WELCOME! Ottawa Chapter Spring AGM Meeting May 26, 2010

2 AGM Agenda 9:30 a.m.Meeting call to order & review of agenda 9:35Pension update 10:05Ottawa Chapter update 10:30~ Break ~ 11:00BPG Board of Directors slate for :15Election of Ottawa Chapter Chair 11:30Treasurer’s update, approval of Auditor for 2010 & Auditor’s report Note: due to the confidentiality of the financial information, these slides have been excluded from this web version. 11:50Approval of changes to BPG by-laws 12:00 p.m.New business; Question & answer session 12:30Adjournment

Bell Pensioners' Group May 2010 President's Report Presented by Bob Farmer

May 26, Agenda A big “Thank you” to Raymond Bertrand Pension Status Pension Reform Developments Advocacy A few other comments

May 26, Pension Plan Status 2008: $1.8B Deficit 2009: Assets up +15% market return Contributions by Bell for 2009 Current service costs:$165M Deficit amortization:$251M Voluntary (to deficit):$500M 2009: Liabilities up Greater clarity after June 30

May 26, Pension Reform BPG Objective: Reduce Pensioners' Risk Biggest Risk: Plan has deficit, AND Plan is being wound-up We call this risk “Plan Failure” There is no sign that Bell's plan faces failure but we don't assume that it cannot happen

May 26, Pension Reform: Getting the Rules Right Legislation and Regulations to Keep healthy plans healthy Bring unhealthy plans back to health Improve pensioners' position should a plan fail The first two are key, so the third will stay an academic concern for BPG members

May 26, Pension Reform: Advocacy Recommendations (with rationale) given to: Bureaucracy Finance Canada Pension Regulators on plan governance Political Minister of Finance Minister's lead MP on Pension issues Minister's political adviser on pension issues Standing Committee on Finance Liberal Finance Critic Consultation on Retirement Income System Link with Canadian Federation of Pensioners communications

May 26, Pension Reform: Where We Are Keep healthy plans healthy Very positive legislative developments  Voluntary plan termination only if plan is fully funded (within five years)  Contribution holiday only if 5% plan surplus  Annual plan valuation and funding reset  To include all plan provisions  Enhanced disclosure requirements  Potential maximum surplus increased to 25% from 10%  Deviations from standard funding rules can be adopted by sponsor only with agreement from its pensioners

May 26, Pension Reform: Where We Are Bring Unhealthy plans back to health Disappointing developments Probably an overreaction to economic downturn Increased risk to pensioners Focus of current advocacy activities Time-line: near term

May 26, Plan Deficits Persist Longer

May 26, Pension Reform: When Plans Fail Options presented Don't wind up plan Better pensioner access to bankrupt's assets A few mildly positive signs of political traction, but this is a longer term struggle

May 26, A Few Other Comments BPG a professional organization Very informative > 1 million hits in last year Over 10,000 unique visitors Improvements? Chapter outreach exemplary

Ottawa Chapter Update Presented by Marc Davidson Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, Ottawa Chapter Update Membership growth Electronic payment of annual membership dues Membership renewal process Meetings outside of Ottawa Succession planning

May 26, Our # 1 Priority: Grow Membership Grow membership is one of BPG’s strategic priorities We’ve done the following to grow our membership Meetings outside of Ottawa (Kingston, Sudbury, Pembroke) 4 newsletters per year filled with relevant content “blasts” to our members who have Introduced the PayPal TM trial to facilitate electronic payment of membership dues Recently launched the “Circle of Friends” campaign 16

May 26, May 26, Our strength in numbers The following summarizes the BPG Membership Count: Dec 2008Dec 2009 Ottawa1,2061,332 BPG Total9,94410,213 The Ottawa Chapter achieved a 10.4% year over year increase during 2009 We are committed to a minimum of 5% yr/yr growt h 17

May 26, Electronic Payment via PayPal TM Objectives: Faster and easier for our members Another option for our members versus payment by mail or at the AGM meetings Lower cost, i.e., no envelope, no stamps, no chequing costs Can pay membership dues at any time, 24/7 Faster and easier for our Treasurer More timely payment of membership dues Improve collection of annual membership dues Improve efficiency: less paper administration & less trips to the bank 18

