Veterans First Motion With great fanfare, Jack Layton MP, Leader of the NDP, announced that the “Veterans First Motion” was unanimously approved by all of the Opposition Parties in Parliament on 7 November 2006 and that the Conservatives voted against the Motion. This Motion was for the deletion of the “gold diggers” clause from the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) and that anyone, in receipt of the Canadian Forces Superannuation (CFS) and who married after age 60 would in fact leave a survivor’s benefit without having to pay extra for this benefit. That the survivor’s benefit be increased to 66%. That at age 65 recipients of the CFS would NOT have it reduced by the value of the CPP. To put this bit of “politicking” in perspective, a Motion is NOT an Act NOR is it binding on the government. What it did was inform the government that all Opposition members are in favour of the proposals contained in the Motion. (The Liberals who were in power for the past 13 years did nothing to rectify these issues but now that they are the Opposition they favour action on them. It is the same type of support that we had when they were the Opposition and Tory Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister. At least the Mulroney government did NOT steal the surpluses from our CFS Account even though they introduced legislation to cut Indexing, which never made it into law. So, can we believe the Liberal enthusiasm this time?) The next step is for the government or opposition members to introduce a bill to amend the CFSA to include the changes. This is the long drawn out procedure of First, Second and Third Readings with Committee Hearings in between and approval by the Senate and the Governor General, before any change can be made! (However, the government has the option of making the necessary changes by an “Order in Council” but then that would be too simplistic!) Private members also can introduce a “Private Members” Bill but that takes even longer to process. Currently there is a “Private Members” Bill before the House dealing the “Gold Diggers” clause which has passed First Reading. Below is an extract from the government web site on this Motion. Veterans First Motion That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately take the following steps to assist members and veterans of the Canadian Forces and their families: 1. amend Section 31 (1) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act so that second spouses of CF members and veterans have access to pension rights upon the death of the Canadian Forces member or veteran; 2. extend the VIP (Veterans Independence Program) to all widows of all veterans, regardless of the time of death of the veteran and regardless of whether the veteran was in receipt of VIP services prior to his/her death; 3. increase the Survivor’s Pension Amount upon death of Canadian Forces retiree to 66% from the current amount of 50%; 4. eliminate the unfair reduction of SISIP (Service Income Security Insurance Plan) long term disability benefits from medically released members of the Canadian Forces; and 5. eliminate the deduction from annuity for retired and disabled CF members. VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES WIN WITH PASSAGE OF NDP OPPOSITION MOTION Tuesday, November 7, 2006 OTTAWA - The NDP's Veterans First Motion was passed late today in a vote by members of the House of Commons. The NDP opposition day motion, introduced last week by the party's Veteran Affairs Critic Peter Stoffer (Sackville-Eastern Shore), calls for improved benefits for veterans, Canadian Forces personnel, and their families. "This is a victory for all veterans, CF personnel, and their families," said Stoffer. "Our Veterans First Motion will ensure our veterans, their families, and CF personnel are taken care of not just during their service days, but throughout their lives," said Stoffer. "Canada's Veterans were willing to lay down their lives for our country," said Alexa McDonough, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic and MP for Halifax. "They sacrificed everything. We will expect the Conservative government to uphold the spirit of this motion and commit to action on these very important issues." The NDP opposition motion seeks to improve the lives of veterans and retired military personnel in five ways: 1.Amend Section 31 (1) of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act so that second spouses of CF members and veterans have access to pension rights upon the death of the Canadian Forces member or veteran; 2.Extend the VIP (Veterans Independence Program) to all widows of all veterans, regardless of the time of death of the veteran and regardless of whether the veteran was in receipt of VIP services prior to his/her death; 3.Increase the Survivor's Pension Amount upon death