Fred Whitehouse National Association of Federal Retirees Scholarship
In establishing a graduate student award named after Fred Whitehouse, the National Association of Federal Retirees commemorates a man who, with his wife, worked untiringly to improve the well-being of federal pensioners. Fred was both a civil servant and President of the Civil Service Federation (precursor of federal employee unions) and saw the poverty into which civil servants slipped – despite their contributory pensions - as a result of continuous annual inflation after their retirement which indeed has never stopped. When Fred retired, he and Evelyn moved to Victoria where the two of them mounted a tremendous campaign of letters and publications which they continued non-stop for 17 years - until Fred was 85, when they passed the torch to other hands. First fruit of their efforts was the founding of the Federal Superannuates National Association (the then name) in 1966, with Fred as National Secretary-Treasurer and Evelyn as Assistant National Treasurer. The Association has seen phenomenal growth since.
Fred and Evelyn were undoubtedly motivated by a sense of human values. They also undoubtedly perceived that if a lifetime devoted to the public service was to end in desperate poverty, public service and public servants would never gain the respect deserved. This award is intended to maintain and improve the already outstanding quality of the public services of Canada.