text: District 9 Vice-President | Retired Teachers of Ontario
  Member Services Report, 2017
  Health Rep Article – Summer 2017
  Top 10 Reasons to Join RTO​ Group Health Insurance
  District 9 Vice-President
  RTO/ERO Political Advocacy Provincial Workshop, September 2017
  The overriding theme this year was Age-Friendly Communities, presented by Dr. John Puxty, Director, Centre for Studies in Aging and Health. Lucy Marco, Retiree, President, Grand River Council on Aging – Co Chair with Dave Levac, MPP Brant – explained how their Voices of Lived Experience in Brant have won Grand River World Health Organization recognition and status as an Age-Friendly Community. For more information on Ontario Age-Friendly Planning Initiatives go to http://agefriendlyontario.ca/age-friendly-communities.
  With the coming year 2018 being an election year, our workshop drew attention to two significant Bills to be brought before the Provincial House for discussion and passing: Bill 33 – Amending the Long Term Care Homes Act and Bill C-27 - Amending the Pension Benefits Standards Act. RTO/ERO's Provincial Political Advocacy Committee has provided us with fact sheets succinctly encapsulating the content of the issues and challenges they present and providing questions which should be asked of our electoral candidates with the interests of our members, as well as seniors generally, at heart.
  Other considerations brought forth by the committee with similar fact sheets were Age- Friendly Communities, Elder Abuse, Pharmacare, Water Regulation, and Geriatric Training. These fact sheets may be found on the Provincial website at: https://www.rto-ero.org/walkwithme/rtoero-advocates-for-members-and-seni...
  In order to support our Provincial Committee with feedback and to make ourselves more aware of these relevant issues, our District 9 Political Advocacy Committee is engaging in monthly Tea and Talk get-togethers to bring our voices to the table through conversations, lobbying our politicians, and making our voices count. We plan to meet over a 'cuppa tea or coffee' in various local gathering places on the first Wednesday of each month from December to June at 10:00 am. The first one will be on December 6th, at the AkSence café, 8 Main Street, Grand Bend, where hosts Robin and Richard Cooke will welcome us. We want to know what the issues are that our members and their connections within our communities are facing. Please call Jane MacKenzie, Vice-President and PAC Chair, to join in the conversation and reserve a seat for this lively, meaningful experience. See you there!