AGM 2011-04-19 Minutes
TRAM MINUTES
TELEPHONE RETIREES ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA INC.
P.O.BOX 54028 WINNIPEG, MB R3J 3Z3
Website http://www.traminfo.com
Minutes of the 12th Annual General Meeting of the Telephone Retirees Association of Manitoba Inc. (TRAM) held on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at Heritage Victoria Community Club, 950 Sturgeon Rd. Winnipeg, MB.
1. The meeting was called to order at 1:02 p.m. by the President, Ted Scoles
2. Singing of O Canada led by Tony Leonard
3. A Moment of Silence was observed for deceased members. In 2010 – 70 retirees and beneficiaries passed away.
4. Report of the Chief Scrutineer – Tony Leonard
259 Proxies
125 Members in attendance
The meeting was declared Legally Constituted
5. Minutes of May 4, 2010
Moved: Susan Bilyk
Seconded: Glen McCoubrey
“That the minutes of the 11th Annual General Meeting of TRAM held on May 4, 2010 be approved as written.” CARRIED
6. Financial Report
Moved: Bill Hales
Seconded: Ken Young
“That the audited Financial Report for 2010 be approved.” CARRIED
Moved: Bill Hales
Seconded: Fred Maher
“That Roberta Davis and Judy Wynnobel be retained to conduct the audit of the 2011 Financial Report.”
CARRIED
7. Bylaw amendment
Moved: Susan Bilyk
Seconded: Lorne Yaciuk
“That TRAM Bylaw, Section 2, Dated March 14, 2000, be amended to include the addition of a third Vice-President to the Executive Compliment.” CARRIED
8. Election of Officers
The nomination committee, Tony Leonard, Fred Maher, and Nick Zajac, presented the following slate of Officers.
President Ted Scoles
1ST Vice-President Larry Trach
2nd Vice-President Susan Bilyk
3rd Vice-President James Burr
Secretary Jo-Anne Pelzer
Treasurer Bill Hales
Past President Tony Leonard
There were no nominations received either through the mail or from the floor.
Moved: Tony Leonard
Seconded: Brian Logan
“That we close nominations and elect the executive slate presented.” CARRIED
9. Committee Reports
- Membership – Susan Bilyk reported that there are 1965 members of TRAM, 1565 (80%) of them have signed application forms. Anyone wishing to obtain an application form should contact Susan at 204-792-3926 or slbilyk@mts.net.
- Christmas Lunch – Bill Hales reported that the new system of receiving payment in advance from those members attending made ordering the correct number of lunches much easier. TRAM did pay for the lunches of our lawyers and the guests from TEAM and IBEW. Bill thanked Ken Beatty for saying Grace; and Roberta Davis and Judy Wakeford for organizing as well as Nick Zajac and Susan Bilyk for manning the door.
- Web Site – James Burr and Larry Trach reported on the status of the Website. The website is called: http://www.traminfo.com; it should be available in a bare bones form by the end of April; it will be a dynamic site; James will be the website administrator; a mock-up of the site was shown to the attendees; and it will develop and grow over time.
- Pension Rep – Larry Trach reported for Harry Restall. Larry read the first two paragraphs of the letter Harry will be sending out with the minutes of this meeting. Harry has had little success in obtaining information re the formula issue, committee meeting minutes, funding data, or member data for the DC plan from the pension committee.
- Questions from the floor:
Q - Was there any impact on the proceedings caused by a former Justice, Charles Huband, being on the Taylor McCaffrey team?
A – No laws or policies were broken; a former justice may resume his law career three years after leaving the bench. The Chief Justice Chartier made a point of disclosing all relationships between themselves and MTS in whatever fashion.
Q – With the appeal being heard in December; is there a 60 day window to produce a decision?
A – No, the Appeal Board has no time limits set for them to produce a decision. “Justice rides a slow mule.”
Q – Does MTS Allstream’s fiscal year end March 31?
A – The fiscal year now ends December 31.
