The following is a compilation of money expended to date to fight Bill C-78, and the government irregularities in the handling of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Account leading up to it: Paid directly to lawyers $206, 346.85 (This includes $ 20,000.00 from the RCMP Veterans Associations of Quebec and BC} Paid from court-ordered “Costs” awarded against the government $55,500.00 ($25,000.00 of this amount was actually awarded to the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) who have joined our action.) A further $20,000.00 was spent on the services of a specialist in pension fund analysis. Cost of a Report on all Superannuation Acts : $15, 288.72 Total Expenditure $297,135.57
 The above expenditure is over and above the $39 thousand (plus) costs of our fight against the provisions of CFSA which prevent a retiree from being able to leave a Survivor’s Benefit if he marries over the age of 60. Total Expenditure on all legal matters is in excess of: ............ $336,132.57 
Four provinces in Canada now have automobile licence plates specifically for Veterans. They are: Nova Scotia (which was the first to honour her citizens who Served Canada Honourably in Uniform), followed by British Columbia, Ontario and now Manitoba. In Ontario the procedure to get a Veteran’s plate is quite simple. Get an Application Form from a local licence office, fill in the details and with $5.00 mail both to the Royal Canadian Legion address. The RCL confirms your qualification and sends the Form back.. Take the Form to a licensing office and a new plate will be issued to you - for free! In the event that you have a special plate, then that has to be specified on the Form. When the above qualification has been certified. The licensing office will then send your Form somewhere where new plates with your particular number will be manufactured and then mailed to you. You take the new plates back to licensing office and a new document will be issued. This takes about a month. Again NO charge. 
Just in case you ever got the two mixed up, This should make things a bit more clear.... IN PRISON...you spend the majority of your time in an 8X10 cell. AT WORK...you spend the majority of your time in a 6X8 cubicle. IN PRISON...you get three meals a day. AT WORK...you only get a break for one meal and you pay for it. IN PRISON...you get time off for good behaviour. AT WORK...you get more work for good behaviour. IN PRISON...the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you. AT WORK...you must carry around a security card and open all the doors for yourself. IN PRISON .. you can watch TV and play games. AT WORK .. you get fired for watching TV and playing games. IN PRISON .. you get your own toilet. AT WORK .. you have to share with some idiots who pee on the seat. IN PRISON .. they allow your family and friends to visit. AT WORK .. you can't speak to your family. IN PRISON...all expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required. AT WORK...you get to pay all the expenses to go to work and then they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners. IN PRISON...you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out. AT WORK...you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars. IN PRISON...you must deal with sadistic wardens. AT WORK...they are called managers. WHEN RELEASED FROM PRISON you collect Employment Insurance. WHEN RELEASED FROM THE MILITARY you cannot get Employment Insurance. IN PRISON.. if injured you get a disability pension. IN THE MILITARY.. If injured you have a tough time getting any disability pension. IN PRISON... You get instant care for surgical procedures. AT WORK.. You join the back of the line and a long wait for a surgical procedure. Submitted by John den Ouden AFP/AAC Member
There were several Resolutions passed at the 2004 Convention of the Royal Canadian Legion which directly affect CF Retirees in receipt of the Canadian Forces Superannuation (CFS). 1. That the CFS survivors’ benefit be increased from 50% to 66%. 2. That CF Members be exempted from paying into the Employment Insurance Account. They pay but cannot collect. 3. That the CFS Act be amended to ensure disabled veterans receive equitable treatment. 4. The one concern that is troubling many CF Retirees is the fact that if they marry after age 60 there is NO Survivor’s Benefit. That is a very troublesome issue as it is discriminatory and furthermore the government considers any woman who marries a CF Retiree after he reaches the age of sixty a “gold digger”. That expression is used by government agencies when describing the clause in the CFS Act as the “Gold Diggers Clause”, which is derogatory and blatant discrimination, yet The HUMAN RIGHTS Commission will not do anything about it! This concern was NOT addressed at the Convention. (There is more on this issue elsewhere in this NEWSLETTER).
