Before her husband was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008, Jaq Mcqueen tried to get a family pass from Servus Credit Union Place for her and her two sons. She hoped they would receive a 15 per cent military discount as a result of her husband’s job with the force.
Servus Place does not offer military-specific discount. The family was refused a corporate discount for federal employees because Mcqueen’s husband, Cpl. Ralph Mcqueen, wasn’t on the family plan due to his unpredictable schedule.
Jaq tried again before Easter, in case her husband was deployed again, hoping the policy had changed over the last two years. No such luck.
“I’m a military family and he’s going overseas to fight,” she said in a phone interview. “[They] don’t realize that my family is being torn apart.”
The Mcqueens were hoping to have the pass so Jaq could take their two sons, now seven and four, to the multi-use facility during Ralph’s 2008 deployment. Jaq said she suffers from fibromyalgia, making it difficult for her to go to several different locations in the city to keep her sons busy.
As well, their youngest suffers from global developmental disorder and they believe he would benefit from being with other children at Servus Place.
“Servus Place would have what he needs,” she said. “It’s not a cheap place to go, but it has so many amenities.”
For Ralph, who works as support staff at the Edmonton Garrison and helps sort and deliver mail for soldiers overseas, he understands wanting to prevent an abuse of the system. But he doesn’t see a problem when the family is able to provide proof of their military status.
“I understand that you don’t want every Tom, Dick and Harry coming in and saying they’re from a military family,” he said. “I’d like to see them present a plan for military families.”
Diane Enger, director of Servus Place, said that although there is no military-specific discount, there is a larger corporate discount for employees of the federal government. However, the employee with the discount must be on the plan for it to take effect.
“All of our fees are governed by a fees policy, which we do a market fee review annually,” she said in a separate interview. “We always like to assess the policies and procedures and fees of Servus Place.”
Enger said the market fee review is now under way. It looks at the community needs, fee standards at other fitness centres, and an assessment of how the current fees are working for the centre. She said the next review would also include a look at how a potential military discount would work for the facility.
Mcqueen received a call back from Servus Place guest services on Tuesday, saying the family would be eligible for the corporate discount as long as her husband was on the plan. However, she said the family would have to discuss the offer, adding that she did not feel that all of her concerns regarding her husband’s absence were addressed.
“They’re asked to leave, sometimes on the spot,” she said about her husband’s work. “We have to pay for him, and why pay for someone who is not there?”
