Association canadienne des enseignantes
et des enseignants retraités
Canadian Association of Retired Teachers
Highlights of the 2019 ACER-CART AGM
Marilyn Bossert | President, ARTA
ACER-CART delegates from all ten provinces attended
the 2019 AGM in Ottawa the first weekend in June.
Representing Alberta were Gordon Cumming,
Lawrence Hrycan, and Marilyn Bossert.
Delegates were present in the House of Commons on
June 6 for the reading of petition e-2039 that requests
the federal government:
• promote and protect earned pensions for all
Canadians in the future
• withdraw Bill C-27
• establish a national pension insurance program to
ensure that seniors can live with financial security
This petition collected over 13,000 responses, with
over 5,400 from Alberta. The government response
was to table the petition on June 20, 2019.
Mark Ramsanker, president of the Canadian
Teachers’ Federation (CTF) and past president of
the ATA, welcomed the delegates and expressed
appreciation for the passion of retirees that goes
along with supporting public education and the
issues of seniors.
Joanne Lauber, ACER-CART Special Advisor,
reported on:
• Seniors’ Voice — a national coalition that focuses
on seniors’ issues with the celebration of the
International Day of Older Persons on October 1.
• The Brian Day court case that is challenging
the Canada Health Act with a move toward
privatization.
Owen Adams, Chief Policy Advisor of the Canadian
Medical Association, confirmed that Canadians are
living longer than ever and seniors will comprise one
42 | arta.net
ACER-CART 2019/20 Executive Committee:
Back row: Brian Kenny, Past President;
Martin Higgs, Regional Representative Ontario;
Margaret Urquhart, NB, Regional Representative East;
Roger Régimbal, Executive Director, Ottawa, ON.
Front row: Gerry Tiede, BC, Vice-President;
Bill Berryman, NS, President; Marilyn Bossert, AB,
Regional Representative West
third of the population by 2056. Thus, the CMA is
advocating a national plan to address all aspects of
seniors’ health care including wellness and prevention,
primary care, home care, long-term care, palliative
care, and pharmacare.
The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister of Seniors,
is looking for input from seniors as she acknowledges
ageism is increasingly an issue. She qualified the
government’s commitment to seniors, especially those
with low incomes, as follows:
• Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) exemption
for the first $5000 of earned income
• working toward automatic enrolment for CPP