AFP/AAC has been an active mem-ber of the Canadian Coalition for Re-tirement Security since its creation inthe autumn of 2014. The prime reasonfor forming this coalition of public andprivate sector employees and pensionerswas to defend our hard earned pensionbenefits in light of perceived threats toarbitrarily change our ‘defined benefit’pensions to ‘target benefit’ or ‘sharedrisk’ plans as had happened to provin-cial employees in New Brunswick andPEI. The Coalition’s original mandatewas geared towards last year’s federalelection, but during the monthly meet-ings leading to the election it becameobvious that participants shared manyother concerns than just the ‘target ben-efit’ issue. So we decided to continueto share our thoughts and concerns be-

yond the federal election and are nowmeeting on a regular basis.

We (the Coalition) have asked foran audience with our new PM to obtainhis assurance that our pensions are safebut it seems he is too busy traipsingaround the world and having his phototaken.

You will read within that the Veter-ans Hiring Act, which gives preferentialaccess for Public Service employmentto certain disabled and medically re-leased veterans, does not treat those vet-erans the same as other public servantsvis-à-vis retirement age. We are work-ing with another coalition, the NationalCouncil of Veterans Associations, toseek to resolve this discriminatory issue.

Most of you will have read or heardabout the fiasco with the Phoenix pay

system which was implemented earlierthis year to pay our public servants –many of whom have either been under-paid or not paid at all. While our pen-sion data is not currently on the Phoenixsystem, responsibility for the adminis-tration of our CFSA benefits is beingtransferred from PWGSC to the govern-ment’s Pension Centre in Shediac, NewBrunswick (see newsletter Issue 23).The transfer is supposed to happen thisautumn so we want to caution membersagain – be on alert for any surprises inyour monthly pension cheque/depositover the next few months while thetransfer is in progress. If you suspectsomething is amiss, contact our pensionoffice immediately (1-800-267-0350).

The Canadian Government issuedcommemorative medals for Queen Eliz-

1ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Issues

ISSUE 25 | 2016

AFP/AACIN THIS ISSUE:

Notice of the 2016 Annual General MeetingFind out how you can take part in it

Military Families Then and NowDiscover how time is changing the dynamics

Canadian Military Memorials at Homeand Around the World Learn about memorials near and far

Military Veterans in the Public Service How will this affect your pension?

ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS’/ANNUITANTS’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Visit our website: www.afpaac.ca

Like us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

Continued on next page...

NOTICE OF THE2016 ANNUAL

GENERAL MEETING

Sgt. (RET) Basil Joseph McAllister

1931-2016

abeth’s Coronation in 1953, her Sil-ver, Golden and Diamond jubileesin 1977, 2002 and 2012 respec-tively, and for Canada’s 100th birth-day in 1967. Our nation’ssesquicentennial is next year and theword is out that the Governmentwill NOT issue a medal to mark theoccasion. One has to wonder why?

Snow will soon be with us (if ithasn’t already arrived in your area)so many of us will be thinking of thesunny south. Be aware that yourtime in the US is now being trackedby their IRS which could cause yousome grief if you stay more than183 days in any one year. And ifyou frequently stay more than three

months in a year, you may be con-sidered a US resident for tax pur-poses. One way to avoid that is tocomplete their “Closer ConnectionForm 8840” which is on-line at:

https://www.pdffiller.com/6963869-f8840--2015pdf-2015-Form-8840-User-Forms-irs?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_cam-paign=US_Executive_Depart-ment_Treasury_IRS%20Forms&utm_term=form%208840&utm_con-tent=*2015%20IRS%208840 .

Thank you for your continuingsupport of our Association.

The AFP/AAC Annual General

Meeting will be held on:

Thursday

November 24th, 2016

at 1:00 PM EDT

by teleconference call

For those members wishing to par-

ticipate, please contact us by calling 1-

613-432-9491 or send us an email at

kaylafraser@afpaac.ca to receive the

call-in information. There will be no

costs incurred for members to call-in.

A motion to approve the 2015 audit

will be made at the AGM. The audit was

conducted by Nephin Winter Bingley

and subsequent draft financial state-

ments were provided to the board.

