CCA Bulletin 34/08

Ottawa, Monday, September 8, 2008

CCA’s 2008 Federal Election Action Plan

Just the Facts

The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper visited the Governor General yesterday and asked her to dissolve Parliament which will trigger a general federal election to be held October 14, 2008.

During this campaign, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) will be providing information to its members and the cultural sector on the positions of the federal parties regarding arts and culture in Canada. The CCA will operate under the Federal Election Rules of Engagement (see below) approved by the CCA Board of Governors. These rules reinforce the non-partisan character of the information and other services that the CCA will provide during the campaign.

The CCA is sending today a list of questions on cultural policy to the 5 major political parties. Answers to those questions will be published on our Website without any editing as soon as they are received. The CCA will also post political parties’ political platforms and will publish without edits or comments all appropriate excerpts presenting the position of the parties on the issues affecting the arts and culture sector. Other developments that may occur on the campaign trail will be monitored and reported.

More specifically, the CCA will be providing the following services during the electoral campaign;

• An overview of the status of various legislative and policy initiatives upon the dissolution of Parliament. The overview will highlight the major events and accomplishments of the 39th Parliament. This overview will be sent to all CCA members and all bulletin subscribers and be posted on CCA’s special 2008 Federal Election webpage. 

• Doorstep kits with short backgrounders on key issues affecting the interests of artists, creators and arts and culture professionals, including :

• proposed revisions to the Copyright Act ( Bill C-61);

• proposed changes to film and video certification process ( Bill C-!0);

• policies needed to support the creative economy;

• federal funding of the arts and culture sector;

• promoting Canadian culture on the international stage;

• the role of civil society in the public policy process,

• taxation rules for small and rural charities;

• broadcasting and telecommunications policies in the second millennium;

• a list of questions for local candidates touching on key issues facing the arts and culture sector;

• balanced commentary on issues that emerge during the election campaign of importance to the arts and culture sector;

• links to the websites of other arts and culture organizations that will provide balanced, non-partisan information pertinent to the election campaign;

• a review of the most important press articles related to cultural issues in the electoral campaign.

Finally, in the post-election period, the CCA will provide information on the new Cabinet, the Speech from the Throne and other analyses regarding the prospective federal policy agenda concerning arts and culture.

Tell Me More

Federal Election ‘Rules of Engagement’

(Approved by CCA Board of Governors: October 20, 2006)

• The CCA is a non-partisan organization and this reality must be constantly reinforced through all CCA information, communications, and other materials that may be developed during the period of a federal election.

• The CCA will provide as a service to its members information to the arts and culture sector about the issues of concern and about the platforms of the federal parties.

• The CCA will not endorse any candidate or political party based on their electoral platform; the decision to cast a ballot is the right and duty of every Canadian citizen, who will form their judgment on an individual basis.

• The CCA will attempt to explore in depth the positions of each federal party as they affect the interest of the Canadian arts and culture sector, arts supporters, and audiences. In order to do so, the CCA will send identical questions to federal parties and will seek answers that go beyond platitudes.

• The CCA will offer any political party an opportunity to rebut analyses and such rebuttals will be made available to our members and to the sector through bulletins and postings on the CCA web-site.

• The CCA will circulate information from each federal party without amendments or editing.

• In all other respects, the CCA will respect a balance of information to its membership, making available appropriate information from all federal political parties as it is made available.

What Can I Do?

You can help the CCA provide a more complete service to its members and stakeholders in the following manner: 

• If you would like the CCA to include a link to the election materials or activities that your organization is preparing for the election please send the link to Helen.bobat@ccarts.ca

• If you hear of anything of particular interest to the arts and culture sector coming from all candidates’ debates or from speeches by candidates from all political parties, please send that information to Helen as well.

• And needless to say, voting is both a privilege and a responsibility of living in a democratic society. Please do what you can to persuade everyone you know to ensure that they vote in this important election.