BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014
Newsletter
Ottawa Chapter Newsletter / April 2014INSIDE THIS ISSUE
- Upcoming Meetings
- From our Chapter Chair
- BPG President’s Report
- Ontario Central Chapter
- BPG Board 2014 – 2016
- Follow us on Facebook
- Help us limit our postal costs!
- BCE Shareholder Meeting in Ottawa
- Ottawa Chapter Executive
- Membership Renewals & Applications
UPCOMING MEETINGS IN YOUR AREA
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
City / Date / Time / PlaceOttawa* / Tue 27 May 2014 / 9:30am - 12:30pm
Registration at 8:45am / Nepean Sportsplex (Salon B)
1701 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa
Kingston** / Tue 30 Sep 2014 / 2:00pm – 4:00pm
Registration, social hour & refreshmentsfrom 1:00pm / Portsmouth Olympic Harbour
(Press Room) 53 Yonge St, Kingston
Ottawa / Wed 29 Oct 2014 / 9:30am - 12:30pm
Registration at 8:45am / Nepean Sportsplex (Salon B)
1701 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
* Ottawa invited speakers will be Mirko Bibic, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer - BCE and Lucie Dutil, Vice President Human Resources - Bell Canada.
** Kingston key speakers will be Dan McDonald, President BPG and Ontario Ministry of Finance: Understanding Ontario’s Credits and Benefits.
FROM OUR CHAPTER CHAIR1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Hi Everyone!
I hope that all of you survived the long cold winter and I hope that spring will be here by the time we all meet together in May.
With the ever increasing Postal Rates, we
would like to save money by sending yournewsletter and correspondence via email. PLEASE ensure that we have your email address.
Our May meeting is one that you won't want to miss. Our guests will be Mirko Bibic, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer- BCE and Lucie Dutil, Vice President Human Resources-Bell Canada. Following their presentations there
will be a Question and Answer time so please come prepared to ask your questions. Thisis an excellent time to bring along a friend to the meeting.
I look forward to seeing you in May.
Marlyn Easterbrook
Ottawa Chapter Chair
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
BPG PRESIDENT’sREPORT1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
HiEveryone!
Before getting into BPG’s recent activities, I would like to share with you some sad news we received in February. Our good friend Richard Vanslette who was a member of the Board and a PIC rep for many years suddenly passed away. We will remember him for his great career at Bell and his significant contribution to BPG.
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about some of the great work that has been completed or is currently underway. For those who attended our last AGMs or watched the last President’s video, you may remember that I presented a brief summary of the risk analysis we undertook in order to help us better understand the issues that could affect the security of our pensions. Some of these issues are immediate and highly important to all of us. Other issues are more long term but require action in order to prevent them from becoming critical. Yet other issues are simply observations that BPG makes concerning situations which may be indirectly or tangentially of concern to us.
The following eight scenarios have been analysed.
Company Restructuring:A Plan sponsor in creditor protection sells the company’s assets to pay off debt obligations but does not sell the pension liabilities. Having re-structured itself, it then reduces payments to pensioners by the amount of shortfall in the plan.
Cost of Indexation: Plan sponsors have been lobbying over the past few years forthe elimination of indexation in the calculation of a pension plan’s liability for funding purposes. Approximately 25% of the liability of our pension plan is attributable to indexation provisions.
COLA:Pension plan members are offered a current and enhanced pension payment amount in exchange for surrendering all or part of future COLA increases.
Annuities: A plan sponsor in Canada decides to transfer its pension liabilities to an insurance company which then provides annuities to the former plan members.
Discount Rates: Plan sponsors have been lobbying for changes to the valuation methodology for pension plans by using average asset values, changes to the discount rate and bond yields using a longer study period of time. BPG’s work, together with the Canadian Federation of Pensioners (CFP), regarding amendments proposed for Québec pension plans is directed towards making sure that sound economic principles are followed.
Bell’s Investment Policy and Pension Plan De-Risking:The Investment Policy is one means of increasing or lowering the pensioner’s risk. We have examined Bell’s Investment Policy, with assistance of an actuary, and have concluded that Bell’s strategy has helped to lower pensioner risk. Study of the investment policy will be ongoing.
Bell’s Financial Health:The financial health of a pension plan sponsor is a
significant factor in assessing the risk to the plan members and the pensionpromise. In the case of a wind-up of the pension plan as a result of thebankruptcy of the plan sponsor while the pension plan is underfunded, plan members will be forced toaccept reduced pensions. Consequently, the current financial status of a plan sponsor is a major determinant of the risk level to ongoing pension payments.
Pensioner Protection in case of Plan Failure: Should a pension plan be underfunded when it is wound up, pensioners now inevitably suffer a loss in their pension amount. BPG, in conjunction with CFP, is engaged in a consultation process with Industry Canada regarding the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. We arelooking for amendments to legislation that
will reduce the likelihood of pension loss.