of Canadian Forces retiree to 66% from the current amount of 50%; 4.Eliminate the unfair reduction of SISIP (Service Income Security Insurance Plan) long term disability benefits from medically released members of the Canadian Forces; and 5.Eliminate the deduction from annuity for retired and disabled CF members. "In the coming days we will soon be gathered at cenotaphs and monuments around the country and, in many cases, around the world to honour and remember the contributions of our veterans, CF personnel and their families," said Stoffer. "What better way to show our respect than implementing the recommendations of our Veterans First Motion," said Stoffer. THE IMPACT OF PENSION SPLITTING LEGISLATION ON OAS CLAWBACK OVERVIEW Canadian taxpayers who are age 65 and over and eligible for Old Age Security (OAS), must repay part of their OAS when their income exceeds a certain level. In 2006, a taxpayer with “one income” (as defined in the Income Tax Act; basically calculated on the tax return as total income less deductions) over $62,144 is required to repay OAS at the rate of 15 cents per dollar of excess income. For a taxpayer with 2006 net income of $101,118 or more, (s)he will repay the entire OAS, because 15 cents X ($101,118 minus $62,144 equals $38,974) represents a social benefits repayment of $5,846, which was the full OAS entitlement in 2006. This repayment is referred to as the “OAS clawback”. CLAWBACK MECHANICS Let’s assume that Bob has 2006 net income of $72,144. When he files his 2006 tax return, he will calculate that he must repay $1500 of his OAS, due to the calculation explained above. If Bob turned 65 in late December 2005, so 2006 was the first year that Services Canada paid him OAS, he will have received the full entitlement of $5,846. However, once he files his 2006 tax return, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will learn that he had to repay $1500 of his OAS, so a month or two after reviewing his tax return they will inform Services Canada of this situation, and Services Canada will begin to reduce his monthly OAS payments. What Services Canada assumes is that Bob’s income and tax situation will repeat in 2007, so rather than having him repay part of his OAS at tax time, they make the deduction at source. What’s important to note is that the amount that they retain at source will be reported on Bob’s year-end T4OAS tax information slip as tax deducted at source., with the unreduced OAS reported as income. When Bob subsequently files his 2007 taxes, if he demonstrates that his net income is below the OAS clawback threshold (estimated to be $63,500 in 2007), the tax form will indicate that no social benefits repayment is required. The taxes withheld from his OAS in 2007 are simply considered along with other taxes that were remitted to CRA, and he gets the full benefit of those prepaid taxes when finalizing his tax calculations. After CRA receives Bob’s 2007 tax return, they note he was not required to repay any OAS, so again inform Service Canada who will now restore the full monthly OAS, typically as of June or July, which means they no longer withhold any tax at source. Bob’s T4OAS slip for that year will again show full OAS as revenue, and the tax withheld for part of the year. OAS UNDER PENSION SPLITTING LEGISLATION Let’s re-visit the 2007 scenario just discussed, and assume Bob receives $60K pension, $6K OAS, and $5K CPP, for total taxable income of $71K, which is $7,500 into the new $63.5K claw back zone. Accordingly, he would normally have to re-pay 0.15 X $7,500 = $1,125 of his OAS. Let’s also assume that Bob’s wife Barb earns $10K pension + $5K CPP, for total income of $15K. Given her lower tax bracket, it is clear that the couple will want to take advantage of the new pension splitting legislation that will permit Bob to allocate up to half of his employer pension to his wife when they complete their 2007 tax returns in April 2008. Suppose that he deducts $30K from his $71K of income, and she adds that $30K to her $11K base income. They will then pay taxes based on net incomes of $41K and $45K, respectively, for a total tax bill of about $14,700 versus $17,725 before pension splitting, including the OAS repayment. Projected savings of $3,025 or 17% are anticipated thanks to pension splitting, for an Ontario couple in the situation just described. TIME LAG BEFORE FULL OAS IS RESTORED You will recall from the “clawback mechanics” discussion that Service Canada will reduce Bob’s OAS for 2007 based on his 2006 tax filing. Once they receive his 2007 return, that demonstrates he need not repay any OAS, they will so inform Service Canada, who will stop withholding tax as of the middle of 2008. Although there’s a lag before he recovers his full OAS, full restoration does occur; the withholdings that were made in early 2008 