The financial statements are avail-

able to members upon request.

2 ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Continued from previous page...

It is with heavy hearts that we

sadly announce the passing of Basil

Joseph McAllister on Thursday,

September 15, 2016 at Oromocto

Public Hospital.

Following numerous deploy-

ments overseas and a Canadian

Forces Decoration (CD), Basil re-

tired as Sergeant after 20 years of

loyal and dedicated military service.

Basil was well known as a na-

tional advocate for the chemical

spray "Agent Orange". He repre-

sented himself in federal courts and

was compensated for his medical

illnesses

Basil was a member of many or-

ganizations and served as President

of C.U.P.E. Local 1867 in Antigo-

nish, President of the New

Brunswick chapter of the Black

Watch Association and was a mem-

ber of ANVETS in Woodstock.

To read more about Basil’s Jour-

ney with Agent Orange please see

our Newsletter Issues 15, 19 and 20.

AFP/AACP.O. Box 370, 3-247 Barr Street

Renfrew, Ontario K7V 4A6 Phone: 613-432-9491

Email: executivedirector@afpaac.ca Website: www.afpaac.ca

3ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Government of Canada Makes Goodon Pledge to Reopen VAC Offices

The 2016 federal budget included

funds to support the current Govern-

ment’s pledge to give back to Veterans

and restore critical access to services.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs and the

Associate Minister of National Defence

were given the mandate to reverse the

previous government’s decision to close

nine Veterans Affairs Canada offices and

to hire new staff to better support Veter-

ans and their families by providing

much-needed services closer to home.

Budget 2016 committed $5.6 billion

to improve Veterans’ benefits and serv-

ices, including increased payments under

the Disability Award and the Earnings

Loss Benefit, and expanded access to the

Permanent Impairment Allowance. Vet-

erans Affairs Canada has also expanded

its Commemorative Partnership Program

to allow funding for the building of new

war memorials, and increased the sur-

vivor estate cash exemption under the

Funeral and Burial Program.

The Veterans Affairs Office in Cor-

ner Brook, NL reopened to Veterans on

July 5, 2016. By May 2017, offices will

reopen in Charlottetown, PE; Sydney,

NS; Windsor and Thunder Bay, ON;

Saskatoon, SK; Brandon, MB; and,

Prince George and Kelowna, BC. A new

office will open in Surrey, BC, and out-

reach will be expanded to Veterans in the

northern territories and Nunavut by

working with local partners. This new

access commenced on August 31, 2016,

with VAC staff traveling to the territories

and other northern communities every

month to meet with Veterans and their

families. The cities of Yellowknife,

NWT; Whitehorse, YT; and Iqaluit, NU;

will be the first areas to be visited.

As of May 2016, more than 250 new

frontline employees have been hired;

these additional staff will help ensure that

Veterans have a more successful transi-

tion to civilian life. With the increase in

case managers, it is anticipated that each

manager will serve no more than 25 dis-

abled Veterans at one time, improving in-

dividual access and wait times. Over the

next two years, the number of new staff

hired and trained is anticipated to grow

to 400 in total.

The office opening dates are

scheduled as follows:

Corner Brook, NL July 5, 2016

Brandon, MB October 2016

Kelowna, BC November 2016

Sydney, NS November 2016

Charlottetown, PE November 2016

Saskatoon, SK November 2016

Thunder Bay, ON January 2017

Windsor, ON May 2017

Prince George, BC May 2017

Surrey, BC May 2017

For an interactive map and directory

of all Veterans Affairs offices and Inte-

grated Personal Support Centres, visit

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/

contact/map

A member of Soldier On takes encouragement from a high-five in the

last stretch of her half-marathon at the eighth annual Army Run on Sep-

tember 20, 2015 in Ottawa, Ontario.

Photo by: Cpl Aydyn Neifer. ©2015 DND-MDN Canada.

