CCA Bulletin 30/06
Ottawa,
Monday July 24, 2006
Midsummer
CCA Update (Part One)
The
summer months usually include longish vacations and much-needed
relaxation time away from the office, but given the activities
lined up for Parliament this fall, such as: a pre-budget consultation
(more on that in a moment); the Committee and Ministerial
reviews of DCH portfolio agencies; the CRTC's impending review
of television policy and its study on the impact of new technologies
on broadcasting; the Senate's review of the Federal Accountability
Act; the likelihood of fall legislation regarding copyright
and, potentially, foreign ownership restrictions; as well
as the ongoing possibility of an upcoming federal election,
the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) is enjoying a particularly
busy season. And we're not just sweating because
of the sweltering hot weather, the perspiration is due to
the many activities that are keeping CCA's staff and board
very occupied this summer! (Hey, where's the beach?!?)
House
of Commons Finance Committee Launches Pre-Budget Consultations
for 2006
The
House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recently announced
plans to hold its public hearings on the 2006 pre-budget consultations
from Monday, September 18th to Friday, October 27th. There
will be hearings in Ottawa from Monday, September 18th to
Friday, September 29th and from Monday, October 16th to Friday,
October 20th. The cities that the Finance Committee plans
to visit outside of the national capital between those hearings
are: Whitehorse, Vancouver, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon, Portage
la Prairie, St. John's, Halifax, and Quebec City.
As
always, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) will prepare
a brief and ask to appear as a witness before Parliamentarians.
The CCA plans once again to interview its national arts service
organization members about their priorities and needs with
the respect to the important annual federal budget process,
and this work should commence in a few weeks. Additionally,
the CCA encourages all of its member organizations and individual
members to put their federal budget-related issues in writing
to the attention of the CCA's National Director and its Board
of Governors. In order to allow us ample time to prepare
a brief in keeping with the Finance Committee's September
5 th deadline, please send
your comments and suggestions before noon Eastern, Friday
August 18th.
If
CCA member organizations wish to appear as witnesses in front
of the Finance Committee during its pre-budget consultations,
please advise the Clerk of the committee, Ms.
Elizabeth Kingston, indicating the date and city of your
choice, no later than Friday, August 11th.
The deadline to submit the accompanying brief is no later
than Tuesday, September 5th in order that
the brief can be translated and distributed to Committee members.
There is also the option of submitting a brief even if you
do not wish to appear in front of the Committee. All briefs
that are submitted should be less than ten pages in length
and should include an executive summary of one page. An executive
summary should indicate priorities with respect to your proposals
and briefs can be submitted electronically or by mail.
The
theme for this year's consultation is "CANADA'S PLACE IN A
COMPETITIVE WORLD". The Committee's June
27 news release states:
"If
Canada is to have a meaningful place in the world of the
future, then citizens and businesses - and, by extension,
the Canadian economy - must prosper. We must prosper recognizing
the constraints we face, not the least of which is an uncertain
- and rapidly changing - future. We must be prepared, and
we must be proactive. We must constantly strive to adopt
the latest technology, to ensure we have the needed skills,
to seize market opportunities, to make certain that our
tax regimes enable us to attract workers and foreign investment,
and to maximize our potential as a nation. And decisions
must be taken today to ensure that we are able to do all
of those things tomorrow.
1.
What specific federal tax and/or program spending measures
should be implemented in the upcoming budget to ensure that
our citizens are healthy, have the right skills, etc. for
their own benefit and for the benefit of their employers?
2.
What specific federal tax and/or program spending measures
should be implemented in the upcoming budget to ensure that
our businesses are competitive?
3.
What specific federal tax and/or program spending measures
should be implemented to ensure that our nation has the
infrastructure required by citizens and businesses?
4.
What specific federal actions should be taken to ensure
that the government is able to afford the tax and/or spending
measures needed to ensure that Canada 's citizens and businesses
can prosper in the world of the future?"
The
CMA asks its members and allies to talk to local media and
MPs this summer
The
Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) supports the efforts
of the Canadian Museums Association ( CMA ) to realize a proposed
Canadian Museums Policy with increased funding and they have
started a summer advocacy campaign, which is in full swing.
The CMA has over 100 volunteers hard at work in their ridings
and is encouraging other allies to get involved as well.
CMA
has produced a summer campaign tool kit to help advocates
when they explain the urgent needs of museums and the need
for new federal investment. The kit includes briefing notes,
key messages, and so on. This material can be used to support
communications activities, particularly for talking to MPs
and local media.
The
CMA 's objective, which is backed by the CCA as part of our
advocacy priorities, is to get a number of MPs from all parties
to support the proposed new Canadian Museums Policy and the
much needed new fiscal investment. Further details on the
CMA 's policy recommendations for a new $75 million in funding
to support museums can be found at www.museums.ca.
For more information, please contact Monique
Horth, CMA 's Director of Public and Professional Affairs.
Francophone
Secretariat Update
As
announced in CCA Bulletin 26/06 Minister
Bev Oda did hold a consultation on June 9 in Aylmer, Québec,
on the notion of creating within her Heritage Department (
PCH ) a Francophone Secretariat. Over thirty representatives
from francophone organizations from all over the country (and
particularly from Québec) attended the one day event,
a remarkable fact given that invitations had been sent barely
a week before and the discussion paper distributed two days
before. Everyone present was very curious about the concept,
which some even described it as medicine looking for an ailment.
Minister Oda joined the group at lunchtime and in the speech
which opened the afternoon session, she made it clear that
it was an idea which she had put forward for discussion and
development.
According
to the discussion paper and to explanations given by the several
high-ranking officials of PCH in attendance, the mandate of
the Secretariat would bear only on cultural activities related
to language and would not apply to other Departments or even
to agencies and Crown Corporations in the portfolio. The role
of the Secretariat would be to monitor the development of
PCH programs and policies, national and international, to
ensure « fair consideration of the francophone
realities within the country » (CCA translation);
to conduct research to define those realities; to report to
the highest levels within PCH on the results of this research
and eventually make recommendations; finally, to communicate
best practices. The mechanism would have to be "nimble, flexible
and matrix like".
Polite but sceptical,
participants have insisted that one should not duplicate what
already exists. They seemed interested however in the notion
of a national equivalent to the Cultural
Observatory in place in Québec. And if the project
were to be realized, it should be financed from new money,
not from redirections. The minister is supposed to be briefed
shortly on the results of the consultation. CCA will keep
you posted!
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