were simply tax pre-payments, not a permanent reduction of the taxpayer’s OAS. REFERENCES http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/isp/oas/oasrates.shtml = current OAS information http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/isp/oas/oastoc.shtml = OAS Recovery Tax mechanics, although applied based on 2004 figures, when HRDC administered the program http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/individuals/topics/incometax/return/completing/deductions/lines206-236/235/menu-e.html = tax return repayment Meetings with the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of National Defence Reference the over age 60 marriage clause, section 31 (1) of the CFS Act. John Baird MP, Ottawa West-Nepean, is my member of Parliament and because of this I received an invitation to a gathering of veterans, that he was hosting, at the Westboro Legion Branch 480, on the 23 November 2006. Our Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Gordon O’Connor, would be our guest speaker. It would be an informative and interactive evening and he would bring us up to date as to what is going on with our military. And, he did. He talked about our troops in Afghanistan and the equipment that had been ordered to help our troops do their job. There were a lot of questions asked about the pros and cons of certain equipment, the number of tours we ask our military men and women to undertake, recruitment, casualties and danger pay. In all it was a very interesting evening and Gordon O’Connor handled some very pointed questions well and clearly. The reaction of the veterans there was good and may voiced the opinion that it was time we had a military man as our Minister of National Defence. Before the Minister left the Legion Hall I was able to talk to him about our meetings and my letters about Section 31 (1), the marriage over age 60 clause (“Gold Diggers” Clause. He assured me that it is being looked into favourably and that we should hear very soon. I will hold him up to that and will make an appointment with him in January to follow-up on our conversation.I will keep you posted. It would be terrific after all this time if the Conservatives and our Minister of National Defence finally amends that antiquated regulation. I also had a meeting with John Baird shortly after the Legion Meeting on the 23rd of November to bring him up to date regarding Section 31 (1) of the CFS Act, and my meetings with Minister O’Connor about it. He was interested and said he would be talking to Gordon O’Connor about it. As he handles the money at Treasury Board I thought it was a good idea to involve him directly as my Member of Parliament Helen Rapp, Vice Chair Military Widows, AFP/AAC HAVE YOU PAID YOUR DUES YET? Annual Reports Canadian Forces Superannuation 2003-2005 We finally received our copies of the two above mentioned Reports. In the 2003-2004 Report it is to be noted that the government continued to steal our retirement savings to the tune of $630,000,000.00. Even after the “Withdrawal” of CFSA Surplus (that’s what the government calls theft these days) there was a surplus of $551,404,000.00 The 2004-2005 Report indicates the no funds were “withdrawn” from our Account and that there was a surplus of $1,099,013,000.00 that year. You can make your own decisions as to why in the fiscal year 2004-2005 there was NO “withdrawal”. There was an election coming and the politician who started the thievery was running to be PM.. “Administrative” costs incurred while administrating our retirement savings came to $11 million in 2003 and $8.6 million in 2004. Total number of recipients 2004 - 105,252, plus 509 under the DSPCA. Total number of contributors -.60,878. Subject: Ontario Drug Benefit Plan Adjustments Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 17:12:33 -0500 You will recall that the Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care recently advised the federal President of the Treasury Board of Ontario's intention become the payer-of-last-resort under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan (ODBP) for retired federal public servants only, age 65 and over, and not for any other segment of the Ontario senior population. This initiative, if adopted, will increase the out-of pocket medical expenses of Ontario federal pensioners age 65 and over. Inevitably, it could also raise the premiums for all beneficiaries of the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) as the Plan becomes the payer-of first-resort for these Ontario federal public service pensioners. Current PSHCP premiums are based on the expectation that Ontario beneficiaries will transfer to the ODBP at age 65. On 8 December 06, Premier McGuinty, in response to a query on the subject from a caller on a "Noon Hour Call In" show, stated that the Government of Ontario