Military Families Then and Now

Up until a few decades ago, the pic-

ture of military family life in Canada was

fairly homogenous. Most members of

the Armed Forces were male, and many

had a wife at home taking care of the

children and the household. She likely

did not work outside of the home, and

she understood that her job was to sup-

port her husband and enable him to

thrive in his chosen career. In the case of

an officer’s wife, that also meant attend-

ing military functions and hosting regular

dinner parties for her husband’s col-

leagues and their wives. While children’s

lives were perhaps more carefree, for

adults life was a little more formal and

regimented.

If being a military wife meant

months of separation due to deployment,

including perhaps giving birth while the

husband was on the other side of the

world, well, that came with the territory.

Another aspect that impacted the wife

was the frequent moves – as often as

every two years – which meant partici-

pating in finding new accommodation,

new doctors and dentists, new schools

for the children, and a new life in a new

city. Perhaps the family would be housed

in Private Married Quarters (PMQs) on

the base, giving her access to a support

network of people in the same circum-

stance.

Fast forward to today and the picture

has changed significantly. Military fam-

ilies now come in all sizes and shapes,

including single parents, same-sex part-

ners and grandparents with primary care

responsibilities. Now, many Veterans

Continued on next page...

also happen to be the parents of CF

members or their spouses. In addition,

there are almost 14,000 female service

personnel, representing 15% of the reg-

ular and reserve forces combined; the

goal is to grow this number to 25%

within 10 years. While some of these fe-

male CF personnel have spouses or part-

ners who are also in the Forces, many

are married to civilians.

In an era when many families in-

clude two working parents, it can be a

delicate balancing act to juggle the

needs and priorities of two careers.

Today, the impact on the family unit

when a soldier is deployed is often

much more challenging than in the past.

Add in the potential stress of a soldier

being wounded or killed in the line of

duty and it’s easy to see that modern

military life is more complicated than

ever before.

In the 1980s, civilian spouses of CF

members became increasingly insistent

that the Canadian Forces not only ac-

knowledge the contributions and sacri-

fices of family members but also

develop policies and procedures to sup-

port military families. This advocacy

work led to the creation of the Military

Family Services Program (MFSP) and

the establishment across the country of

Military Families Resource Centres

(MFRC) which promote and facilitate

community-based services and pro-

grams to enhance the well-being of mil-

itary families.

As part of the public consultation on

the future of the Canadian Armed

Forces, the MFRC recently prepared a

brief for DND entitled Without Family,

There is no Future. The report acknowl-

edges the vital contribution made by

Canadian military families over the past

thirty years of military operations.

“They make a direct contribution to op-

erational efficiency and for this reason

must be recognized in the evolving poli-

cies of defence as an integral and vital

part of the CAF and must be supported

by all levels of government through the

Military Family Resource Centres

(MFRC), governed by and for families.”

It is important that the vital strength pro-

vided by military families to CF person-

nel be integrated into Defence policy. As

the MFRC notes, Canadian military

families deserve the right to be included

as an integral and essential component

in the next policy, which would then en-

title families to enjoy greater govern-

ment and resource support.

Helpful resources:

A Family Guide to the Military

Experience

https://www.familyforce.ca/EN/Docu-

ments/MFS%20A%20Family%20Gui

de%20to%20the%20Military%20Ex-

perience%20ENG.pdf

Military Family Services Program

https://www.familyforce.ca

The Canadian Military Family

Magazine

http://cmfmag.ca/

While You Were Away: Support for

Families Experiencing Deployment or

Extended Absence

http://www.whileyouwereaway.org

For Families of Medically-released

Veterans

https://www.familyforce.ca/sites/

VeteranFamilyProgram/EN/Pages/de-

fault.aspx

4 ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

Military Veterans in the Public Service

Continued from previous page...

In 2015, the Veterans Hiring Act

came into effect, making it easier for

serving Canadian Armed Forces mem-

bers and recently retired veterans to tran-

sition to employment in the federal

public service. However, some of those

who have made this switch have faced an

unpleasant surprise when it comes to

their future retirement and pension ben-

efits, as they will be required to work 5

years longer than expected before being

eligible for a full pension.

While pension entitlements in the

military are based solely on years of

service, the public service considers a

combination of age and years of service.

Historically, earning an unreduced pen-

sion from the public service required

reaching age 55 with at least 30 years of

service, or age 60 with less than 30 years.

