| -2009-04-17 Winnipeg Free Press |
| -OPEN LETTER TO MP Document |
| -TCRC Concerns |
Brothers and Sisters;
The pension hearings chaired by Ted Menzies, Secretary to the Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, ended in Winnipeg on April 17, 2009.
Attached please find a newspaper article from the Winnipeg Free Press relative to the Winnipeg hearings. You will note that Mr. Menzies made some interesting comments.
The Finance Department staff will now consider all of the information that was gathered and present a detailed report to the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister will then decide what, if anything, he will do with this initiative. If the Minister (government) decides to introduce new legislation there is ample time for us to meet with MPs and the Finance Committee to further make our views known and we will do so. For example, I will be accompanying Mr. Phil Benson, Teamsters Canada Lobbyist, and other union representatives, on Thursday, April 23 when we appear before the Federal Standing Committee on Finance.
From this point on the Canadian Labour Congress, Teamsters Canada, the TCRC, and all unions representing Federal employees, will continue to lobby all MPs on this most important issue. It should be remembered that we have a minority government. One question we are going to be asking MPs, especially Conservative MPs, is if they want to be remembered as the government who stole our senior citizens pensions.
Please note the attachment outlining our position on the major issues in this debate. You may wish to copy these points and post the letter on your bulletin board.
At this time it would be very helpful if you would call each member of your Division and ask them and other members of their family, if practicable, to contact their Federal Member of Parliament. Attached is a letter that can be addressed to your MP and signed by yourself. It is not necessary to affix postage to a letter addressed to an MP. You will most likely get a response but it will take four to eight weeks.
Click on the link below to access a list of all Members of Parliament.
http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E
Or click on the link below to enter in your postal code to get your Member of Parliament
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx
You may also phone your MP. We have attached a letter outlining six of our foremost concerns relative to this pension review. You could discuss these with your MP. However, you may simply call him/her and let them know you are concerned that the government recently relaxed the Federal pension legislation (2006) and now they are proposing to relax the legislation again.
Politicians become very concerned when their ability to be re-elected is threatened. To that end it is simply the number of phone calls or letters they receive that concerns MPs the most. Generally speaking, the more phone calls or letters they receive the more concerned they become.
Remind them that they were elected to represent their constituents not wealthy corporations.
We will continue lobbying on this issue and will report back to you as this process unfolds.
Please note this email is also being sent to the Division officers.
Yours in solidarity,
Mike Wheten
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference
National Legislative Director