has dropped plans to proceed with this measure. (At this time?) This is good news, however, keep in mind that this is an election year in Ontario and it would be wise to keep the issue in mind as one to query candidates upon their post election plans for this sort of measure. And knowing McGuinty’s outstretched hand grabbing for more money for Toronto subways and $3,000,000.00 presents for Ontario One employees! He no doubt is lying again and will reintroduce this unprincipled cash grab (prescription drug money) if re-elected. Remember the $600.00 per year “NO Tax Increases” we now have another Health Tax which he introduced. But waiting times for medical procedures have NOT been shortened! Also remember the 25% pay increase the under-worked MPPs of Ontario received from McGuinty as a Christmas present. Once in the hog trough it is difficult to climb out because of the slippery sludge on the sides. LEGAL COSTS TO 15 DECEMBER 2006 The following is a compilation of money expended by AFP/AAC Inc. 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 $454,385.74 (This includes $ 35,000.00 from the RCMP Veterans Associations of Quebec Ontario, and BC who are parties to our suit.) Paid From Court-Ordered “Costs”Against the Government $55,500.00 Total Expenditure on Bill C78 and Associated Matters $509,885.74 OTHER LEGAL COSTS The above expenditure is over and above the $39,652.87 costs for our fight against the provisions of CFSA which prevent a retiree from leaving a Survivor’s Benefit if he marries over age of 60, (the “Gold Digger Clause”) and miscellaneous legal costs in the amount of $4,810.70. The Night Before Christmas T'was the night before Christmas, He lived all alone, In a one bedroom house, Made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney, With presents to give, And to see just who, In this home did live. I looked all about, A strange sight I did see, No tinsel, no presents, Not even a tree. No stocking by the mantel, Just boots filled with sand, On the wall hung pictures, Of far distant lands. With medals and badges, Awards of all kinds, A sober thought, Came through my mind. For this house was different, It was dark and dreary, I found the home of a soldier, Once I could see clearly. The soldier lay sleeping, Silent, alone, Curled up on the floor, In this one bedroom home. The face was so gentle, The room in such disorder, Not how I pictured, A Canadian soldier. Was this the hero, Of whom I'd just read, Curled up on a poncho, The floor for a bed? I realized the families, That I saw this night, Owed their lives to these soldiers, Who were willing to fight. Soon round the world, The children would play, And grownups would celebrate, A bright Christmas day. They all enjoyed freedom, Each month of the year, Because of the soldiers, Like the one lying here. I couldn't help wonder, How many lay alone, On a cold Christmas eve, In a land far from home. The very thought brought, A tear to my eye, I dropped to my knees, And started to cry. The soldier awakened, And I heard a rough voice, "Santa, don't cry, This life is my choice. I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more, My life is my god, My country, my corps." The soldier rolled over, And drifted to sleep, I couldn't control it, I continued to weep. I kept watch for hours, So silent and still, And we both shivered, From the cold night's chill. I didn't want to leave, On that cold, dark night, This guardian of honour, So willing to fight. Then the soldier rolled over, With a voice, soft and pure, Whispered, "Carry on Santa, It's Christmas day, all is secure." One look at my watch, And I knew he was right, "Merry Christmas my friend, And to all a good night." This poem was written by a Peace Keeping Soldier stationed overseas. Received from A. Brown, Edmonton AB How many members have you recruited recently??? Membership Application ¨ - Renewal ¨ (Still only $15.00 per year) Rank or Title & Init:_____________________ (Mrs Ms Mr or Capt etc Name: ______________________________ Decorations: ____________________ Address: _______________________ Apt No:__________ City: ___________________________ Prov:__________.Postal Code:______ Telephone: (____)___________________ E-Mail: ________________________ Please make cheques out to: AFP/AAC Mail Application/Renewal forms, with fees, to: AFP/AAC Inc. PO Box-28029, LONDON, ON. N6H 5E1 A Renewal Form is NOT necessary. If your Membership number or Postal Code is legible your data can be easily accessed and updated. Therefore it is NOT necessary to mutilate your NEWSLETTER. If your membership has expired it is highlighted on the envelope. ðPlease note the membership expiry date on your envelope!ï We DO NOT mail out expiry notices!! Tel:- 1 (519) 471-9232 e-mail:- afp.aac.ewh@sympatico.ca A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to All! | 
