Update from the President of PAFSO for October 4, 2024

Dear members,

It’s hard to believe it’s October already. Time seems to go by so quickly when things are busy. And it’s been a very busy time for us at headquarters. Here’s a quick wrap up of a few of the things that are going on.

PAFSO’s mandamus order to compel the Government to provide functional health coverage
 
As I mentioned in my last message, we are moving ahead with our mandamus order to compel the Employer to act on its legal duty and provide our members with a functional health care service. At this point, one of the crucial things we need is to compile a comprehensive record of the impacts the government’s failings in this regard are having, and have had, on our membership – particularly on those serving abroad.

Over the last few weeks, several of you have reached out to us with your stories about your dealings with MSH International and the toll it has taken on you and your families. I wish to thank everyone who has shared their hardships as these accounts will go a long way to support our arguments in court. But we could still use more. So, if you and your family are currently going through, or have gone through, any problems with getting claims processed, receiving reimbursements in a timely fashion, getting in touch with customer support, etc., please let our office know. This is a critical to building the strongest case we can. Any information you can provide will be a great help in securing the functional, reliable and comprehensive health care to which we are entitled. 

CANCELLED: AmbCanada Luncheon and Webinar, October 9
Unfortunately, our friends at AmbCanada have just informed me that they have had to cancel their October 9thluncheon featuring Rhonda Gossen. I am told that those of you who had registered for the event will be reimbursed. The November 13th luncheon is still on and will feature Rhonda’s book, The Twelfth of February. I will have more details on this event in an upcoming message.

The 2024 AGM and Randy Orr Memorial Awards, Monday, October 21
PAFSO’s 59th Annual General Meeting is taking place on Monday October 21, at 4pm, Ottawa time. Once again, to extend participation to our entire membership, in the NCR and around the world, this will be a virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams. If you would like to participate, please email us with your name and department, and we will send you the Teams meeting invitation as well as links to the relevant documents. Please note that you will need to register at least an hour before the meeting starts to be sure you will have access to the session.

Currently, we still have two vacancies to fill on our Executive Committee. We are looking for one representative from the Trade stream, and one from the FSIA stream. Nominations for these two positions e will be taken from the floor during the meeting. If you would like to know a bit more about what’s involved in being on the Executive Committee before you throw your hat in the ring, you can consult this webinar from last year on how it all works

The AGM is the best opportunity to discuss all that we have accomplished in 2024, and to get a sense what lies ahead for 2025 and beyond. In preparation for the meeting, we have made available the various relevant reports on our initiatives and programs, our audited financial statements as well as the 2025 budget and our strategic plan for the next three years here on our site. I hope to see you there.

Also please note that directly following the meeting, we will be announcing the winner of our third annual Randy Orr Memorial Award for volunteer service to the FS community. The target start time for the informal ceremony is 1745, so please plan to stay with us to hear about the inspiring work of our community members.

That’s it for this week. I will have one more message to you before our AGM. Remember, if you want to join in, please send us an email at agm-aga@pafso-apase.com. And, in the meantime, if anything is causing you concern at work, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office. Are you having issues with your pay? Do you feel harassed or discriminated against? Do you have a grievance or a staffing complaint? Or do you just want some clarifications on our collective agreement or the FSDs? Whatever the case, PAFSO is here for you. Just send us an email with your name, department and a detailed description of your concerns. For anything and everything else, please send us an email at info@pafso.com and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.

All the best,

Pam Isfeld
President
@PafsoPresApase