However, in 2012 members of the public

service pension plan were divided into

two groups, with those joining the plan

after 2012 required to wait an additional

5 years, until age 60 with at least 30 years

of service, or age 65 with less than 30

years.

This issue specifically affects veter-

ans who have transferred their pension-

able service from the military to the

public service pension plan, which are

typically members who are not eligible

to begin drawing a military pension upon

Continued on next page...

5ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

their release. While processes are in

place to transfer and account for this

service, the date of joining the public

service plan is considered to be post-

2012, which places these veterans into

the new group with the later retirement

age. As a result of this imbalance, they

will be required to work 5 years longer

than colleagues with the same period of

pensionable service with the federal

government.

Fortunately, the government has al-

ready recognized a similar problem fac-

ing the RCMP and made an allowance

to address it. When civilian employees

of the RCMP are transferred as a group

to the public service (at a future date to

be determined by Treasury Board), their

pensionable service will automatically

be transferred from the RCMP to the

public service pension plan. In order to

avoid unfairly changing their retirement

eligibility, Parliament passed a provision

in 2014 to ensure that these former

RCMP employees would be entitled to

the earlier retirement age, despite join-

ing the plan after 2012.

In order to correct the current imbal-

ance facing veterans who have trans-

ferred to the public service, and to pre-

vent it from affecting additional

veterans, Parliament must amend the

Public Service Superannuation Act such

that veterans who transfer pre-2013 pen-

sionable service from the military or

RCMP to the public service pension

plan are entitled to the earlier retirement

age. AFP/AAC is working to address

this issue, through the National Council

of Veteran Associations to bring about

the necessary changes to legislation.

Canadian Military Memorials at Homeand Around the World

Continued from previous page...

Ottawa’s National War Memorial

may be the most famous cenotaph in

Canada, but did you know there are ac-

tually over 7000 military memorials

across the country? Whether in the form

of a statue, honour roll, obelisk, cairn,

stele, cross or plaque, each one serves to

commemorate one or more aspects of

Canada’s fighting and peacekeeping his-

tory. Many serve to honour those killed

in action, from as far back as the Iroquois

Wars of the late 1600s and the Seven

Years’ War of the mid-1700s all the way

through to the 21st century’s current War

on Terror.

It would be easy to plan a travel itin-

erary using our nation’s military past as

a guide. Every province and territory has

its memorials, from the four in Nunavut

to the over 2500 in Ontario. One of the

oldest in the country is located in Caril-

lon, Quebec, near Lachute. Erected in

May 1660, it features a bronze statue on

a stone shaft. Constructed by sculptor A.

Laliberté, it pays tribute to seventeen

men who generously gave their lives for

New France.

The most remote military memorial

is on Ellsmere Island, Northwest Territo-

ries. A stone cairn, it overlooks what has

been established as Canada’s most north-

ern point of land. Established by the

Canadian Armed Forces Mapping and

Charting Establishment, the monument

is dedicated to the military personnel

who have contributed to the mapping of

Canada.

In addition to the thousands of me-

morials at home, some of the most

poignant Canadian military memorials

are located on foreign soil, which seems

quite fitting given the generations of CF

personnel who have served abroad

through wars and peacetime. Currently,

there are seventeen memorials in France,

six in Belgium, four in the United King-

dom, two in South Korea and one each

in Egypt, Hong Kong, Italy, Malta, the

Netherlands, Singapore and the United

Arab Emirates. Here are a few of the

most frequently visited overseas memo-

rials:

Canadian National

Vimy Memorial Park

Canada's most impressive tribute

overseas to those Canadians who fought

and gave their lives in the First World

War is the majestic and inspiring Cana-

dian National Vimy Memorial in north-

eastern France. It serves as a tribute to all

who served our country during that war,

and marks the site of a battle that many

consider marked Canada’s birth as a na-

tion.

Beaumont-Hamel

Newfoundland Memorial

An important symbol of remem-

brance and a lasting tribute to all New-

foundlanders who served during the First

World War, this impressive memorial lo-

cated in the Somme region of France,

just 45 kilometres from Vimy Ridge, in-

cludes a majestic bronze caribou, which

is the emblem of the Royal Newfound-

land Regiment.

