FMUSIC 16^th Biennial Conference

By LCol (Ret) J. Cecil Berezowski

The Federation of Military and United Services Institutes of Canada held its 16^th Biennial Conference in Edmonton 18-19 Oct 03.

The national chairman, Lieutenant General Lou Cuppens opened the meeting by noting that all the Institutes across Canada had lost members and those that had passed away would all be remembered during a memorial pause.

LCol Berezowski delivered a short eulogy in memory of LGen Reg Lane, the second and longest serving national chairman from 1978 to 1993. When Lane retired in 1993, FMUSIC had 26 Institutes with some 10,000 members. He evolved the biennial conference, hosted by different Institutes.

In his main address, LGen Cuppens confirmed that despite his every effort, annual grants had not been reinstated. However, there is provision available to Institutes for a grant of up to $5,000 for specific events. (Secretarial Note. A grant of $5,000 was received after the conference and applied to conference expenses, thus averting a deficit.)

He considered it essential that awareness on national security issues be increased within communities of the Institutes. This notwithstanding, the Chairman was aware that some members perceived us as too political. He stressed that this was not our aim but rather, it is to constructively critique defence policy.

All Institute delegates spoke to the need of supporting FMUSIC. While some have complained about paying dues to FMUSIC, $2.00 per member annually has remained for 15 years. The Chairman pointed out that a number of cost-cutting measures have been taken. The Institute telephone has been cancelled but the National Office remains at Fort Frontenac in Kingston.

However, with the falling membership, FMUSIC will face a continuing decline in revenue.

A motion PASSED unanimously that the role of FMUSIC is now more important than ever and that it shall continue as constituted, to meet the obligations of its National Charter.

Keynote speaker to the conference was BGen J.J. Fenton, OMM, CD, Commander Land Force Western Canada. He briefed the conference on the status of the Canadian Forces, with emphasis on the Army. The presentation was especially useful for the delegates in that it described both the framework and the features of Army strategic planning in the context of the Army of Today, Tomorrow and the Future.

Dr. Leslie Green, a philosopher and defence lecturer from the University of Alberta, spoke about international terrorism and its effect on our way of thinking at the national, international and global levels.

In the interest of financial prudence, the Executive Committee reported that in future it would be necessary to reduce the amount spent by delegates on travel. Consequently, sites for future conferences would be confined to alternating between Kingston and Winnipeg. Kingston offered to host the FMUSIC 17^th Biennial Conference in 2005.

The PICKING TROPHY was presented to the Royal Military Institute of Manitoba as having achieved the greatest growth since the last meeting.

LGen Cuppens was re-affirmed as National Chairman for the next two-year term. LCol A Cooper, OMM, CD, Kingston, was appointed Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary vice LCol Doug Green. Mr. Joe Varner, Ottawa was appointed chair of the Defence Committee vice LCol Berezowski.

DELINQUENTS. Responding to the direction of the Executive Committee, the National Chairman said he would be sending letters to Institutes delinquent in paying membership dues to FMUSIC. They would be advised that they will no longer be considered members of FMUSIC and therefore could not avail themselves of the DND facilities offered under CFAO 220-40 and, that NDHQ would be informed that they are no longer members of FMUSIC. _

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