From: John Hobbins



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McGill Association of University Teachers

RETIRED MEMBERS BULLETIN #11

October 2013

Comments from the Chair

A number of things have transpired since our last Bulletin was issued. To start with, I would like to assure you that our Committee has been keeping a close vigil on the moves of the University Administration to cut/diminish some of the benefits promised to retirees. You will find a summary of what is happening on this front in the report of Nick Acheson, who manages our Benefits portfolio. Last spring, the MAUT Council named Nick as one of the three MAUT representatives to the Staff Benefits Advisory Committee (SBAC). We are lobbying to make this a standard practice, namely that MAUT regularly name a retiree as one of its three representatives on the SBAC. We hope that this will be formally approved at a future meeting of the Council. In particular, I want to remark that Nick will be a great asset even from the perspective of those who are presently employed by the University.

The process of migrating our Retirees’ web site to the new MAUT site () has been completed. I am happy to announce that Jim Henderson has taken over as webmaster and will be "telecommuting" from his home in Vancouver. Jim was formerly head of the Life Sciences Library at McGill. He still occasionally visits Montreal, and we recently had a very productive meeting with Jim to discuss revisions and updates to the web site. I would like to thank Jim for taking over this important job. If you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to Jim.Henderson@mcgill.ca.

We are busy planning activities for the present academic year. Our fall lunch at the Faculty Club, on Monday October 21 starting at 12 noon, will feature Joe Schwarcz, who will speak on Serendipity in Science. You should have received a notice by email or in the regular mail; please reserve your place soon! Later we will be planning the spring lunch get-together at the Faculty Club as well as the spring lunch meeting at Tadja Hall on the Macdonald campus. We are also planning other activities. Given the overwhelming response to the bird watching excursions last spring, we hope that Nick will take on us another outing next spring.

I attended the annual meetings of the College and University Retiree Associations of Canada (CURAC) over the past two years and have now been named a member of the Board of Directors of CURAC. I believe in the work of CURAC and would like to see it take a more active role in lobbying. In particular, when I attended the annual meeting in St. John’s (NL) this past summer, I became aware of the Economical Select Insurance Company. I believe that they have very attractive rates of insurance (for home and auto) for members of CURAC, and all members of the Retirees’ Section of MAUT are automatically members of CURAC. I could not change my company this year (too short time before my renewal) but will try it next year. John Dealy tells me that he changed and does benefit from low rates.

Kohur Gowrisankaran (Gowri)

Late Membership Renewals

Just in case you haven’t yet paid for this year’s membership as a MAUT Retiree, we are including an application form at the end of this Bulletin. Please fill out this form completely, choose a membership option (#1 costs $25; #2 costs $15) and check if you want to receive the CAUT Bulletin (additional $20). Send the form to the MAUT office with your cheque.

NEWS ON RETIREE BENEFITS

Emergency Travel Assistance for retirees who are members of the McGill Supplemental Health Plan

I wrote in our February, 2013 bulletin that new and more constraining conditions for claiming reimbursement for medical emergencies while traveling abroad were introduced by Manulife last December 1. Until then, members of the Supplemental Health Plan were covered for medical emergencies abroad even if they result from a pre-existing medical condition, if that condition was “completely stable” before departure on the trip.

Manulife's new regulations state that any change in symptoms or treatment for a pre-existing medical condition, or testing or treatment for any new symptoms or conditions, during the 90 days prior to the beginning of travel would invalidate claims for a medical emergency resulting from that condition (see ). Furthermore, claims for medical emergencies may be refused if you have scheduled future non-routine appointments, tests or treatments for the condition or another undiagnosed condition before your departure.

Imposition of these new and more detailed conditions is worrisome, as legitimate claims for emergency medical treatment while traveling could be denied based on some technicalities. This coverage is important for retirees, many of whom travel, and some of whom have a variety of chronic medical conditions. A medical emergency involving hospitalisation can result in expenditures of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Purchasing individual travel medical insurance can be very expensive, such policies often rule out emergencies related to pre-existing medical conditions, and many do not allow coverage for periods as long as 90 days, as the Supplemental Health Plan does.

