CCA Bulletin 52/06

Ottawa, December 14, 2006

Accountability Act passes into law and the CCA weighs in on "Advantage Canada"

Just the Facts

Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean gave Royal Assent to Bill C-2, known popularly as the "Federal Accountability Act" (FAA), on December 12, 2006. The legislation is now law and the next step of the process is the development of the regulations that will guide how the Act is interpreted.

In our June 28 letter to the Senate and subsequent October 4 presentation to the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) asked that the FAA regulations be developed through a public consultation process. There is no indication of how, when, or even if this will take place, but we will certainly keep members and supporters apprised of any important developments in this area via the CCA’s Bulletins.

In response to the call to participate in an online consultation, the CCA has also prepared a brief on the "Advantage Canada" strategy unveiled by the Minister of Finance on November 23, 2006. The CCA brief reiterates many recommendations advanced during the 2006 federal pre-budget consultation process, namely;

increase the basic personal deduction for self-employed Canadians to $10,000.00
introduce an exemption on the first $ 30,000.00 of copyright or residual artistic income from federal income tax
address the need to develop some form of income averaging
address the need to develop a faster, fairer system for copyright revisions
encourage the development and implementation of a new federal museums and heritage policy
a caution about restraining the federal spending power and focusing on areas of federal jurisdiction

Tell Me More

The Federal Accountability Act has been touted as the most rigorous "anti-corruption" legislation in the Western world. While it may be that, it also imposes a variety of disciplines on communications with government officials. Under the provisions of the Act, anyone who communicates with government on either as a commercial lobbyist or a lobbyist for a not-for profit organization must file a report on the communication with the Lobbyists’ Registrars’ office within 20 days of the communication.

The legislation does not discriminate between responding to requests for consultations or advice coming from government or Parliament. The legislation is intended to monitor and regulate communications between the Government and interveners of all stripes.

The CCA will be following the development of the regulations closely. In its earlier work on the Act, the CCA discovered that there is no definition within the Accountability Act or the Lobbyist Registration Act of either "lobbying" or "advocacy". In the absence of such definitions, legal or otherwise, the current government has decided that both are synonymous and therefore subject to the regulatory regime that will be developed now that the FAA is law. The CCA strongly urges its members to check if their organization now falls under the purview of the law and has to register officially with the Lobby Registrar and follow the monthly routine of reporting.

The "Advantage Canada" strategy lays out a broad series of objectives to spur further growth and productivity within the Canadian economy, and it is expected many of the themes found in "Advantage Canada" will be reflected in the next federal budget expected in late February or early March 2007. As usual, the CCA will provide an immediate analysis of the federal budget once it is delivered by the Minister of Finance, as well as more thorough and rigorous analysis in the weeks following federal budget day.

What Can I Do?

It is not too late to comment on the "Advantage Canada" strategy. Comments are welcomed until the announced deadline of December 18, 2006, though the Government website advises potential participants: "A consultation is not a poll. Please do not send multiple or duplicate submissions. Only submissions relating directly to the Advantage Canada Plan will be considered or tabulated."