Special General Meeting in September
FMUSIC and RUSI of VI Future Status

By LCol (Ret) J.C. Berezowski

At our Annual General Meeting last April, the President announced that annual DND grants of some $24,000 through the Federation of Military and United Services Institutes of Canada to the 28 member Institutes had been terminated. Thus the question to the meeting was: “Should we continue to fully support FMUSIC including remittal of the annual dues of $2.00 per member?”

A motion from the floor named LCol J.C. Berezowski to chair a special working group, to be selected from the membership at large, to review and recommend a course of action for RUSI of VI. Members included LGen R.J. Lane, BGen L. Skaalen, BGen J. Neroutsos, Brig M.A.J. Tugwell, Col S.W. Brygadyr and Cdr M. Turner.

The Working Group met on 16 April and was apprised that Victoria and Quebec City had advised FMUSIC in 1999 that they could not continue to pay the membership dues without the DND grant.

Historically, the 19 founding Institutes federated in 1973. The purpose of FMUSIC was the enhancement of effective Canadian national security and national defence policies and maintenance of capable armed forces. Its operating expenses were, and continue to be met by the annual levy on member Institutes at a rate determined by the Institutes at each biennial meeting. The next FMUSIC Biennial meeting will be in Edmonton 17-19 Oct 03.

Our Working Group agreed that there was more need now than ever for FMUSIC to be heard, given the disarray of Canadian defence policy and the Armed Forces. Over the past year, several parliamentary committees, the auditor general and other authoritative sources have so confirmed.

At the May luncheon meeting, LCol Berezowski presented the report of the Working Group and its Special Resolution hereunder, for decision by the members. The Board of Directors declared that the next luncheon meeting on 10 Sep. would convene as a Special General Meeting to vote FOR or AGAINST the Special Resolution.

SPECIAL RESOLUTION

Whereas there is more need now than ever for FMUSIC to be heard, given the disarray of Canadian defence policy and reduction of the Armed Forces; and

Whereas the urgent need for a coherent national security strategy to guide our foreign, defence and economic policies has been publicly voiced by FMUSIC, and other authorities, to government and to the public; and

Whereas the Government of Canada has placed the national security at risk by allowing key military capabilities of our Armed Forces to corrode to the point where the navy, the army and the air force are no longer sustainable in military operations; and

Whereas FMUSIC has been successful in accessing high offices of national policy and power and the national media, thus influencing decision-makers at the national level, it remains fundamental that FMUSIC be retained as our national voice; and

Whereas Institutes will only be able to keep this influence by retaining and funding FMUSIC as our national voice at the current cost of $2.00 per member; and

Whereas abandoning FMUSIC could place in jeopardy our Institute’s entitlement to non-grant support pursuant to the terms of CFAO 210-42, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

A. RUSI of VI SUPPORT THE RETENTION OF OUR NATIONAL STATUS BY APPROVING THE CONTINUATION OF FMUSIC THROUGH PAYMENT OF OUR PER CAPITA ANNUAL DUES; and

B. AUTHORIZING OUR PRESIDENT TO ATTEND THE FMUSIC BIENNIAL MEETING IN EDMONTON 17-19 OCT 03.

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