CCA Bulletin 11/08

March 26, 2008

The Canadian Conference of the Arts welcomes its 2008-2011 Board of Governors

Just the facts

The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is proud to announce the composition of its 2008-2011 Board of Governors. Further to the election process which took place in the second half of February and to the March 20th meeting of the current Board, the new Board of Governors will be comprised of:

Liz Barron – Winnipeg, Manitoba

Arts consultant

Michel Beauchemin – Montreal, Quebec

Executive Secretary, Association québécoise des auteurs dramatiques (AQAD)

Rose Bellosillo – Toronto, Ontario

Director of Development, Hot Docs

Tim Borlase – Moncton, New-Brunswick

Labrador Creative Arts Festival, Performing Arts School at the Capitol Theatre

Rudy Buttignol – Vancouver, British Columbia

President and CEO of Knowledge Network Corporation

René Cormier – Caraquet, New-Brunswick

Artistic and Executive Director, Théâtre populaire d’Acadie

Susan Kennard – Banff, Alberta

Director and Executive Producer, The Banff New Media Institute

Louise Poulin – Montreal, Quebec

Arts consultant

Arden Ryshpan – Toronto, Ontario

Executive Director, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association

Kathleen Sharpe – Toronto, Ontario

Executive Director, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

Robert Spickler – Montreal, Quebec

Cultural administrator and past President

Philip Szporer – Montreal, Quebec

Writer, broadcaster, filmmaker and international lecturer

Jason Van Eyk – Toronto, Ontario

Director, University of Toronto ArtsZone

A 14th member will be appointed in the coming months, further to recommendations made by the Board Nominating Committee. The new Board will take over from the current one after the Annual General Meeting of members, which has been scheduled for June 12, 2008, in Toronto. A formal notice for the AGM will be issued within a few weeks.

The CCA wants to thank the outgoing Board, which had to deal with some of the most difficult issues facing the CCA in recent memory. Its commitment and integrity were integral to the reinvigoration of the CCA and the clarification of its mission. The CCA also wishes to thank all those who participated in the Board renewal process.

Tell me more

The CCA Board is made up of a minimum of 12 members and a maximum of 14, including the Past President. The CCA Board renewal process takes place every three years and follows a two-step process.

First, CCA members are asked to cast their votes for 8 out of a slate of 16 candidates put forward by the Nominating Committee. This year, the ballot took place between February 11 and 22. Exceptionally, there was a tie for the eighth position, so 9 Governors were declared elected further to the first phase of the process.

Based on the results of the election, the current Board was then asked to appoint up to four additional members to complement the new Board, taking into account considerations like geographical representation, arts discipline, cultural community, gender, etc. Given this year’s results, the current Board has decided to appoint only three additional members from a second slate of names put forward by the Nominating Committee and has asked the Committee to reconvene and propose additional names to fill the fourteenth position, so as to optimize the representativeness of the Board.

The new President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer of the CCA will be elected by the new Board at its first meeting, in June, following the Annual General Meeting of Members.