May 26, Costs To our Member: BPG member does not need to have a PayPal account to make a payment via PayPal Cost to the member is a $1.00 transaction fee To BPG: $1.00 transaction fee paid by member offsets BPG costs We are charged $0.91 per transaction The remaining $0.09 is retained to cover any fees charged by PayPal when transferring money from the PayPal account to our bank account 19

May 26, How does it work? 1.Go to our website Highlight “Become a Member” on the banner at the top and select “Application Form” on the pull-down menu 3.On the opened page, click on “Ottawa” and the membership application form will appear 4.Complete the application form and follow the instructions to complete the transaction 20

May 26, How does it work? (cont’d) Once the transaction is completed, the member receives an from PayPal, specifying: the amount, notation on credit card statement, merchant info and receipt number PayPal confirmation is also sent to our Treasurer by when a transaction occurs contains payment amount, payee name, address, telephone number, and address Transfers of funds from the PayPal account to our BPG bank account can only be initiated by the Treasurer 21

May 26, Preliminary Results As of April 1st, 58 members have used PayPal 54 Renewing members 4 New members Sample Feedback from members: “Love this on-line method of paying; simple and easy- thank you.” “Hi Marc and Terry - thanks for the new Paypal Membership renewal…I completed the transaction online and it worked great.” 22

May 26, Next steps All other BPG chapters will adopt the electronic payment method It was decided that a Corporate application be developed by a web developer to ensure: consistency in approach consistency in member experience ease of implementation for other Chapters sharing of information and computer/web skills This couldn’t have happened without the great work & leadership of our Ottawa webmaster, Terry Acker and our Treasurer, Don Dutton 23

May 26, Membership Renewal Process One of the issues that we have struggled with in the past are: how to consistently acknowledge receipt of membership renewal payments, and how to manage the issuance of membership cards At its April 2010 meeting, the Chapter Executive adopted a new process for membership renewal and membership cards 24

May 26, Permanent Membership Cards Starting with the October 28, 2010 Ottawa General Meeting, we will be issuing permanent membership cards Those who do not attend the October 28 meeting will receive their cards, via mail, during the month of November 2010 April 26,

May 26, Membership Renewals Payment made at AGM: information sheet (indicating confirmation of payment) will be provided upon receipt of payment. Membership list will be updated by Chapter Executive upon receipt of payment Payment made by mail or PayPal from member with valid address: Information sheet indicating confirmation of payment will be sent via Payment made by mail from member without a valid address: Due to the costs and effort involved, we will not send a confirmation of payment; the cancelled cheque will serve as confirmation 26

May 26, BPG General Meetings Outside of Ottawa Kingston: May 27, 2010 Sudbury: Fall 2010 (date TBD) Pembroke: Fall 2010 (date TBD) 27

May 26, Succession Planning I will be leaving as Chair of the Ottawa Chapter at the end of my two-year term, but will remain on the Chapter Executive Committee as Past Chair There will be an election today to elect my replacement To date, Marlyn Easterbrook, who has served as Vice-Chair for the past year has submitted her nomination Others are welcome to submit their nomination 28

May 26, Succession Planning Lancy Hum has filled a key role as Chapter Secretary replacing Francis Christensen Terry Acker has taken over as the Webmaster replacing John Wright Both Lancy and Terry have made significant contributions in their first year of service On behalf of the executive committee, I wish to thank Francis and John for their dedication and outstanding contribution to BPG 29

May 26, Succession Planning: Membership Coordinator Role We have another key role to fill: membership coordinator Current incumbent, John Campbell has been doing this role for the last five years on top of being heavily involved in other work commitments On behalf of all of us, I wish to thank John for his great work 30

May 26, Membership Coordinator Role This role has 2 dimensions 1.Contact point for members and prospective members: Provide a phone number and address for members to contact the chapter Provide prospective members with assistance in becoming members, answering generic questions about the association Take questions or concerns from the members (between meetings) and pass the message to the appropriate Chapter member 2.Perform mailings by and prepare for mailing by Canada Post: This role requires computer skills (e.g., MS Excel) and the ability to send out large volume of s 31

May 26, Membership Coordinator (cont’d) John Campbell is available to provide the necessary training to ensure a smooth transition Please see me at the break or after the meeting if you’re interested in helping us out We really need your help!