Although the government continues to tout that there is a provision for a survivor’s benefit for the CF Retirees who marry after age 60 but it can cost the retiree up to half his/her Superannuation! On the other hand the government has confiscated well over $20 billion mark from Canadian Forces Superannuation Account yet will NOT use any of the surpluses to provide the Survivor’s Benefit which will cost but a few million dollars. So the “Gold Diggers” clause remains on the books and some of the “death bed romances” have lasted over 30 years! Recently there has been a slight improvement in the interest in this discrimination by The Royal Canadian Legion and the NCVA plus a couple Opposition MPs and have promised to help get the Act changed. We have been informed however, that as the AFP/AAC is too small and spread out across the country our voice is NOT strong enough to persuade the government to do anything about this blight. Foreign strippers get preferential treatment by cabinet ministers but not the wives of Canadian military retirees! Only in Canada you say. Helen Rapp-Bowen, AFP/AAC Vice Chairwoman for Military Widow’s Issues has been working very hard on this blatant slur on Canadian women and some of her efforts are paying off. Defence Ministers continue to spout off that the CFS is very generous and that there is a provision to provide for the survivor’s benefit by losing half of one’s Superannuation. Yes the CFS is very generous to the government which continues to help itself to our retirement savings. Strangely, the Human Rights Commission claims that its hands are tied and cannot do much about the plight of those widows of after age 60 marriages. It is a guarantee that if one were to use a derogatory comment about someone of the third sex or colour, half of the government agencies and the police would descend on the person who made the remark with both feet yet the “Gold Diggers” Clause remains on the books. Obviously we have “selective discrimination” in Canada. Shame on our elected “Honourable” members and the bureaucracy. All those who have married after age 60, or plan to, should contact their MPs and insist that the CFS Act be amended to provide for the survivor’s benefit similar to the provisions of the CPP! 
The litigation process to recover the funds stolen from our Canadian Forces Superannuation slowly grinds through the system. Information is that the Chretien government (read Paul Martin) had its eye on the Superannuation surpluses from day one when the Liberals were first elect in 1993! The Treasury Board people were against taking any money out of the Accounts but Martin with his penchant to “balance the books” saw a cornucopia waiting to be raided and went ahead anyhow. Firstly by short-changing the interest paid on the principal. When this organization, the AFP/AAC in concert with the unions ASSEA and AOGA and the RCMP Association, caught the government with all of its hands and feet in the CFS Account cookie tin we commenced legal proceedings to recover the stolen funds. Other groups, including the public service retiree association, were asked if they wanted to participate. They all declined. Secondly, as the government realized that it was in deep trouble, Bill C-78 was introduced and passed with a minimum of debate (closure). Unfortunately “the largest public service retiree association in Canada” (as repeatedly stated by the President of the Treasury Board, Marcel Masse) supported the government on this Bill! The “largest public service retiree association in Canada” turned out to be the Federal Superannuates National Association, according to information obtained through the “Access to Information Act”. That support did not help the cause at all. Bill C-78 passed handily and not only authorized the initial theft of $4.2 billion but added another $12.4 billion for a total of $16.6 billion from the CFS Account alone! We, the AFP/AAC, in concert with the RCMP Association, immediately recommenced litigation to recover the funds. The case to be tried in an Ontario Court. The two major unions, PIPS and PSAC, followed suit. There are now three groups involved in litigation to recover the stolen funds. (As an aside, the Liberal government continues to help itself to our savings as over $20 billion seem to have disappeared!!!). It would appear that there will be a trial sometime in late 2005, unless the government can find another way to stall. Recent court decisions give us hope of victory. The Supreme Court of Canada Ruling that the Canada’s aboriginals should and must have been consulted before any more trees are cut down on their lands and the DEVCO settlement whereby the government of Nova Scotia must return the funds that it took from the miners’ pension account. This account was built up by the province (employer) with no contributions from the miners. Our account was built up by contributions from Serving Members, past and present, and the government. As both of those Rulings favour the employees and citizens, our case looks good. The most recent Ontario Court Decision regarding back dating the survivor’s benefit from homosexual relationships is also in our favour. 
On 12 November 2004 a short Meeting was held with Pat O’Brien MP Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs (SCONDVA) in his office in London. All our issues were discussed. He claimed that his mandate does not allow him to make recommendations regarding most of this issues. However, it was pointed out that being a representative from a minority government his recommendations could be of great assistance and get support from the Opposition. One of the items brought up was the Bill C-78 litigation. He stated it was before the Court. We are well aware of that and it appears to be a standard answer from anyone in the federal government. The simplest solution, and saving a lot of taxpayer’s money, would be to return the misappropriated funds, even if it takes a special Bill to do so. There would be no need for a very expensive litigation which will force the government to return the funds. The “gold diggers” clause was raised. He promised to ask the Veterans Affairs minister to look into this. Wrong minister, it is the Minister of National Defence who is responsible for the CFS Act. We also raised the issues of only a 50% survivors’ benefit under the CFS Act whereas MPs widows enjoy 60% as do CPP widows. A discrimination against those who Serve(d) Canada Honourably in a military uniform? The loss of Superannuation income due to P.E. Trudeau’s “6 and 5” legislation by those who retired prior to 1970 was also discussed. Eventually Serving Members recovered the losses but not the earlier retirees. Again, it was pointed out, that the confiscated funds from the CFS Account was more that adequate to pay for an improvement in all benefits and still leave billions in the pot! Mr. O’Brien did offer to try and arrange meetings with both the Minister of Veterans Affairs and the Defence Minister. 
