The Ontario Federation of Union Retirees held their Ninth Biennial Convention in Sudbury Ontario, on April 15 and 16, 2010. The opening announcements included a minute of silence in recognition of the passing of Larry Wagg. The memorial service for Larry took place in Ottawa at the same time as the OFUR convention. Understandably the attendance was down slightly because of the conflicting time frames but there was still a good cross section of unions represented.

Much credit for the success of this Convention must be given to Julien Dionne, Denis Lafraniere, Moe Savoie and their crew of volunteers from SOAR Chapter 2, including the wives who worked behind the scenes to provide wonderful food. The growing influence of union retirees was evident in the quality of speakers who addressed us. France Gelinas, MPP for Nickel Belt spoke eloquently on the inadequacies of Ontario's Home Care and Long Term Care policies. She also offered some insights into Ontario's new policy to reduce the cost of generic drugs, pointing out that the big pharmaceutical companies have been left untouched. These "Big Pharma" companies account for the majority of the spending on prescription drugs and reap enormous profits.

We were honoured to have Leo Girard, International President of United Steel Workers and a Sudbury native, as our final speaker. Leo spoke passionately of the need for seniors to defend our public health care. One alarming figure he quoted was the average cost of health care insurance in the U.S., $16,000 per year. And that is for a system that decides for you what treatment you may have and even if you can be treated. Leo went on to urge us stop the shifting of revenue generation from the rich to the poor, as out tax system has become more and more regressive. He encouraged us to keep up the fight for good pensions in spite of the moves we see to take all risk away from the government and the employees and put it all on the individual.

Dean Lindsay, CAW National Co-ordinator, and his able Retired Workers crew presented an abbreviated version of their Medication Awareness Program. A high percentage of senior hospital admissions are the result of unwise decisions about prescription drugs. The program covers many aspects of maintaining health including nutrition and lifestyle. The information was timely, interesting and valuable. This MAP program is a travelling that the CAW will take out to Chapters. It could be a great vehicle for community building. To put on one of these workshops and invite local seniors would be an easy way to serve your community while promoting both unions and seniors. Another highlight of this Convention was a lunch time visit to one of the USW 6500 picket lines to support our active workers who are suffering through this strike to preserve Canadian workplace values. SOAR Chapter 2 again provided us with food, this time a barbecue at the site.

The Convention also dealt with a number of resolutions. Among the topics covered were gas gouging, generic drugs, pensions, poverty, and support for co-ops and credit unions.

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Last Saturday, over 30,000 people—much higher than media estimates—from across Ontario joined the People First rally in Toronto during the G20 Summit. Our message was clear: we told world leaders—including our own Prime Minister Stephen Harper—to put the needs of human beings and the environment ahead of all other considerations as they deliberated over the weekend.

The rally organizers, including the Ontario Federation of Labour, worked diligently to ensure that our democratic right to lawful assembly would be respected, and that citizens could participate in a safe and peaceful event. To this end, we liaised with the Toronto Police and cooperated at every turn. On the day, hundreds of volunteer marshals facilitated what was an extraordinarily successful event, given the tension that had pervaded the city in the days before.

Shamefully, a small number of hooligans used the cloak of our peaceful and lawful demonstration to commit petty acts of vandalism in the streets of Toronto. These actions were as deplorable and inexcusable as they were violent and self-serving. Despite their stated goal of challenging the anti-democratic nature of the G20, these actions actually undermined democracy, both within the progressive movement and among ordinary citizens. The weeks and months of effort to educate and activate ordinary people on issues of social, environmental, and economic justice—issues that must be addressed to save our planet—went up in flames.

By their cowardly actions, the hooligans emboldened Harper’s unprecedented security mobilization, providing him with the photo opportunity he so desperately needed to justify squandering some one billion dollars on security for a two-day meeting. The vandalism provided a pretence for the raids and arbitrary arrests that swept the city in the hours and days following the demonstration. It also undermined the effort of growing numbers who have criticised the erosion of civil liberties in Canada, including Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s secret decision to give sweeping powers to the police.

Among the sensational headlines, few stories have focussed on how little was accomplished at the Summits. In 2008, similar groupings of leaders came together and agreed virtually unanimously to give billions of public dollars to the banks. This time, there was no consensus on asking the banks for a few pennies from each of their financial transactions in order to create a fund for future bailouts. It should be common sense that never again will money raised from the pockets of working people be spent bailing out the world’s richest organizations and highest paid CEOs.

Even less attention was paid to climate change, despite the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Tar sands development remains the cornerstone of Prime Minister Harper’s economic policy to the peril of citizens in Canada and around the world—especially indigenous communities near Alberta’s tar sands.

And while world leaders prided themselves on their $5 billion maternal health fund, it should be noted about one-fifth of that sum was spent on security for the Summits. How much further ahead would we be had the Summiteers simply not met and handed over the equivalent in aid? With so little accomplished, we couldn’t be any worse off.

