I wanted to thank the members of the Campus Safety Services (CSS) team for all their hard work over the last few weeks. The end of term is stressful at the best of times and with the recent strike, their work to keep our campus safe has been even more demanding. Your dedication and professionalism were critical to getting us through this difficult time successfully. I would also like to thank all of the other members of the Division who contributed to our operational continuity during the strike.

Our leadership team has begun the process of shaping the Finance and Administration Strategic Plan. We are identifying common themes and priorities from the input you provided during the departmental consultations that took place from January to March. The leadership team will continue its work through April and May. Our goal is to present the highlights of the strategic plan at a Coffee Hour planned for June (more details to come). I want to thank everyone, again, who participated in the consultations. Your feedback and information plays an important role in the development of the strategic plan that will guide the work of our division for the next five years.

In closing, I wanted to share a fun fact with you – April 1 marked the 75^th anniversary of Carleton’s Retirement Plan, established on April 1, 1948. Thanks to the Pension Fund Management team for all the work you do in securing our financial futures.

Bring on the warm weather!

Lorraine

The Pension Fund Management Office is offering virtual Pension Plan information sessions in May for all active members of the Carleton Pension Plan. These sessions provide important information that will help you better understand the plan in terms of its financial position, how it is governed, how the pension fund is invested, and more.

These sessions will be of interest to all members of the plan, no matter how long you have worked at Carleton University. The plan is an important part of your retirement income in an environment where the majority of working Canadians do not have a workplace pension plan.

To register, please go to the Learning and Professional Development section in Carleton Central.

The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Team (Office of Risk Management) and the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) are seeking nominations for the 2023 Health and Safety Recognition Award. If you know a faculty member and/or professional services staff member who has demonstrated commitment to fostering a positive safety culture at Carleton, please nominate them for a Health and Safety Recognition Award.

The deadline to submit your nomination is May 4 at 4 p.m.

Carleton University must undergo an annual audit of its financial records for the period of May 1 to April 30. Our goal is to close the books as quickly and accurately as possible. In order to do this, we need the university community to assist us by forwarding all financial documents relating to transactions that occurred prior to April 30 by the deadlines noted in the attached document – Community – Year- end audit instructions 2023. Documents received after these dates, unless considered material (greater than $50,000), will be recorded in the next fiscal year.

New Canada Life VIP Phone Line Dedicated for Carleton: To help ensure Carleton employees receive prompt service from our benefits provider, Canada Life has created a dedicated phone line available exclusively for Carleton employees. As of March 30, Carleton employees can call 1-888-381-4401 for questions or concerns about their Health and Dental coverage. This line is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. If you have technical inquiries about the My Canada Life at Work website (formerly known as GroupNet), you can continue to call 1-888-222-0775 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST.

New Joint Health and Safety Committee Support Services Signage: The Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) is pleased to announce that a worker-initiated project that highlights support services is now complete. The project included the development of signage that identifies available resources for those in need of assistance during an emergency or crisis. The signs are posted in washrooms across campus. If you have questions, please reach out to your university JHSC representative (here).

Pension Fund Triennial Actuarial Valuation Complete: The Pension Fund: An actuarial valuation must be completed every three years per Ontario regulation. It is an assessment of the financial position of the Carleton University Retirement Plan at June 30, 2022. The  valuation was completed by a third-party actuarial firm and the assumptions underlying the model were reviewed at length by the Pension Committee, in consultation with the Actuary. The results showed the plan was fully funded with a going-concern ratio of 106% and solvency ratio of 108%. These ratios are an actuarial approach to measure the financial health of the plan. A fully funded plan (100%) means that the investments in the plan match the expected future pension payments. We are very pleased that the plan is more than fully funded, indicating that our plan is very healthy.

Health and Counselling Temporary Closure May 2-12: Health and Counselling Services is launching our new Collaborative Health Record (CHR) system on Monday, May 15. In order to complete the final steps for implementation, the clinic will be closed for medical appointments from May 2 to May 12. Important details regarding the closure can be found here. Counselling services remain open during this time. Please visit the wellness website for updates on online booking.

You can view all university policies on the University Secretariat website.

Save the Dates for these upcoming events!

• Safety and Health Week – May 1-6
• Emergency Preparedness Week – May 7-13
• Business Continuity Week – May 15-19