We have been in discussion with the Benefits office about these new conditions, and have requested that the Administration attempt to reverse this change in our travel insurance. This issue was discussed at some length at the June meeting of the Staff Benefits Advisory Committee (SBAC), which I attended as a member representing MAUT retirees. At this moment there does not seem to be a satisfactory solution to this problem, as Manulife has so far been unwilling to revert to the previous conditions for retirees. We hope that MAUT and the University Administration working together can protect this important benefit for retirees. We may know more after the next meeting of the Staff Benefits Advisory Committee in late October.

Nick Acheson

Reimbursement of prescription drugs and vaccines that are not covered by provincal drug insurance plans

We would like to remind retirees who are 65 or over that most prescription drugs or vaccines that they purchase will be reimbursed by their provincial drug plan. For example, Quebec residents 65 and over are required to join the RAMQ prescription drug insurance plan, whose premiums are paid annually on your provincial tax return.

However, some prescription drugs (and they may be very expensive!) are not on the list of insured drugs covered by various provincial drug plans. In this case, you can claim reimbursement from the McGill Supplemental Health Plan.

This came up recently when a retiree member purchased a vaccine recommended by his doctor, but the provincial drug plan in question did not cover it. He sent in the bill to our Health Plan and it was reimbursed (albeit at a slightly lower amount than its purchase price).

So if you find yourself in this situation, you should submit a claim to the McGill Supplemental Health Plan (via Manulife) for payment for any drugs or vaccines whose reimbursement has been refused by your provincial drug plan.

Nick Acheson

UPCOMING SOCIAL EVENTS

Fall Retirees’ Luncheon at the McGill Faculty Club

Our fall lunch at the Faculty Club is scheduled for Monday October 21, starting at 12 noon. Joe Schwarcz will speak on Serendipity in Science. You should already have received invitations to this lunch; please sign up soon to ensure your place!

MAUT Retirees’ Bridge Group

The Bridge Group was launched on Tuesday April 20, 2011 with a core of 6 players. With increased participation, 16 or more enthusiasts, from a core of 24, now play on alternate Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m in the Maude Abbott Lounge at the McGill Faculty Club, on the downtown campus, 3450 McTavish St. The dates for the 2013-14 year are: Oct. 8/22, Nov. 5/19, Dec. 3/17, Jan. 7/21, Feb. 4/18, Mar. 4/18, Apr. 1/15/29, May 13/27, and June 10/17. The Faculty Club sets up tables and chairs for play and provides us with tea and coffee, as well as cookies or sandwiches. There is a fee of $5.50 per session.

We welcome new members. Take some time off to have fun. Jim Fresco sets up the play for each session and calculates the scores. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dorothy Thomas Edding at dorothy.thomas_edding@mcgill.ca or Jim Fresco at james.fresco@mcgill.ca.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Dorothy Thomas Edding

Concerts at Bourgie Hall

I would like to know if there is any interest in attending the following concerts. This idea started from my personal interest in the concert series called “Musical 5 à 7” at Bourgie Hall at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). I have attended some of these concerts; they are only one hour in length. This makes it very convenient to go out to dinner as a group after the concert. The most popular concerts have a jazz theme but they sell out and the tickets need to be purchased early. Since it is already too late to get tickets to one of these concerts for this fall, I am wondering if there is any interest in the Benjamin Britten concert. Please take a look at the proposed concerts and contact Darlene Canning at Darlene.canning@mcgill.ca if you are interested.

• Tribute to Benjamin Britten: On Friday, November 22, there is a concert in tribute to Benjamin Britten at the Church of St Andrew and St. Paul. Although this is part of the Bourgie Hall concert series, the concert does not take place in Bourgie Hall. For MMFA members, the cost of the ticket is $30. This concert begins at 8 pm. If you are interested in going as a group to this concert, I would like to know if you would like to go out to dinner before the concert?

• “Musical 5 à 7”: On March 13, 2014, there is a concert with a Jazz theme that I would like to propose we attend. The cost is $29 per ticket. We need to purchase our own concert tickets a couple of months in advance since these concerts sell out early. I could make dinner reservations and coordinate the group.

Darlene Canning

REPORTS ON PAST ACTIVITIES

Lunch at Le Taj and visit to the Museum of Fine Arts

In April, 19 retirees and spouses combined lunch at Restaurant Le Taj with a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. We were fortunate to have such perfect weather that we walked from the restaurant to the museum where we had a guided tour of the exhibit “Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon”.