Continued on next page...

6 ARMED FORCES PENSIONERS ’/ANNUITANTS ’ ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

The Juno Beach Centre

Located in Normandy, France, it

serves as Canada’s Second World War

museum, honouring the 45,000 Cana-

dians who lost their lives during the

War, including 5,500 who were killed

during the Battle of Normandy and 359

on D-Day. It was opened in 2003 and

is intended to be both an education cen-

tre and a permanent memorial to all

Canadians who served during the Sec-

ond World War.

The Department of Veterans Affairs

is the custodian of the National Inven-

tory of Military Memorials; they pro-

vide a searchable index at:

http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remem-

brance/memorials/national-inventory-

canadian-memorials

Great travel discounts availablefor CF Veterans

Continued from previous page...

Being a member of the Canadian

Forces typically means a lot of duty-re-

lated travel. For many Veterans, the de-

sire to travel continues after their military

career. If you’re among those Veterans

eager to extend your exploration of

Canada and the world, there are a wide

range of travel benefits and discounts

available and most are extremely easy to

access.

Many discount programs – both na-

tional and international – require CF

members and Veterans to have a valid

CFOne Card (http://cf1fc.ca see our

newsletter #21 on affinity programs).

Administered by Canadian Forces

Morale and Welfare Services (CFMWS),

it replaces the CANEX ClubXTra card

and the CF Appreciation card, giving

cardholders access to services, activities

and business discounts via the CF Appre-

ciation program as well as shopping priv-

ileges at the CANEX, where it just so

happens you can buy great luggage for

your next trip.

For CFOne cardholders, the CF Ap-

preciation Program (https://www.cfap-

preciation.ca) was created to offer a

variety of exclusive rate reductions and

incentives – including some related to

leisure travel and family attractions – to

Canadian military personnel and their

families in recognition of their sacrifices

and dedication. The program currently

includes some of the world’s most rec-

ognizable brands and businesses, and is

being continually enhanced.

There are a number of external

providers offering travel discounts as

well. VIA Rail offers a Personal Travel

Fare (http://www.viarail.ca/en/canadian-

forces) to members of the Canadian

Armed Forces, Veterans, and National

Defence civilian personnel. Qualified in-

dividuals and their immediate families

enjoy a 25% discount on adult, senior,

student, youth and child fares in most

classes and on all trains, for one-way or

roundtrip travel.

Current CF members and Veterans

also enjoy an enhanced baggage al-

lowance when flying on three Canadian

airlines, whether travelling for duty or

leisure. Air Canada and Porter Airlines

permit up to three pieces of luggage,

each weighing up to 32 kg (70 lb), free

of charge. WestJet’s limit is four pieces,

each weighing up to 23 kg (50 lb).

The Armed Forces Vacation Club

https://www.afvclub.ca offers free mem-

berships to all members of the Canadian

Armed Forces, providing access to a va-

riety of vacation accommodation op-

tions. Many properties offer benefits

such as kitchens, living rooms, multiple

bedrooms, washer/dryers, pool and

recreation facilities, kids’ activities and

more. There are over 200,000 Armed

Forces Vacation Club resort accommo-

dation options in over 100 countries, in-

cluding the United States, the Caribbean,

Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia.

Military Resort Discounts

http://www.militaryresortdiscounts.com/

offers a ten percent discount (which is

applied on top of any other discounts) for

stays at a variety of top rated Caribbean

resorts. Military Cruise Deals

(http://www.militarycruisedeals.com) of-

fers discounts regardless of whether or

not the cruise line offers a military rate.

Similarly, American Discount Cruises

(http://www.americandiscountcruises.co

m/military-travel-deals.html) represents

many cruise lines which offer discounts

for Canadian military personnel, includ-

ing Veterans.

Many businesses across the country

and around the world – including tourist

attractions, museums, hotels, bus and car

rental companies, golf courses and more

want to express gratitude for your service

in the form of a discount. The next time

you begin to make travel plans, be sure

to ask the companies you are dealing

with if they offer an incentives for Veter-

ans or CFOne cardholders.