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Saskatchewan Retirees Association Inc. With Strength in Numbers, This Association will work for you! |
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October 15, 2007 Dear SRA Member: While it has been quite some
time since I last reported to you, it has not been an idle time. Our legal
claim has been progressing steadily and our expectation is that the ¡°Discovery¡±
phase will be completed soon, possibly in early November. The ¡°Discovery¡± phase
is where our lawyer interviews government officials through direct questioning
and requisitions government documents. Through this exercise our lawyer gets
information and documentation to support our ¡°claim¡±. Our lawyer, Mr. Gordon
Kuski, has already received and continues to receive substantial information to
put together a strong argument in support of our claim. As soon as Mr. Kuski believes
he has sufficient information and data to document a compelling case, the
¡°Discovery¡± phase will end. He then prepares a brief of his findings from his
questions and the documents received to advance to the judge. The Government
and its solicitor, likewise prepare a brief for their side of the argument. The judge will then receive
the two briefs, the supporting documentation and a transcript of the entire
proceedings. After the judicial review, a date is set for a Pre-trial
Conference. At this meeting of two parties, the judge attempts to determine if
there is sufficient room to negotiate a settlement. It is expected that this
¡°Pre-trial¡± conference should take place in late January or early February. Any
negotiations that may be considered would quite likely follow immediately
thereafter. If it is believed a
negotiated settlement is not likely; then a ¡°Trial Date¡± would be established
and the trial proceeded forthwith. A lengthy trial is not anticipated, so a
trial conclusion some time in the summer of 2008 is now expected. The long held hope of the SRA
has always been to sit down with the Government and negotiate a settlement on our
concerns. The SRA has always considered court action as a costly option and is only
being pursued as an option of last resort. Despite the fact that our
legal claim appears to be favorably moving ahead and shaping up in a most
supportive way for Retirees, your Board wished to give the Premier and his NDP
Government one last opportunity to forego the Courts and negotiate a
settlement. This decision was made despite the fact that the Government has
consistently, time after time, not only refused to meet with us, let alone
discuss our concerns. In any event, with this sentiment in mind, the following
correspondence was sent to Premier Calvert. September
12, 2007
Premier
Lorne Calvert
Government
of S4P 4A6 Dear
Premier Calvert ¨C
It is
well over a year since we met to discuss the grave situation facing
Saskatchewan Government Retirees. You will recall that while our discussions
addressed a variety of their issues and concerns, Retirees indicated they were
prepared to forego their legal claim against the Province if satisfactory
resolutions could be reached on only five of their concerns, namely ¨C -
indexing
of pensions at 100 % of CPI -
back
pay for the years of lost indexing along with an equitable pension adjustment
as the base for future indexing -
assistance
with Retiree Health and Dental needs -
adjustment
of Spouses allowance from 60% to 75% -
adjustment
of Death Benefits so all members are provided current benefit amounts On
concluding what we believed was a frank and meaningful discussion, we
understood your instructions to the Minister of Finance was to work with the
Retiree Association to bring forward agreed on solutions to resolve their long
standing concerns. Our delegation clearly recall your concluding remarks where
you expressed your desire to implement such measures as would meet the needs of
both Retirees and the Province alike. Finally you mentioned that the meeting
was most timely in that these Retiree issues could all be dealt with at the
anticipated Fall sitting of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly. Mr.
Premier, you and we are well aware that your instructions to the Finance
Minister were not followed. While Retirees recognize your Government did make a
small effort at addressing two of their concerns, the initiatives taken were
made without the consultation you proposed and fell considerably short of what
Retirees believe would provide a reasonable and acceptable resolution. Your
Governments reluctance to meet with Retirees and resolve their concerns through
discussion is most unfortunate. Retirees believe your Government gave them no
other choice than to seek legal redress through the courts. You will be aware
that the Retiree quest for fair and reasonable treatment of their entitled and
paid for pensions and benefits, through the courts, is progressing favorably.
Retirees continue to stand by their previous statements, however, that a
settlement through the courts is costly for everyone and certainly not their
preference. As your Government has not accepted Retiree offers to settle this
through discussions, they believe they have no alternative but to continue with
the legal action. Mr.
Premier, Retirees are very much aware of your concerns and comments respecting
Prime Minister Harper and the Government of Canada¡¯s failing to meet its
commitments respecting
Of late
Retirees have seen evidence of your caring and delivering by way of the actions
planned for the Prince Albert Pulp Mill. Retirees
wonder why, however, such care and consideration continues to evade their
issues and concerns. Mr.
Premier, time is of the essence. Retirees and the public are extremely
disappointed in the lack of progress provided to the Retiree situation. Members feel abused and are questioning the
government reputation of caring for its people. These former employees have
worked hard over the years for the citizens of Or, Mr.