Q – In the Financial Report there is an entry for Actuarial services for preliminary distribution; what is being done?
A – TRAM commissioned Louis Ellement to prepare a report on how funds might be distributed, once available. It is a document for the purpose of initiating discussion at the Implementation Process Group.
-
Lawyers Report
- Lawsuit - Brian Meronek gave a review of the events from the Appeal Hearing. The Court has reserved its decision. The Court was concerned about its jurisdiction to hear the appeal. During the trial, Justice Bryk found there was a breach of trust; MTS argued that the affair should be sent to a new independent actuary; and the Appeal Justices seemed to glom onto that statement. In mid March Brian met with Justice Bryk to review outstanding matters; not much will be done until the Appeal decision is released and Justice Bryk expects a decision to be released by summer. If we win, expect MTS to ask for leave to be heard by the Supreme Court. If we lose, we will ask for leave to be heard by the Supreme Court.
- Formula – They are finalizing the statement of claim to sue MTS and CCSF about the formula. Cal Halstead’s name is being used on the suit. MTS is not releasing documents and the statement of claim will force MTS to disclose.
- Questions from the floor:
Q – Did Chief Justice Scott not already rule on the jurisdiction issue?
A – Yes he did.
Q – If there is a discrepancy between $93M and $96M why not just take the $93M and run?
A – It is not just that simple
Q – Can we find out whether or not the Justices own MTS shares?
A – Brian spoke to all the various points of conflict or closeness with the justices.
Q – What happens if MTS gets sold?
A – The new company would be liable for the settlement. If MTS were to be sold, we would ask that the monies be put into a trust account.
Q – What about the case of bankruptcy?
A – Pension law protects the pensions.
Q – If a member, or the surviving beneficiary, died would the estate receive anything?
A – That issue has to be resolved in the implementation process.
Q – Who makes the decision on how the monies will be distributed.
A – The plaintiff groups will make the decision. If they cannot come to agreement, the court will make the decision.
Q – Would picketing the AGM have any effect on the issue?
A – MTS could just rely on the phrase that the case is before the courts to get out of making comment.
- President’s Report
Thanks to the current executive for their assistance and co-operation during the year.
We said we would establish a committee to examine the settlement of Justice Bryk’s award of approximately $100M. We did. It is called the Implementation Process Group. It consists of eight members; two from each of the three unions and two from TRAM, Harry Restall and Larry Trach (with Tony Leonard the alternate). I was appointed the Chair/Facilitator. We have had two meetings to date; the first meeting in August and the second on December 1st. We are considering a third meeting in late May or June but that may depend on the Appeal Court ruling and time-frame. During our deliberations, it has become clear that the implementation of this award; when it is finalized (both time-wise and amount); will be a major legal decision as to entitlement; and will probably require court approval. We will keep you informed on this and other matters as they unfold.
We continue to give Harry Restall our full support on all pension matters and we wish him well throughout his continued treatment program.
I should also inform you that this time next year, there will be two big paying jobs available: one is that of Pension Rep (Harry would like to retire after seven terms) and that of TRAM President. The good news is that the salaries for both are fully tax free, regardless of who wins the election on May 2nd.
Respectfully submitted by
Ted Scoles
President, TRAM
12 New Business
Moved: Ken Beatty
Seconded: Eleanor Moore
“In light of the omissions and misleading statements relating to the court case as set out in the Manitoba Telecom Inc. Annual Report for 2010, I move that:
The TRAM Executive organize two “information pickets” to be held on Wednesday May 4, 2011, at the following locations:
- Around the perimeter of the Fort Garry Hotel, 222 Broadway, Winnipeg, (the site of the 2011 MTS Annual Shareholders Meeting) from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon;
- Around the perimeter of the MTS Centre at Main Street and Pioneer Avenue from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The TRAM Executive to obtain necessary participants and volunteers to prepare and provide Picket Captains, sign and handouts for the purpose of the “information pickets.”
DEFEATED
13. The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