In fact, rather than spending billions on special meetings for the world’s richest countries, we should spend it addressing the global HIV epidemic or providing fresh water for indigenous communities. Why do we even need a special retreat for the world’s elite? We already have the United Nations, with an international headquarters in New York—fully equipped with conferencing facilities for representatives of the world’s 192 countries. Indeed, the total annual budget for the UN is a mere $2.5 billion. That’s a bargain, compared to the multi-billion dollar cost of summits paid by tax-payers every year.`

All this brings me back to where I started. Thousands of people feel legitimate anger over the failure of the world’s wealthiest countries to address the needs of the planet and its people. Many are angered by the riches doled out to banks, while the rest of us face austerity measures. Last Saturday, young and old alike—as featured in this newspaper—joined a peaceful march, some for the first time in their lives. They did so because they were moved to stand up against injustice. To the thousands of such people who overcame the intimidating atmosphere of Harper’s security apparatus and braved the pouring rain to speak out, I applaud and congratulate you. The next time we march, I invite you to bring even more of your family, friends, and neighbours. Because, when we march against injustice, we also march for our democratic rights. And these rights are far too precious to give up—to hooligans or to Harper.

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Over the past week, it was clearer than ever that our campaign for retirement security has widespread support among Canada's workers and retirees.
A few days ago, we launched a "Pension Calculator" on our web site. It's a way for everyone to see how our plan to expand the CPP works by showing them how much more they would get each year in retirement, guaranteed. People love it. It's proof-positive that our plan works. Most of all, it shows people what our campaign means to them and why they need to come on board. Tell your friends, family and co-workers to visit our web site, use the calculator and see how our plan to expand the CPP will work for them and why they need to support this campaign.

Our staff also reported this week about a phenomenal meeting that took place in Regina, where three local Conservative MPs held a "public consultation" about retirement income, advertised with one tiny ad in the local newspaper. Working people filled the room and gave those MPs an earful about why the current retirement system needs to be fixed, and to start by expanding the CPP to help people save more.

At that meeting, one of the MPs told our staff that Conservative MPs were planning to host similar meetings with their constituents in the coming weeks. Let's make sure people know when and where those meetings happen, especially since most Members of Parliament will be working in their local offices when the House of Commons takes a one-week break.

Check your local newspaper. Better still, give your local MP a call and ask them to tell you when their local meeting about retirement income and pensions is going to happen. Then tell everyone. Let's keep up the pressure on the politicians and keep spreading the word about this great campaign.

Ken Georgetti
President, CLC

Depuis une semaine, il est de plus en plus clair que notre campagne pour la sécurité de la retraite jouit de l'appui généralisé des travailleuses et travailleurs et des personnes à la retraite.

Il y a quelques jours, nous avons lancé un " calculateur de pension de retraite " sur notre site Web. C'est une façon de montrer comment fonctionne notre plan pour bonifier le Régime de pensions du Canada et combien il rapporterait de plus chaque année à la retraite, à titre de revenu garanti.

Les gens sont ravis. C'est bien la preuve que notre plan fonctionne. Surtout, il montre aux gens ce que signifie notre campagne et pourquoi ils doivent emboîter le pas. Dites à vos amis, à votre famille et à vos collègues de visiter notre site Web et d'utiliser le calculateur pour voir ce que leur apportera notre plan de bonification du RPC et pourquoi ils doivent appuyer cette campagne.

Notre personnel nous a aussi parlé d'une réunion phénoménale qui a eu lieu à Regina. Trois députés conservateurs locaux ont tenu une " consultation publique " sur le revenu de la retraite et publié une toute petite annonce dans le journal local. La salle était bondée de travailleurs et de travailleuses qui n'ont pas hésité à dire clairement aux députés pourquoi le système actuel de retraite devait être réformé, en commençant par améliorer le RPC pour aider les gens à épargner davantage.

À cette réunion, l'un des députés a dit à notre personnel que les députés conservateurs comptaient tenir des rencontres semblables avec leurs électeurs et électrices dans les semaines à venir. Faisons en sorte que les gens sachent quand et où ces réunions auront lieu, surtout puisque la plupart des députés et députées travailleront dans le bureau de leur circonscription pendant la semaine de relâche à la Chambre des communes.

Vérifiez votre journal local. Mieux encore, téléphonez à votre député ou députée et demandez-lui quand la réunion locale sur le revenu de la retraite et les pensions aura lieu. Puis, informez tout le monde. Continuons d'exercer des pressions sur les politiciens et les politiciennes. Continuons de faire connaître cette importante campagne.

Le président du CTC,
Ken Georgetti

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The Ontario Health Coalition released a report appealing for equity and improved access to hospital services in rural Ontario. The report "Toward Access and Equality: Realigning Ontario's Approach to Small and Rural Hospitals to Serve Public Values" is based on input received from more than 1,150 people who attended 12 hearings in regions across Ontario in March 2010. The coalition organized its own public hearings after the government's own rural and northern health panel, created after hospital closures in small and rural communities, refused to hold any public consultations. In total the coalition received 487 submissions into the state and future of local hospitals. Today's report has been written and submitted to the Ontario Health Coalition by a non-partisan panel including doctors, nurses, health professional, representatives of each region of Ontario, and representatives active in each political party.

Key recommendations include: