Skip to Main Content

Reading Nook

Giving a voice to the voiceless

Nishika Jardine, the first woman to become veterans ombudsman, plans to help veterans, particularly Aboriginal veterans, be heard.   It was a fine, warm summer day in 2010 when Nishika Jardine, at the time a lieutenant-colonel, relinquished command of the…

Learn more

A long, long retirement

Burd Sisler, a Second World War veteran and career customs officer, has been retired longer than he worked.   Burd Sisler has seen it all. Sometimes in duplicate. He was born during the First World War and served in the…

Learn more

Long-term care in crisis

Residents have different rights across the country, so why are those rights routinely violated?   COVID-19 has highlighted the challenges in facilities that care for the infirm elderly and officials “have much to consider to shore up the cracks in…

Learn more

A career comes full circle

Simon Coakeley had the perfect combination of passion and experience to lead Federal Retirees. Now he’s moving on to the Canadian Bar Association.    Simon Coakeley, it seems, is not very good at retiring. After leaving a 30-year federal public…

Learn more

Dreams of downsizing

Bernice and John Klassen moved from the suburbs to a townhome-style condo in downtown Ottawa. They say if they didn’t have a cottage, they could easily live without a car.   Back in his suburban homeowner days, John Klassen had…

Learn more

Does profitability matter in long-term care?

The Canadian narrative of the COVID-19 pandemic has quickly become focused on the country’s failure to protect its older adult population.   With an overwhelming 81 per cent of COVID-19-related deaths occurring in long-term care homes (LTCH) during the first…

Learn more

Voting in the time of COVID

New Brunswick, British Columbia and Saskatchewan all had provincial elections this autumn. Here’s how they protected their voters and their democracies.   A snap election, over the shortest possible period, during a global pandemic. It sounds like a recipe for…

Learn more

Evidence reigns supreme

Veterans Affairs Canada must make sure all veterans are accounted for in its research.   The genesis and evolution of government policies and programs is shrouded in mystery for most Canadians. Policies and programs can be implemented for political reasons,…

Learn more

COVID-19 and pension indexation

How does the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affect pension indexation and what impacts can we expect to see in the long term?   Every year, indexation is applied to members’ and survivors’ pensions. The indexation amount is calculated by using the…

Learn more

An advocacy year like no other

From virtual volunteer recruitment to Zoom meetings with MPs, the year of COVID-19 has been an advocacy year like no other.   Federal Retirees’ advocacy priorities are always important, and that’s perhaps even more true with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting…

Learn more

A mega-recruiter shares her secrets

Joanne Morrissey, the top recruiter from last year’s Mega Recruitment Drive, suggests asking prospective members if they know any other eligible members while you have them on the phone.   There are 6,000 federal retirees in Newfoundland and Joanne Morrissey…

Learn more

A push toward home care is coming

Isobel Mackenzie has worked with seniors for the past 20 years and now, as British Columbia’s seniors advocate, she is calling for better home-care services for seniors. Credit: Adrian Lam   Isobel Mackenzie has worked with and for seniors for…

Learn more
This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site. Switch to a production site key to remove this banner.