Union News - December 2025
Recognizing an activist and giving back to the membership
In July 2024, the Union of Taxation Employees lost a respected long-time activist. Patrick Ferguson, President of Local 40022 Regina TSO, passed away. The Local discussed some ideas as a way of remembering Patrick and collectively determined that creating a bursary in Patrick’s name would allow them to recognize his long contribution to the Union, as well give back to the membership.
As they did not have a bursary that could be renamed in the memory of Patrick, they wondered where to start. The Local reached out to the Honours and Awards Committee to ask for any suggestions and assistance in order to create the bursary. They discussed potential bylaw changes, the mechanisms required to receive applications and assess the individuals, who are children of members, to find the best qualified candidate to receive the $1000 bursary.
In March 2025, the Local held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and they presented the following to the membership:
- The proposal to create the bursary;
- The amount of the award;
- Deadlines for receipt of the applicant’s applications;
- The criteria that would be used to select a successful candidate.
The proposal was adopted unanimously.
A few weeks later, information was communicated to the membership advising of the creation of the bursary, along with access to the application form.
By the application deadline (mid-June), the Local had received two submissions for the bursary. A committee reviewed the applications and on June 27, 2025, awarded Anna-Marie Oxman the Local’s first Patrick Ferguson Memorial bursary. Anna-Marie will be attending the University of Calgary in the fall and will be majoring in physics. Congratulations to Anna-Marie.
The Honours and Awards Committee recommends that any Local who may be considering creating a bursary contact them with respect to the application process, important factors to consider when choosing assessment criteria, and potential topics to be reflected in one of the following presentation media: essay, video, audio, artwork.
Gary Esslinger
Chair, Honours and Awards Committee