I will take the opportunity at our next AGMs to provide additional details on these issues and the outcome of our analysis.I would also like to bring to your attentionthat we have three members leaving the Board this year. Special thanks to Bob Bartlett, Frank Bible and Ron Hunt for their dedication and the great work they have accomplished over the past years. New members will be joining us on the Board and you will be asked to vote for them at our next AGMs (more information is provided in this newsletter).
I invite you to join us at our next AGMs and look forward to meeting you and addressing your concerns.
Daniel Mc Donald
President of BPG
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
ONTARIO CENTRAL CHAPTER1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Effective April 1 the Toronto Chapter became the Ontario Central Chapter to better reflect the membership coverage. Given the geographic footprint of current members from Niagara to Kenora the name “Toronto” did not reflect the membership spread. It was in fact an obstacle in recruiting members outside the Toronto area. People
simply did not identify with the name “Toronto” and since there was no chapter listed for their area they did not join BPG. We will continue to use a Toronto image on the Ontario Central webpage since it is where the majority of the chapter’s members reside.
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
BPG BOARD 2014 - 20161
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Further to the adoption of new by-laws governing the operation of not-for-profit organizations, the Board may consist of 7 to 20 members, ideally reflecting the proportional representation of members as of the 31December 2013, 54% from Ontario and 46% from Québec. The Board currently has 18 members, representing a 50/50% regional split. The Nominations Committee is looking for a candidate from Ontario in order to reach a 53/47% representation.
Six seats are reserved for directors elected by each chapter (three in Ontario and three in Québec). These directors are the Chapter Chairs. The remaining seats are filled by nomination to the Board and approved by the members at the general meetings. Board members may serve three consecutive terms of two years.
You will find on the following page lists of existing Board members as well as the new candidates recommended for the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2016.A brief Curriculum Vitaeis provided for each of these new candidates.
BPG members will be asked to approve, by show of hands, the election of these dedicated volunteers at the upcoming general meetings in May June 2014.
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Current Directors
Ontario
Sue DawesDirector (Pension)
Bob FarmerPast President
Penny GilrayTreasurer
Chapter Chairs
(elected by members of respective chapters)
Ontario
Frank Bible*Southwestern Ontario Marlyn EasterbrookOttawa
TitusOntario Central Ramkhalawansingh (formerly Toronto)
* Frank Bible’s term will end in May 2014
New Candidates
Ontario
Marg EadesDirector (Pension)
Don GrahamChair-Southwestern Ontario
Bill HollettVice-President
Patte SeatonSecretary
Québec
Dan McDonaldPresident
Roberte CadieuxDirector (Communications)
Michel DoyonDirector (PIC Audit)
Jean-Luc GehaDirector (Audit)
Louise TouchetteDirector (Nominations)
Québec
Robert GuayMontréal
Norm KellyTélébec Chapter
Jean LamerQuébec
Québec
Yvan Dutrisac Director (Benefits)
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Profile of New Candidates
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
Marg Eades
During her 35-year career, Marg Eades held a variety of positions in a number of Bell departments including the Computer Communications Systems Group, Engineering Economics, Internal Audits, and Corporate Communications. Her early Company experience set the stage for Marg’s extensive communications career in support of diverse regulatory, corporate policy, and marketing issues and initiatives. She retired at the end of 2011.
Marg is a long-time member of the FinanceCommittee at Parkdale United Church inOttawa and remains active with the Ottawa-
based group of Bell volunteers.
Marg joined the BPG Pension Committee in January 2012 and assumed the role of secretary in March 2013. She joined the BPG Board of Directors in May 2013.
Don Graham
Don retired from Expertech in 2008 with 35 years of service. During his career at Bell/Expertech he held management positions in Construction, Professional Development and Outside Plant Sales. At theme of his retirement Don was anExecutive Account Manager for Ontario,
Western Canada and the Caribbean.
Don joined BPG Southwestern Ontario(SWO) Chapter in 2008 as a Committee Representative for Kitchener / Waterloo/ Guelph / Cambridge. Don has been successful in recruiting replacements for SWO Chapter Treasurer and Secretary positions along with adding additional community reps. In 2013 Don volunteered for the position of SWO Vice Chair with the intent of moving into the SWO Chair position in 2014.
Bill Hollett
Bill retired from Bell in 2004 after 39.5 years of service. Bill’s career began as a C.O. tech in the Agincourt exchange in northeast Toronto and continued on a “network” tangent in Operations and Traffic Management. He managed Operations Districts throughout Ontario and the National Nexxia network; living in Kitchener, Ottawa and mainly Toronto. His final responsibility was Senior GM, Broadband to the Home, leading a small team that would operationalize the network requirements for what is now known as Fibe TV. After retiring he consulted with numerous technology companies until 2008.
His hobbies include ‘senior’ hockey, music, travel, and a bunch of grandkids!
Patte Seaton
Patte retired in 2004 from Bell Canada as aCustomer Care Executive with 32 years ofservice. She isa recognized customer service
leader with a solid background in operations,staff management and consulting within the telecommunications and call centre industries. In 2005 Patte established Seaton Consulting Ltd, a provider of call centre services both in Canada and in Australia. In 2008 she was part of a partnership that created a‘retail on the road’ concept featuring ladies golf and leisure wear from Canadian suppliers, growing the business yearly until it became too busy and not enough time for golf and leisure!
