Government Relations Report Ron Steeves First Vice-President In October 2016, representatives from the Canadian Snowbird Associationmet with senior health officials at the Department of Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living to discuss rescinding the requirement for Manitoba residents to apply for a term certificate if they were leaving the province for more than three months. In past discussions with previous governments in Manitoba, it was indicated that Manitobans who wish to be away for longer than three months were required to inform the government of their expected dates of departure and return. Upon this notification, they would receive a term certificate confirming coverage fromManitoba Health. It should be noted that no other jurisdiction in Canada requires that temporarily absent residents apply for a term certificate prior to their departure for longer than three months. The CSA is pleased to announce that the Department of Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living has now clarified their position regarding the term certificate, indicating to the CSA in writing that it is only a recommendation and not a requirement for Manitoba travellers. In an effort to be responsive to the concerns raised by the CSA, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living has amended the Request for Temporary Out-of-Province Benefits form to permit residents to indicate whether or not they wish to receive a term certificate. In addition, Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living has taken steps to update its website and internal processes to clarify its messaging with respect to out-of-country benefits. In 2013, the CSAworked closely with the government of Manitoba to increase the length of time residents of Manitoba may temporarily reside outside of their home province from six to seven months in a 12-month period. This clarification from the Department of Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living will allowManitoba snowbirds to travel freely outside of their home province for up to seven months without having to first notify the Manitoba government of their travel plans. On behalf of the association, I would like to thank Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and HealthMinister Kelvin Goertzen for making this important clarification. On March 6, 2017, the front page of the National Post announced “As U.S. Tightens Border, Bills Would Let Snowbirds Stay Longer.” This was, of course, in reference to our seemingly never-ending Canadian Retiree Visa initiative. On Feb 7, 2017, Congressmen Albio Sires (D-NJ) and Ted Yoho (R-FL) introduced “The Promoting Tourism to Enhance our Economy Act” whose sole objective is the implementation of our visa proposal that would allow eligible Canadian citizens to spend up to 240 days in the United States in a 365-day period. It is also important to mention that such persons would be treated as non-resident aliens for tax purposes. As we go to press, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is poised to reintroduce her “Canadian Snowbird Visa” bill that was first introduced in September 2016. Both bills will be bipartisan in nature and we are meeting with all of the lawmakers in question on a regular basis to ensure that these efforts are co-ordinated. We will have a more fulsome update on our progress in the summer edition of the magazine. On May 9, 2017, British Columbia residents will go to the polls to elect a new provincial government. In order to ensure that issues of importance to our members are adequately addressed during the campaign, we will be issuing to our British Columbia members a British Columbia Election Handbook prior to voting day. This publication outlines the limitations of British Columbia’s provincial reimbursement rates for out-of-country emergency medical care, allowable time permitted out of the province and information regarding prescription drug allowances for travellers. The handbook is also a great resource that contains important information regarding election times, dates and polling information. We publish these handbooks for every province and territory across Canada whenever there is a provincial or territorial election. On March 22, 2017, the Saskatchewan government announced that it was raising the rate of provincial sales tax from five per cent to six per cent. Effective July 1, 2017, the PST of six per cent will now apply to all insurance products as defined in The Saskatchewan Insurance Act which will seemingly include insurance premiums onmedical travel insurance. Needless to say we are very concerned about this and, as we go to press, CSA officials are on their way to Saskatchewan in an attempt to resolve this prior to the July 1 implementation date. Medical insurance is simply a prepayment for medical services that may or may not be consumed and, if so, are consumed outside of the province. We are firmly opposed to this and will update you shortly on our progress. CSANews | SPRING 2017 | 13
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