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APRUO Bulletin, September 2024

Editor : Frans De Bruyn

Translation : André Lapierre

Word from the President

Dear Colleagues,

THANK YOU!  Thank you for supporting the Association the way you do!  Never before have we been so many : 328 members -- counsellors, language teachers, librarians, and professors from all Faculties !  As a result, we can fully carry on our mandate and even extend it by proposing activities promoting members' development and socialization as set forth in the 2023-2024 Action plan. The action plan is recorded in the minutes of the 2023 Annual General Meeting, which can be viewed at https://apruo.ca/_uploads/6491e14d49c48.pdf .

Our last bi-modal Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on May 29, 2024 was a great success both in terms of the number of participants (n=47) and its very lively atmosphere.  Please visit our website (apruo.ca) and read the draft minutes of the AGM which include the reports from the various committees and have a look at the pictures that were taken then.

During the AGM, we had the great pleasure to welcome two new members to the Board of Directors : Dany Laveault (Education - 2015) and Denis Nadeau (Civil Law - 2024).  We thank them sincerely for agreeing to join us.  We are delighted to be able to count on their respective experiences and competencies which will enrich the Board.  However, with each addition comes a withdrawal.  This is with deep regret that we had to accept Charles Belleau's departure.  Charles (Civil Law - 2012) has served on the Board for three full mandates, nine years, and held several functions including APRUO representative on the Pension Committee and Vice-President.  We would like to express our deepest gratitude for Charles' exemplary contribution : his deep insight, his keen eye, his teamwork skills and his "joie de vivre" will be missed.  We wish him the best in his future projects.

May you have a safe and happy end of summer. We look forward to maintaining the special ties that remind us of the good times we had at the University.

Sylvie Lauzon

President

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You Have Questions? We Have Answers!

From time to time APRUO members write in to us with questions having to do with pensions, benefits, and other concerns. We do our best to answer your queries or to connect you with the right persons who can assist you with your problem. But the answers you seek are in many cases already available on the APRUO website.

For example, the most frequent questions we receive are about benefits, such as the following : (a) post-retirement library access, (b) supplementary health insurance and our heathcare spending account (HCSA), and (c) access to computer software, such as Microsoft Office programs. Information about these and other benefits can be found on our website under the “Pension” and “Benefits” tabs.

So, for example, for the topics listed above, you can readily find up-to-date information on our website at the following links:

  1. Library access: https://apruo.ca/benefits/library-access
  2. HCSA, including how to claim premiums for extended health insurance plans: https://apruo.ca/benefits/health-care-spending-account

Post-retirement extended health insurance: https://apruo.ca/benefits/health-insurance

  1. Computer software licences: https://apruo.ca/benefits/access-to-computer-software

These are just a few examples of the wealth of useful information available to our members on the APRUO website. But we welcome any suggestions from our members (or your corrections) regarding topics of potential interest that appear to be missing or that have been overlooked.

Meanwhile, Human Resources at the University has updated its contact information, and we are updating the website to reflect these changes. In future, depending on the issue or problem encountered by a member, the appropriate contact point at Human Resources may vary. A full list of the new HR contact details is included in a separate article at the end of this Bulletin.

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Updating the APRUO Constitution

After twenty-five years, the Constitution of the APRUO needed some updating, and at the last Annual General Meeting, held on May 29th 2024, members voted to approve an amended version of the Constitution of the APRUO. The admendments, summarized below, included a number of substantive changes and a few minor adjustments to the text

Among the substantial changes was an inclusive definition of  the wording of Paragraph 2 to include librarians, language teachers, and counsellors. In Paragraph 8 (a), the limit in the number of mandates that a member of the Administrative Committee may serve was removed and the procedure to be followed concerning members of the Administrative Committee co-opted between Annual General Meetings (AGM) was clarified.  Also, the AGM election procedure was modified to permit members attending on line to vote. In Paragraph 10 the notice given to members of a proposed constitutional change was reduced from four to two weeks.

Minor changes included the use of gender-neutral pronouns in the English text and the change of name of the Constitution to “Constitution and Bylaws.” Also, the Administrative Committee was renamed “Board of Directors” and the French text was made gender-inclusive. Below is a summary of the changes.

Résumé des modifications  -  Summary of modifications

  1. Changements de fond - Substantial Changes

Article 2 -  Article 2

Parmi les changements mineurs, citons l'utilisation de pronoms neutres dans le texte anglais et le changement du nom de la Constitution en « Constitution and Bylaws ». Le comité administratif a également été renommé « Conseil d'administration » et le texte français a été rendu conforme à l’écriture invlisive.