Since 2005, Patte has volunteered at theOakville Hospital and has been on the Volunteer Association Board for five years and is currently the Vice Chair.
Patte joined the BPG Board in October 2013 as Secretary.
Yvan Dutrisac
Yvan retired in December 2004 after more than 35 years of service. During his career at Bell Canada, Yvan worked in the Installation & Repair groups, various support groups, Internal Audits, many Human Resources entities as well as for Bell Canada International. He joined the Montréal Chapter of the Bell Pensioners’ Group in 2005 as Director of recruiting and, in September 2005, he became Chapter Chair, a position he held until June 2012. In addition, he served on the Membership Committee, the Governance Committee and the national Board of Directors. Yvan has an extensive knowledge of pension plans and benefits and he is a relentless defender of the rights ofBell retirees.
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK!1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
BPG now has its own Facebook page.
Several retirees, employeesand groups fromBell use Facebook.ForBPG,it is an opportunityto increase its visibilityand, foremost, to make itself known tonon-members. This mediaalso gives us thepossibility of promoting BPG on other
groups’ pages.
Visit the Bell Pensioners’ GroupFacebookpageand like it.You can access it on thehomepageof our websiteor on the Facebook network.
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
HELP US LIMIT OUR POSTAGE COSTS!1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
On March 31, 2014 Canada Post introduced a new pricing structure.
With the price of stamps now increased from 63 cents to 85 cents for bulk purchases, imagine how much extra it will cost to send the Bell Pensioners’ Group (BPG) newsletters to thousands of members every year.
Incidentally, the cost of mailing a newsletter is higher than just the price of a stamp. There are also, of course, costs of printing, paper and envelopes.
We would appreciate your cooperation in helping us keep our costs to a minimum. More than half of our members already receive their newsletters by email.
For those who do not, it would be a great help in reducing costs, if you were to receive your newsletters by email rather than by mail.
You can subscribe to our electronic distribution list to obtain your newsletters. You will receive an email notification as soon as the latest newsletter is available.
This simple gesture will help reduce our postage costs and reinforce our environmental efforts by cutting down on paper use.
To subscribe to our electronic distribution list, please send an email to and make sure you provide your name, BPG member number and email address.
Thank you for your support!
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
BCE ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING IN OTTAWA1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
For the informationof BCE shareholders, the BCE 2014 Annual General Shareholder Meeting will be held in Ottawathis year.
Details are:
May 6, 2014, 9:30 amto 12:00 pm
Ottawa Convention Centre
55 Colonel By Drive
Level 2, Ottawa Salon
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014Newsletter
OTTAWA CHAPTER EXECUTIVE1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2012 Newsletter
The Ottawa Chapter Executive of the Bell Pensioners’ Group comprises the following members:
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2012 Newsletter
Chair Marlyn Easterbrook
Vice Chair Ron Hunt
Past Chair Marc Davidson
Treasurer Don Dutton
Secretary Geraldine Foot
MembershipEd Wilton
Webmaster Terry Acker
Members at Large John Elliot
David Fair
Harvey Hillier
Members at Large (ctd)Lancy Hum
George McDougallBrian McClean
Keith Thuell
Kingston Committee - Members at Large
Marg Bryant
Diane Kwiatkowski
Jackie Machin
Tina Phillips
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2012 Newsletter
Seen at Last Year’s Meetings
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2012 Newsletter
Greg Ramsay, Brian Ellis & Mike Kassner Patrick Burke, Steve Joannides & Wade Krantz
Cecilia Bowie, Sue Taylor & Mary Dunn Peter McNamara & Ian McMillan
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2013 Newsletter
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2013 Newsletter
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERJuly 2013 Newsletter
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS AND NEW APPLICATIONS1
BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014 Newsletter
A reminder to those who have not paid their membership, to please do so. Membership for 2014was due on 1 January.Annual membership of $20 for the Bell Pensioners' Group covers the period January 1 to December 31 each year.
It is thanks to your support that we have been able to defend your interests over the last years!
If you have changed your address, email, or telephone number please let us know.
Options for Payment
- At our next meeting.
- Online secure credit card payment using PayPal
Go to , clickOttawa Chapter, Membership and follow the instructions. Note there is a $1 handling fee.
- Cheque sent by mail
Please complete the form below. Make your cheque payable to BPG Inc. and mail to:
Membership Renewal, BPG Ottawa Chapter
P.O. Box 127, Merrickville ON, K0G 1N0.
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014 Newsletter
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BELL PENSIONERS’ GROUP – OTTAWA CHAPTERApril 2014 Newsletter
BPG Membership Application or Renewal
New ApplicationRenewal (If renewal) Membership Number _____
Year(s) for which you are paying (e.g. 2014, 2015, etc.) ______
First nameLast nameInitial
Address City/Town
Province Postal Code ____Telephone( ____ ) ______Email