Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC)
The CERC will meet on September 15 in Toronto. The CERC's Government Relations Committee is responsible for evaluating Federal and provincial legislation related to relocation. It recommends specific action and strategy with legislative changes. The committee communicates the Council's concerns to appropriate government departments. Specific areas in the 1998 Federal Budget include taxation ramifications of compensation to employees related to moves, mortgage interest subsidies, reimbursement of mortgage interest, below-market loans and subsidized loans.
Sulphur in Fuel
A government working group made up of federal and provincial representatives published its report on sulphur in gasoline and diesel fuel. Sulphur in fuel is a significant contributor to air pollution. The group recommended new standards of 30 ppm of sulphur in fuel on an annual average basis. The group presented two options:
- Effective in Quebec and southern Ontario by 2002 and the remainder of Canada by 2005
- Effective in all of Canada by 2002
Copies of the report are available from Environment Canada at 819-997-1221.
Vehicle Impoundment Program / Driving While Suspended
On November 1, 1998, Ontario will impound any vehicle where the driver is found to have a suspended licence. The impoundment could last from 2 to 90 days. David Long and John Levi represented CAM at the meetings related to the implementation of the program. They raised strong objections with the Ministry of Transport and the Minister related to the ability of a carrier, who practises due diligence in the monitoring of its drivers, to know in a timely fashion when it has a suspended driver. They offered three solutions to improve the ability of a carrier to know its driver status:
- The Ministry would maintain a list of drivers and carriers, and notify a carrier when it had a suspended driver
- The Ministry would provide each carrier with a list of suspended drivers on a regular basis
- CAM would maintain a list of suspended drivers on its website. Members could search the website to determine driver status.
Certified Moving Consultants Course
CAM is working with the American Moving and Storage Association to update the Canadian content of the CMC course. To date, we have received four sections of the course and have assigned them to several volunteers who are updating them. In accordance with its agreement with the AMSA, CAM has already supervised the CMC examinations of several Canadian movers.
CAM's 1998 Annual Conference
The 1998 Annual Conference is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, November 23 - 24, 1998 at the Wyndham Bristol Place Hotel in Toronto. Watch for your brochure in the mail shortly. We have another great line-up of speakers.
This will be CAM's third Annual Conference since the founding conference in 1996. Our executive and board of directors have done a great job in getting CAM re-established, but some of their terms are near completion. At this conference we will be holding elections to complete the executive and the board of directors. You will receive information on nominations in October; think about who in our industry should be on the governing body of this progressive industry association.
CAM's 1999 Membership Campaign
The membership campaign for 1999 will begin in a few weeks. Information packages and 1999 Membership invoices will be mailed to members and past members. It is time to show your commitment to your industry association. We have accomplished a lot as a group in the last few years, but we need your support to continue representing the industry and doing all the things that are in our mandate.
Golf Tournament - September 28
The Golf Tournament is scheduled for September 28 at the Cardinal Golf Club. Get your foursomes together and register now. Information forms have been mailed and faxed to you. Don't miss this exciting event! Contact Sharon McKenna in the CAM offices if you are willing to donate a prize or sponsor a hole.
News Items
Don't forget that this is your newsletter. If you know of any newsworthy event, let us know.
|