A copy of the resume of the Meeting which was sent to Mr. O’Brien, at his request, was also forwarded to all Defence, Veteran and Status of Women critics. Only two acknowledgement and an offer of help were received from Mr Peter Stoffer, MP NDP Veterans Affairs Critic and Mr Paul MacKenzie MP CPC Associate Minister of Nation Defence Critic. Obviously the “pious” ceremonies by the politicos at Juno Beach, Italy and 11 November this year were quickly forgotten by our politicians and it is business as usual with scandals, pettifogging, obfuscation and corruption on the Hill. NO help for those who truly SERVED and SERVE Canada HONOURABLY in a Military Uniform, but continuing to SERVE in spite of being ignored by our political servants! The issue of paying into the Employment Insurance Account and not entitled any of the benefit upon release from the Forces was also brought up! No resolution there. Mr Martin needs the money in that account to win the next election. OR a Nobel Prize for his costly globe trotting “photo ops”! HAVE YOU RENEWED YOUR MEMBERSHIP YET? click the text above for a printable renewal form 
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key. You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . .you BECOME 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!! But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed? You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 ... and your dreams are gone. But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60.You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60. You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
 1.. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them. 2.. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. 3.. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's. 4.. Enjoy the simple things. 5.. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. 6.. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive. 7.. Surround yourself with what you love, Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge. 8.. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help. 9.. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is. 10.. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. 
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Do share this with someone. We all need to live life to its fullest each day.
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada will hold their First Regimental Reunion in Calgary on the weekend of 03-05 June 2005. All venues and accommodation will be in the University of Calgary. In the 60's the 2nd Bn QOR stationed in Calgary was reduced to nil strength - and the remaining personnel posted to either the 1st Bn or other Regiments. The QOR Regimental Depot had closed out in Calgary a few years before. On the 26th of April 1970, the 1st Bn paraded en masse on the Work Point parade square in Victoria BC - and changed hat badges to PPCLI. Although it was a very sad day for the Regiment, it has been a very 'happy marriage' with the Patricias. Following the demise of the 1st Bn, the 3rd Bn (Militia Bn) stationed in Toronto assumed the title of 1st Bn QOR of C, and RHQ was established in Toronto - so the traditions of the Regiment continued, and continue to this day. Under the leadership of Honourary Lt Col (Col Paul Hughes), the Calgary Branch of the QOR of C Association will host the 145th Anniversary celebrations next June. 250 to 300 persons are expected to attend the Reunion, including representation from Branches in Nfld, PEI, Ottawa and across Western Canada - along with good representation of Riflemen at the Home Station in Toronto. It is planned that Maj Gen Herb Pitts will be the Featured Speaker during the Meet and Greet on Friday evening, and Lt Gen Charlie Belzile as the Featured Speaker during the Dinner/Dance on the Saturday evening. The latter will be introduced by Maj Gen Lew MacKenzie. All three gentlemen are cherished members of the Regiment. Contact: Donald S. Ethell Coordinator QOR of C Reunion 2005 - Calgary c/o Mark Staffing 734 7th Ave SW. Apt-730 Calgary, Alta T2P 3P8 Tele: (403) 263-5120 (ext 317) Email: qor2005@markstaffing.com www.qor.com/reunion Personal email: dsethell@allstream.net
If Moses had been married, I'll bet that some of these would have been included with the originals! TEN COMMANDMENTS OF MARRIAGE Commandment I Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning. Commandment II If you want your wife to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep. Commandment III Marriage is grand -- and divorce is at least 100 grand! Commandment IV Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbours listen. Commandment V When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is. Commandment VI Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; The trouble starts when they try to decide which one. Commandment VII Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you say. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish. Commandment VIII Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife. Commandment IX Marriage and love are purely matter of chemistry. That is why wife treats husband like toxic waste. Commandment X A man is incomplete until he is married. After that, he is finished.
Zero Gravity When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 million developing a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside-down, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. The Russians used a pencil. Your taxes are due again – enjoy paying them.
Cows Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that our government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington. And they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 1 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Our Constitution They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 130 years and hell, we're hardly using it anymore.
Finally, only about a year late, the Report on the status of our retirement savings has been published! The amount available for Benefits is now only $39,700,296,000.00. Down by $296 million form $39.996 billion in 2001. This decrease is in spite of the fact that the declared surplus for the year was $3.233 billion. Presumably the difference went into the general pot through Bill C-78 to help pay off on election promises! This Report shows that only $14,969,800,000.00 of our retirement savings have been confiscated. That figure does not agree with other calculations which indicate that over $20 billion has disappeared? The Canadian Forces Pension Plan Account isn’t doing too good either. The investment returns indicate losses of 18.6% and 30.5% on Canadian and Foreign Equities with some profit on Fixed Income and Cash Equivalent for a net loss of 13.5%. The investment board appears to be doing a good job in losing money! Reports continually show that there are only some 52,000 Serving personnel yet there were 60,583 contributors to the CFS Account in 2002/2003? The majority of the CF Retirees are collect less than $22,000.00 per year. There are 616 receiving more than $60,000.00 per year.
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