Minor changes include the use of gender-neutral pronouns in the English text and the renaming of the Constitution to “Constitution and Bylaws”. The Administrative Committee has also been renamed “Board of Directors”, and the French text has been made gender neutral.

Article 8.a   Article 8.a

Élimination de la limite du nombre de mandats des membres du Conseil d’administration et précision de la procédure à suivre concernant les membres du CA cooptés par le CA entre les AGA.

Removal of term limits for members of the Board of Directors and clarification of the procedure for Board members co-opted by the Board between AGMs.

Article 8.a.v.1  Article  8.a.v.1

Procédure pour les élections à l’AGA : ajout d’une procédure permettant aux membres qui assistent en ligne de voter .

AGM election procedure: addition of a procedure allowing members who attend online to vote.

Article 10  - Article 10

Réduction de quatre à deux semaines de l’avis aux membres d’une proposition de changement des articles des Statuts.

Reduction from four to two weeks' notice to members of a proposed change to the Articles of Association.

  1. Changements mineurs - Minor Changes

Adoption de l’écriture inclusive dans le texte français. / Adoption of inclusive writing in the French text.

Utilisation de pronoms neutres dans le texte anglais / Use of neutral pronouns in the English text.

Changement du nom des articles des Statuts à “Statuts et règlements”en français / French name of the Articles of Association changed to “Statuts et règlements.”

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Supporting and Promoting our Membership Community

As part of the Action Plan adopted last year by the APRUO, the Board has been working on ways to improve communications with our members and to promote a sense of social and collegial cohesion within our membership. In this regard we are particularly pleased at the success last year of two social and cultural events, which generated considerable interest among our members. The first of these was a book launch and tribute to Pierre Calvé in November 2023. A photo album of the event can be viewed on our website at: https://apruo.ca/about-apruo/photo-gallery.) The second activity was a guided tour of the special exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada showcasing the career of Jean-Paul Riopelle. Both these events were organized by Raymond Leblanc, our Board member in charge of special projects and events. In the coming academic year, we hope to sponsor further events of this kind.

The Annual General Meeting is an annual event that mixes both business and pleasure: the reception following the business meeting is a favourite opportunity for members to catch up with one another. This year, we made a photographic record of the reception, which can also be found in our photo gallery at: https://apruo.ca/about-apruo/photo-gallery .

We would also like to take this opportunity to remind members of a website initiative already undertaken to support a sense of community among our members. We have created a web page, in which volunteer opportunities and invitations from outside organizations are listed:  https://apruo.ca/docs/volunteer-opportunities-invitations.

 

We invite you to view these pages and to contribute items about your activities and about community initiatives of interest to our membership. As always, we also request that you bring to our attention any inaccuracies, glitches, dead links, etc. you might encounter in using our website.

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Communicating with Human Resources: Updated Contact Information

Human Resources has updated its contact information. Please note that depending on the concern you have, contact phone numbers and e-mail addresses may differ.

HR Contact Persons

  1. Employee Group Insurance Plan (coverage, health care spending account (HCSA), claims):
  • Canada Life:
    • Dedicated number for uOttawa : 1 833 794-0225
  • Human Resources Team:
  1. Life Insurance and associated T4A slips (taxable benefit):
  • Information RH Team:
    • inforh@uottawa.ca
    • 613 562-5832
  1. Pension Plan (banking changes, change of address, personal information) :
  1. Pension income tax slips, T4A/RL2:
  1. Support for Workday and Information Technology (Workday, email, password) :
  1. Change of Address or Modification to your Bank Account:

You can change your address in Workday.  HR will receive a report and will send it to RBC. However, if you bring changes to your bank account in Workday, this new information will not be sent to RBC, you need to contact pension@uottawa.ca for this purpose.

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Contacting the APRUO

Thinking of dropping by the APRUO office on campus to give us a cheque? Sorry! The contact address given on the website at the bottom of our homepage is a postal address only. The APRUO does have an office on King Edward Avenue, but it is not staffed. We use it mainly for Board meetings and as a place to store the Association’s files and archives.

So if you wish to communicate with us, please either use the online “Contact Us” message link at the bottom of our homepage or send us a letter addressed to :

Association of Professors Retired from the University of Ottawa141 Louis-Pasteur StreetOttawa, Ontario

Canada K1N 6N5

 

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