There were more than 350 objects of art in this exhibit. They depicted more than 3000 years of the history of Peru from the Pre-Columbian era to the 20th century. There were works of the Mochica, Chimu and Inca cultures as well as paintings and sculptures from the Colonial and Vice-royal eras. Modern day Peru was depicted in paintings and folk art. It was fascinating and it provided a synopsis of the rich Peruvian heritage.

Darlene Canning

Spring Luncheon at the McGill Faculty Club

On Wednesday, May 29th, MAUT retirees met and had lunch together at the McGill Faculty Club. Our speaker was Professor Laurie Hendren, School of Computer Science and Associate Dean (Academic) Faculty of Science. She spoke on Compilers: Design and importance.

Spring Luncheon at Tadja Hall

On Friday, June 7, we enjoyed our annual luncheon at Tadja Hall, the faculty club on the Macdonald Campus.  As we have come to expect, we were served a delicious meal and we enjoyed the wonderful views of Lac St. Louis as well as the camaraderie of colleagues and an informative and stimulating address by Professor Elena M. Bennett, Department of Natural Resource Sciences.  Professor Bennett is the 2013 winner of the Carrie M. Derrick Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Supervision.

Professor Bennett’s topic was pertinent to the issues facing the world today.  She spoke on “Feeding the world without destroying the planet: ecosystem services, food production, and sustainability.”  In her presentation, she addressed the problem of agriculture as both a critical factor for human wellbeing and as a driver of environmental decline. With the human population expected to reach more than 9 billion by 2050, we need to find ways to adequately feed the world population while simultaneously decreasing the environmental impact of agriculture. Dr. Bennett discussed ways forward, that are both sustainable and resilient.

Darlene Canning

Birding at Mount Royal Cemetery

Two groups of about ten MAUT retirees each spent an enjoyable morning looking for birds last spring at Mount Royal Cemetery. We met at 8:30 am at the northern entrance to the Cemetery, and proceeded by car to several places within the Cemetery, where we then spent some time on foot. On May 22 many flowering trees were still in bloom; by the time of the second outing, June 5, the foliage was more in summer mode. We spent 2 ½ to 3 hours on each occasion, and saw a number of spring migrants as well as some birds who were more likely establishing nesting territories.

Some of the highlights were: a pair of Eastern Bluebirds, who nest in boxes set up at the Cemetery; ten species of warblers; a Northern Mockingbird; a Pileated Woodpecker, calling and then flying over nearby; a large group of Cedar Waxwings feeding in flowering trees; singing Indigo Buntings; and a Baltimore Oriole.

Nick Acheson, excursion leader

Excursion to the McGill Bird Observatory

Ten MAUT retirees and spouses enjoyed a tour of the McGill Bird Observatory (MBO), adjacent to the Morgan Arboretum in St. Anne de Bellevue, on Wednesday, May 15, 2013. We arrived by 6:30 a.m. and were met by Simon Duval, a licenced bird bander who has worked at the MBO during spring and fall migration seasons since 2008. The day was sunny but cool, beginning at about 6 C and warming up to around 16 C by 11:30 am, when the last visitors departed.

The MBO studies abundance and distribution of migrating and resident songbirds by capturing birds in mist nets and banding them, and by observing birds in the MBO terrain, which includes forest, fields, and marshland. Volunteers and a licenced bander show up at sunrise every day during spring migration (ending June 1) and fall migration; a fall banding station for migrating Saw-whet Owls is also operated.

About 20 mist nets, each some 4 meters tall and 10 meters long, are set up in a variety of strategic places such that migrating or resident birds, flying between trees or bushes, are caught in the nets. Birds are not harmed by netting, as they fall into a loose flap of the nylon netting and are gently entangled. Workers pass by each 30 minutes during the morning, “extract” the birds, and place them in cloth bags, where they usually remain calm.

All captured birds are brought back to a central shack where the bander identifies them, attempts to determine sex and age, checks the breastbone for fat content, measures the wing length and in some cases bill or tail length, and records any other observations. Each bird receives an aluminum band with a unique number engraved into the band. Bands are small cylinders, weighing 0.1 gram or so, that are attached around the tarsus (lower leg/ankle) of most birds, although in some cases the band is attached to the thigh (tibiotarsus). The bands are loose, can rotate, and do not impair the birds’ behavior so far as is known. Birds have been repeatedly captured after migrating over thousands of miles during several years in a row and successfully breeding.