Premier, are your advertisements just wasted words as it appears were the
promises and commitment of Mr. Harper and the Federal Government. Can our members, the former employees of the
Province and your Government, still have confidence in your word? I am confident our Association and our
membership will be guided by how you handle this urgent situation. Yours
sincerely Alf Zimmerman President,
SRA After some three weeks, the following letter was
received from Premier Calvert. September
25, 2007
Alf
Zimmerman, President Dear
Mr. Zimmerman: Thank
you for your e-mail of September 14 and attached letter in which you express
your views regarding the legal action undertaken by the Retirees
Association. I appreciate your bringing your concerns to my attention. I have
forwarded a copy of your correspondence to the Honourable Pat Atkinson,
Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the Public Service Commission for her
information. Again,
I appreciate your taking the time to share your comments with me. Yours
sincerely, Lorne
Calvert Premier Cc:
Honourable Pat Atkinson, Minister
of Finance Minister Responsible for the
Public Service Commission Your Board carefully studied
and considered Premier Calvert¡¯s reply.
Your Board concluded that the Premier, and his NDP Government, just does
not want to resolve this long standing problem for their former employees. This
has been the case for many years where the Premier and his Government prefer to
close their eyes to our concerns. They continually find time for and resolve
concerns for their political friends, but will not meet, discuss or even
acknowledge the hardships of their former employees. Your Board believes the
only satisfaction Retirees might expect from Calvert and his NDP Government is
from winning our legal claim in the Courts and the Courts directing the
Government to provide improved pensions and benefits for us. Your Board has great confidence that, if we
must endure a Court trial, the merits of our legal claim are strong and the
Courts will direct improved pensions and benefits for us. With the SRA again being
brushed off by the Government, as evidenced by the Premiers letter of reply,
the Saskatchewan Party was again approached to request they clearly indicate and
document their position on our situation before any election call. Your Board
was well aware of the assistance the Saskatchewan Party provided the SRA in the
past, including their efforts supporting ¡°Bill 32¡± which ultimately provided
Retirees 70% CPI indexing. In response to this meeting, Mr. Ken Cheveldayoff, Finance Critic for the
MLA
Saskatoon Silver Springs 1106A Phone
306-651-7100 Fax 306-651-6008 Email: ken.cheveldayoff.mla@shaw.ca October
4, 2007 Premier
Lorne Calvert Room
226 Dear
Premier Calvert: I am
writing regarding the grave situation that your government has left
Saskatchewan Government Retirees in and your refusal to resolve or even discuss
their longstanding concerns. Enclosed
is a letter the group sent to you dated September 12, 2007 outlining their
profound disappointment with your government¡¯s handling of this file. You
will recall that I outlined the Saskatchewan Party¡¯s support in the Legislature
for:
I was
met with a firm refusal from then Finance Minister Andrew Thomson. Further to that refusal was an indication
that your government would pull legislation regarding indexing of pension at
70% of CPP if the Opposition Saskatchewan Party continued to advocate for this
group. At this
time, with a new finance Minister in place, I would ask that you reconsider
your government¡¯s stance against the Saskatchewan Retirees Association. The SRA
has indicated that they are prepared to forego their legal claim against the
Province if some satisfactory resolution could be reached. Furthermore,
I have asked Finance officials during questioning in Committee for a costing
of:
I have
yet to receive a satisfactory answer to these questions. Would
you please give this matter the urgent attention it deserves and provide an
answer before an election call? Thank
you for your anticipated cooperation on this important file. Sincerely, Ken
Cheveldayoff, Opposition Finance Critic Your Board reviewed and
considered the contents and intent of the Saskatchewan Party letter. After
reflection on past assistance from the Saskatchewan Party and their public
support for Retirees, as is documented in Hansard and the proceedings of the
Legislative Assembly, your Board came to the realize that any help outside of the
Court will come only from the Saskatchewan Party. With an election now called,
your Board urges you to question all candidates respecting their views on
Retiree issues and what they will do about them. Keep in mind that the best one
can expect from a government in the future is a reflection of what that
Government may have done in the past. The NDP Government has repeatedly and
continuously rejected any discussion to deal with our concerns. It appears any
NDP Government will do nothing for Retirees unless directed to do something by
the courts. On the other hand, the Saskatchewan Party has taken steps to help
Retirees for several years, including Ken Cheveldayoff¡¯s recent letter to the
Premier. I leave it to you to decide
which Political party has helped us the most in the past and which party will
continue to assist us in the future to resolve our issues. I think it is quite
obvious from the information and letters I have provided to you today. Please make your vote count. Alf Zimmerman, President
SRA
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