BREAK Ottawa Chapter Meeting May 26, 2010

Bell Pensioners’ Group 2010 Election of Directors Presented by Marc Davidson Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, Bell Pensioners’ Group 2010 Election of Directors The current Board of Directors approves and recommends the following Directors for the 2010/2011 Board: Ontario: Bob Bartlett, Robert Farmer, Linda Gervais, Gwen Guillet, Ron Hunt, Pam Went Quebec: Andre Bergeron, Michele Boyer, Jean- Luc Geha, Robert Guay 5 Chapter Chairs (Ottawa: TBD)

May 26, Bell Pensioners’ Group 2010 Election of Directors Motion: “That the membership of BPG elect the slate of Directors for the 2010/2011 BPG Board as approved and recommended by the current Board of Directors.”

Election of New Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, Call for Nominations Marlyn Easterbrook Others?

May 26, Election of Ottawa Chapter Chair Motion: “That the election of as Ottawa Chapter Chair be accepted and approved.”

Ottawa Chapter- Financial Report May 26, 2010 Don Dutton Ottawa Chapter Treasurer

May 26, BPG Auditor Appointment for 2010 Motion: “That the firm Collins Barrow be appointed as the auditors for BPG until the close of the next annual meeting at a remuneration to be fixed by the Board of Directors.”

Revised BPG By-Laws May 2010 Presented by Marc Davidson Ottawa Chapter Chair

May 26, Revised BPG By-Laws May 2010 Why change? Since the last update (2006): London Chapter became SWO The BPG Vision was created The Chapter Handbook was created Practices and policies were documented, e.g., counting the membership

May 26, Revised BPG By-Laws May 2010 Article I “Overview” London is now SWO The BPG Objective is the same as in the BPG Vision Article II “The Rights and Responsibilities of Members” Definition of Member updated Membership Count methodology agrees with current process Article III “Organization” Updated to agree with Chapter Handbook & current processes Election of Officers clarified

May 26, Revised BPG By-Laws May 2010 Article V “Financial and Banking Practices” Updated to reflect current financial practices and processes Article VI “Dissolution of Group” Updated to reflect common Board practice and language Article VII “Amendment of By-Laws” Updated to reflect common Board practice and language

May 26, Revised BPG By-Laws May 2010 Motion: “That the revised By-Laws dated May 2010 be accepted and approved.”

NEW BUSINESS

May 26, Circle of Friends 2010 Membership Campaign Need to increase our 2010 membership by 5% Launched in early May 2010 to our members with addresses Two ways to win: Help BPG’s voice to be stronger to protect your pension and benefits. The more BPG members, the more effective is our voice; Win your 2011 BPG annual membership

May 26, How does it work? On the form provided, give us the name, telephone number and (if available) of your friends or former colleagues who are Bell pensioners, but not yet members of BPG If you’re not sure whether your friend or former colleague is a BPG member, provide us with as much detail as possible so we can confirm their membership status in our in our database. Your completed form can be sent to us by mail, , or handed in at the end of the meeting Instructions are on the form Additional copies of the form is available on the BPG – Ottawa Chapter website (

May 26, Circle of Friends Input Form

May 26, How does it work? (cont’d) A member of the BPG Ottawa Chapter Executive Committee will contact your friend or former colleague to invite them to join BPG For every name you submit, you will receive one entry in the draw to win your 2011 BPG membership At our October 28, 2010 BPG meeting, winners will be announced for the three (3) prizes of 2011 BPG membership dues: The person who has provided the most names of prospective BPG members; and From all the qualifying entries, we will draw two (2) winners Good Luck!

May 26, Live Well/Age Well Savvy Seniors Fair A one-stop event dedicated to informing, promoting and sharing information and resources about healthy aging in Ottawa A forum of experts will be on hand to discuss aging in place strategies for seniors Guest speakers include: Dr. William Dalziel from the Regional Geriatric Assessment Clinic; Lisa MacLeod, M.P.P. Nepean and Carleton; Ann Dobbins, from Memory Matters; ABCs of Fraud, and much more Booths from various City of Ottawa departments responsible for seniors programs and services are expected to be present The event is hosted by Comfort Keepers & is free for seniors For more information call Comfort Keepers at When & where: Saturday, June 5 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Nepean Sportsplex, Salons A & B

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

NEXT MEETING Thursday, October 28, :30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Nepean Sportsplex