The birds are then photographed and released. Most of the birds that we saw banded appeared relatively calm, even though they were being held in the hand of the bander. Their wings were spread for examination, and their breast or head feathers were gently blown upon to scrutinize the skin and musculature below the down. A couple of birds (especially a Common Grackle) pinched the bander’s fingers with their bills. When being photographed just before release, the bander would gently raise the bird’s bill to “pose” the bird, who usually did just that, looking calm and beautiful!

This day we saw two banded birds that are rarely caught there: an American Woodcock and a Solitary Sandpiper (for photos, see the MAUT Retirees’ web site at ). The American Woodcock is a very chubby, buffy-brown bird with an extremely long bill whose tip is flexible, as it uses the bill to probe in damp soil for invertebrates that it eats. Couples live and nest in woodlands. This bird was a female with a bare spot on her belly that serves as a brood patch, allowing the bird to warm up its eggs on the nest. This was proof that this female was nesting in the vicinity.

The Solitary Sandpiper is a migrant that nests in marshes in the far north. It winters in the tropics. This medium-size sandpiper has a relatively long, thin bill. It is brownish-gray, with streaks on the head and neck, and yellowish legs. It closely resembles the Green Sandpiper, its Eurasian cousin. We also saw a single Solitary Sandpiper, accompanied by three Least Sandpipers, in the marsh later during the morning.

Other birds that we observed being banded were: 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Chestnut-sided Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 1 Yellowthroat, 1 Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, 1 House Wren, 1 White-throated Sparrow, and several Red-winged Blackbirds. We had a good look at a Red-tailed Hawk flying over the area, a distant look at an Osprey, and close-up looks at 5 Turkey Vultures. We saw (and heard!) several nesting Canada Geese, some Mallards, and three couples of Wood Ducks, which also nest there, sometimes in nesting boxes that are erected by the Observatory. Baltimore Orioles were frequently seen and singing, as were Yellow Warblers and Song Sparrows. We also heard, but did not see, numerous Warbling Vireos, House Wrens, and Chipping Sparrows. Several Eastern Kingbirds were seen perching on trees and hawking for insects.

All ten participants expressed their pleasure at having been able to see first-hand how bird banding works, and how observation of feather length, coloration, and shape of feather tips helps banders to determine sex and age of these birds. They seem much smaller up close than when they are in the wild! We were able to observe the details of the brightly-colored feathers of warblers, the fine bill of the wren, the bluish iridescent head of the Common Grackle, and the long bill of the American Woodcock with its flexible tip. A great learning experience.

Nick Acheson, excursion leader

MAUT RETIREE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Kohur Gowrisankaran gowri@math.mcgill.ca 514-398-3841

Chair

Nicholas Acheson nicholas.acheson@mcgill.ca 514-485-3521

Benefits

Jim Henderson jim.henderson@mcgill.ca 604-221-1373

Webmaster

Darlene Canning Darlene.canning@mcgill.ca 514-457-6735

Activities for retirees

John Dealy john.dealy@mcgill.ca 514-398-4264

Chair Emeritus, Treasurer

John Hobbins john.hobbins@mcgill.ca 514-487-5727

Advising, retiree benefits

Dorothy Thomas-Edding dorothy.thomas.edding@mcgill.ca 514-932-8478

Benefits, Bridge

McGill Association of University Teachers

3495 Peel Street, Room 202, Montreal, QC H3A 1W7

INVOICE FOR MEMBERSHIP DUES

RETIRED MEMBER DUES - 2013

Name: _

Faculty/Department/School:

Address for correspondence: _____________

_________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ( □ home □ office)

E-mail address: __

The invoice structure is intended to provide maximum flexibility for Retired Members to decide the level of services they wish to receive. Please indicate your choice(s) and send your cheque to MAUT.

Retired Member – Option 1 - Standard Membership $ 25.00 _________

MAUT Newsletters.

Information of interest to retired members.

Admission to all MAUT forums (including lunch).

Reduced rate for Montreal activities (lunches etc.).

(Lunches are $ 20 for Option 1 Members).

Retired Member – Option 2 $ 15.00_________

MAUT Newsletters

Information of interest to retired members

Admission to all MAUT forums (including lunch).

(Lunches are $ 30 for Option 2 Members).

Additional amount for subscription to CAUT Bulletin $ 20.00__________

[Note: An individual subscription is $ 30.00.]

Total ($ 25.00, $ 15.00, $ 45.00 or $ 35.00) __________

Signature Date

□ Attached is a cheque payable to MAUT.

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