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President’s Message Karen Huestis CSA President Welcome home to Canada! 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Canadian Snowbird Association. In March of 1992, just over 1,000 people gathered at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Florida and formed what was then known as the Canadian Sunbelt Association. In 1991, the Ontario government significantly reduced out-ofcountry emergency hospital coverage that led to a 300 per cent increase in supplemental insurance premiums for Ontario snowbirds. To say that snowbirds were angry is putting it mildly. They had worked hard for their entire lives, paid their taxes, saved their money and played by the rules. Canadians who spend their winters in warmer destinations still pay a full year of taxes to their various levels of government. They continue to pay for infrastructure and other government services while they are away and that is completely understandable. Having said that, the one thing which they expect and deserve is to have full, equal access to emergency health care. Those founding members of the association knew that if Ontario could get away with reducing out-ofcountry emergency hospital coverage, there would be nothing preventing other provinces from doing the same thing. It became increasingly clear that federal, provincial and territorial governments of all political stripes were not living up to their obligations to travelling Canadian residents. Something had to be done to defend the rights and privileges of all travelling Canadians. Thirty years later, the 1,055-member Canadian Sunbelt Association has become the Canadian Snowbird Association and we are 115,000 members strong! In 30 years of advocacy, what have we achieved together? Snowbirds could not vote in federal elections when they were outside of Canada… now they can. Saskatchewan residents who spend six months outside of Canada every year can now spend sevenmonths away, while maintaining their provincial health care. They couldn’t do that before we got involved. Since 2013, we have convinced the provincial governments in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to make the same change. We worked hard to make the 10-year Canadian passport a reality. When Florida state lawmakers suddenly required an International Driving Permit for out-ofcountry drivers, we fought back and had the legislation repealed in fewer than 90 days. On January 1, 2020, in an unprecedented move, the current government of Ontario eliminated the Out-of-Country Travellers’ Program entirely, which provided reimbursement for Ontario residents who facedmedical emergencies while travelling outside of the country. This policy change made Ontario the only jurisdiction in Canada to cut all emergency medical coverage for residents travelling abroad. By eliminating all out-of-country health coverage, the Ontario government was in clear violation of the Canada Health Act and the CSA challenged this decision in court. In a unanimous decision, the Ontario Divisional Court in Canadian Snowbird Association Inc vs. Attorney General of Ontario struck down part of Regulation 259, which terminated OHIP’S Out-of-Country Travellers’ Program. The Court’s ruling reinstated this important coverage for travelling Ontarians. Challenging the illegal actions of the Ontario government was necessary not only to protect the interests of our Ontario members, but for all of our members across Canada. Just as in 1991, if Ontario had been successful, there is little reason to think that other provinces might feel empowered to try the same thing. As those of you who have long been members of the association well know, these are just some of the many victories which we’ve achieved in the last 30 years, and none of them would have been possible without the loyal and generous support of our members. By the time you read this, you will have hopefully received your membership renewal information in the mail. Please take a moment to renew by simply mailing us your renewal notice, visiting our website (www.snowbirds.org) or calling the office. Although we are now well over 100,000 members strong, we want to continue to see that number grow. Believe me, a membership base of our size makes all the difference when we sit down with our elected officials. Thanks to everyone who has made donations to our Special Action Fund in the past. Every dollar donated to the fund is held in a separate account and is used exclusively to fund our government advocacy efforts. Often, we find ourselves having to react quickly to emerging issues and that’s where the Special Action Fund is a vital resource. If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a donation; no amount is too small and it’s one of the most important tools that allow us to continue to fight on your behalf. Once again, welcome home. 10 | www.snowbirds.org

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