Monday March 1 2021

TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE NORPW, TO ALL OTHER RETIRED POSTAL WORKERS; TO ALL MEMBERS OF CUPW WHO WILL RETIRE ONE DAY; TO ALL SURVIVORS COVERED BY THE PENSION PLAN AND TO ALL OUR ALLIES.

This is to inform you that I am resigning from my position as President of the National Organization of Retired Postal Workers (NORPW) for family-related reasons. I turned 84 in July and I am sure that there are many younger good activists among the retirees who will be pleased to continue the work that has been done since the formation of the NORPW, including obviously, the other members of the present executive of NORPW.

Sister Karen Kennedy, who is the current Vice-President, will become President, and I trust you will give her the same support that I received since we began forming the NORPW in 2014. She is a long-time activist in both CUPW and NORPW. I am sure that, with the other members of the executive, she will continue to move forward in protecting our pension system as guaranteed by then Minister responsible for the Post Office, André Ouellet, and later guaranteed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

 

PROTECTING OUR PENSION SYSTEM

The Conservative government under Stephen Harper first attempted to introduce their Target Benefit Plan (TBP) in 2014. TBPs do not provide a guaranteed pension or benefits. Retirees, with the help of their Sisters and Brothers in the Canadian Coalition for Retirement Security, and the broader labour movement, were successful in forcing the Conservatives to stop the introduction of the TBP. We made their TBP a major issue in the 2015 election, which assisted in defeating the Conservative government.

The appointment of Bill Morneau as Finance minister under the Liberal Government required us to stay vigilant, knowing he was in favour of introducing Target Benefit Plan legislation. Bill C-27 was introduced on October 19, 2016 and was similar to the one introduced in New Brunswick in 2012, which Morneau had been the architect of.

Bill C-27 remained at the first level reading due to conflict of interest charges against Morneau as a result of his ownership of over a million shares in his former company Morneau/Shepell, which stood to greatly benefit from TBP legislation. Bill C-27 died on the order paper when the 2019 election was called. The Liberal Government chose another route to achieve the same goal as Bill C-27, i.e. through the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), which proposed to implement the changes the government wanted in Bill C-27 without having to go before the House of Commons. The OSFI proposed amendments to the Instruction Guide for the Authorization of Amendments Reducing Benefits in Defined Benefit Pension Plans.. The Liberal government has since put the consultation on the changes to the Guide on hold due to Covid-19, and we must ensure these changes to our guaranteed DBP are not introduced!

WE ARE NOT ALONE

Since we formed the NORPW, we have joined the Council of Union Retirees of Canada (CURC), who is providing us with great support. At their last convention, they adopted a strong resolution to that effect. At this same convention, CURC delegates elected Bill Chedore, a former CUPW National Vice-President, as their new President.

The NORPW is represented on the Canadian Coalition for Retirement Security. The CCRS partners represent over 6 million retirees and workers across Canada and were instrumental in stopping the Trudeau government’s Target Benefit Plan.

We are also getting some strong support from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) who in fact adopted a resolution to that effect at their last Convention.

We are also involved in providing support to the Ottawa Coalition for Pension Security organization, which is fighting for decent pensions for all retirees.

YOU MUST GET INVOLVED

I would like to encourage all retired postal workers to join the NORPW (or renew your membership) so we can continue the work in the months and years ahead to protect our guaranteed Defined Benefit pensions. This is a great way to ensure that we will be able to continue improving our communications with you and with our allies. This is also a great way to show the government that we are all determined to continue our struggle.

Finally, I want to thank CUPW for the assistance they provided us since the formation of NORPW. Thanks also to all those who have served as members of the executive of NORPW, with special thanks to my good friend Peter Whitaker, who provided me with great help in carrying out my duties as President in this difficult time.

Brothers and Sisters, I want you to know that my resignation as President of the NORPW doesn’t mean that I will not be there when needed to participate in activities called for by NORPW, and I trust that you will be there with me.

In Solidarity,

Jean-Claude Parrot parrotjeanclaude@gmail.com