Assembly: The next meeting will be Tuesday, 9 February 2016 at the Verdun Legion, 5971, Verdun st., Verdun starting at 18:00. Give your name to Michel as soon as possible if you will attend; Jean-Guy Dansereau proposed closing the assembly at 18:25 and was seconded by Tex Ranger and unanimously accepted. All adjourned to the cafeteria for a pizza supper;

5 It is critical that all members wishing to attend a meeting let Michel know. It has been proposed that in the future members who have not advised they will be attending will not be permitted to participate in the meal. Robert Boivin, Secretary RCMP Veterans Association, Province of Québec

6

7 Annex 1 INFORMATIONS REQUISES POUR RECEVOIR UNE ATTESTATION D EMPLOI INFORMATION REQUIRED TO RECEIVE EMPLOYEMENT CERTIFICATION LANGUE DE CORRESPONDACE PRÉFÉRÉE : PREFERRED LANGUAGE OF CORRESPONDENCE NOM/NAME : GRADE/RANK : MATRICULE/REGIMENTAL NUMBER : ADRESSE/ADDRESS : TÉLÉPHONE/PHONE : COURRIEL/ COMMENTAIRES/COMMENTS : Français English **S.V.P. soumettre le formulaire à Cdiv_Admin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca pour traitement/please send form to Cdiv_Admin@rcmp-grc.gc.ca for processing

8 Annex 2, page 1

9 Annex 2, page 2

10 Annex 3 President s Bulletin Yesterday, along with Deputy Commissioner Dan Dubeau, Chief Human Resources Officer, I attended the Veterans Summit hosted by the new Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, the Hon. Kent Hehr, PC MP (Calgary Centre) and by the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs, General (retired) Walt Natynczyk, at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Twenty-seven invited veterans organizations, including the RCMP Veterans Association, participated, as well as senior officers and officials from Veterans Affairs Canada, the Veterans Ombudsman, Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. The purpose of the Summit was two-fold: first, the Minister desired input from the veterans community on how VAC should communicate and consult with the stakeholders in the future; and second, he wanted our views and interpretation of the various aspects of the Prime Minister s mandate letter that has been publically disclosed. In their opening remarks, the Minister and the Deputy Minister were clear and explicit that whatever the circumstances and definitions, former members of the RCMP are veterans and are to be recognized and honoured as such. The Deputy Minister noted in his remarks that the intention was to put the veteran at the centre of everything we do and that both well-ness and compensation were to be the two ends of the balanced approach. The mandate letter did not specifically mention the RCMP, but it was clear the RCMP was impacted. The DM pointedly asked the question: and what about the RCMP? How do we go from where the RCMP is now, to where they need to go? Both the Minister and Deputy Minister considered the mandate letter to be a command or an order to be fulfilled in full, not to be studied or discussed or watered down. Of the 15 points in the mandate letter, several stand-out as having a direct bearing on veterans and members of the RCMP: Deliver a higher standard of service and care, and ensure that a one veteran, one standard approach is upheld Create two new centres of excellence in veterans care, including one with a specialization in mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder and related issues for both veterans and first responders Provide greater education, counseling, and training for families who are providing care and support to veterans living with physical and/or mental health issues as a result of their service Increase the veteran survivor s pension amount from 50 percent to 70 percent Eliminate the marriage after 60 clawback clause, so that surviving spouses of veterans receive appropriate pension and health benefits. The last two points, long-time issues for RCMP veterans, would involve changes to superannuation legislation and would have a dramatic impact on us and on serving members who are contributors to RCMPSA. For this reason as well as others, Deputy Commissioner Dubeau will brief the Commissioner and propose the formation of a working group within the RCMP and including the RCMP Veterans Association, to coordinate our mutual approach to these issues and others contained in the mandate letter, as well as the related issues contained in the mandate letter to the Minister of Public Safety. I will provide you with more information on this when available. In the discussions among the veterans organizations, a clear theme communicated to the Minister was that support to the family was the key to a successful transition from serving member to veteran. This coincides with our own mission tagline that emerged from our October Strategy Workshop Veterans Helping Veterans and Families. Although not in the mandate letter, it was noted with approval by Dr. Alice Aitken of the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research that VAC is moving to the word vétéran as opposed to ancien combattant which she says are two different things. This provides even greater impetus to retiring the term anciens in our name to the extent the law allows. In conclusion, the Veterans Summit for us had two important take-aways: That former members of the RCMP are veterans deserving a seat at the table and that the RCMP Veterans Association is the voice of the RCMP veterans; and That the RCMP Veterans Association is the recognized partner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in advancing the interests of RCMP veterans and families as we move forward. Dave Leblanc President

11 Annex 4