CCA Bulletin 42/06
Ottawa,
October 10, 2006
Bill
C-2: CCA's Presentation to the Senate Committee
Just
the Facts
On
October 4, 2006 the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA)
presented its concerns to a Senate Committee with respect
to certain elements of Bill C-2, the proposed " Federal
Accountability Act" (FAA).
The
CCA unequivocally supports full accountability for the use
of public funds and expressed this view to the Honourable
Senators on the Committee in our opening
remarks.
Alongside
witnesses Alain Pineau and Keith Kelly of the CCA were representatives
from the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE),
an umbrella group representing Executives in not-for-profit
and for-profit organizations. The CSAE echoed concerns of
the CCA regarding some of the reporting requirements in the
proposed legislation. They noted that the majority of their
membership comprises small organizations with a staff of 8-10
people and operating budgets under $2 million dollars (the
CCA, in fact, is even quite a bit smaller than this!).
The
reporting requirements that the CSAE focused on were those
that would require organizations to post information on whom
in government they were speaking to, the nature of the topic
and the substance of these conversations, and similar details.
These requirements are seen as an onerous burden on organizations
with few and already overworked staff.
The
CCA shares these concerns. We also raised the fact, heard
consistently from our member organizations in recent years,
that the accountability framework associated with the use
of public funds is becoming more and more unwieldy, and is
often disproportionate to the amount of funding in question
- a fact which, by the way, was picked up by the Auditor General
in a recent report. There appears to be no graduated approach
to accounting for the use of public funds, with recipients
of $10,000.00 being treated no different that the recipient
of $ 10 million.
Some
Senators expressed concern about the impact of the legislation
on the not-for-profit sector, while others felt that a consistent
approach was the best way to attack the issue of accountability.
Tell
Me More...
Bill
C-2, the proposed Federal Accountability Act (FAA), is a complex
piece of legislation with implications for lobbyists, consultants,
and organizations who are seeking to influence public policy
or public fiscal investment in one way or another.
There
have even been recent reports that organizations using their
websites for advocacy or lobbying will be captured by the
new reporting requirements in the legislation. The legislation
also contains provisions that impose a five-year cooling off
period for senior public servants and ministerial staff. For
the next five years after they leave a position in the government
or a ministerial office, these individuals would be prohibited
by law from working in the same field as advocates, consultants
or lobbyists for any type of organization .
The
CCA believes that this period of time is excessive given the
limited talent pool of senior officials in the arts and culture
sector. Senators seemed to be sensitive to the issue, which
applies different rules for senior officials working in the
not-for-profit sector and those which work in the corporate
sector. Interestingly enough, the rules for those individuals
seeking employment in the not-for-profit sector are more rigorous
than those who find employment in the corporate sector.
Another
witness suggested that the legislation should make all forms
of contact subject to reporting requirements and let Cabinet
decide what forms of contact can be exempted from the implementation
of the bill. There was also a suggestion that if only "planned
lobbying" be captured, this would lead to abuse. While the
regulations associated with the legislation will not be developed
until the bill is passed by the Senate, some persistent rumours
claim that "chance encounters" between government officials
and lobbyists will be exempt from the reporting requirements.
If true, the impact might well lead to innovative ways to
circumvent the legislation and possibly result in unplanned
stalking of policy makers and Parliamentarians under the "chance
encounter" rubric .
The
Senators gave the CCA and other witnesses a respectful hearing;
they asked good questions and appeared to be diligent in the
examination of this legislation. In concluding its presentation,
the CCA asked the Senators to ensure that if the bill is passed
without significant revisions, the drafting of the ensuing
regulations should involve an open and transparent process,
with public hearings, before they are eventually adopted.
What
Can I Do?
Senator
Joseph Day noted that he had received many letters from arts
and culture organizations expressing concerns with the legislation.
He also remarked that he had found a call for the arts and
culture sector to do so on the CCA website.
These
letters have raised awareness within the Senate about the
impact of these measures on the day-to-day life of not-for-profit
organizations in the arts and culture sector, as well as other
voluntary and civil society organizations.
For
the moment, all we can say is that the Honourable Senators
are taking these and other concerns very seriously. The CCA
will keep you apprised of further developments, as well as
the need for further action.
Reallocation
Update - Public Diplomacy Program at the Department of Foreign
Affairs
Many
CCA members have communicated their profound concerns with
the reduction of the public diplomacy program
at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
It
would seem that the budget reduction has not touched the relatively
modest base budget of the public diplomacy program, but a
discretionary fund that was used for several purposes within
the Department.
Nevertheless,
the loss of these discretionary funds has departmental officials
looking for new solutions to ensure that the important work
of public diplomacy is not impeded by the budgetary reduction.
Departmental officials are working within Foreign Affairs
and with other partners to lessen the impact of these cuts.
It
may be some time before the CCA has a clear picture of how
the Department of Foreign Affairs deals with public diplomacy
in the larger sense, and if they are able to compensate for
the loss of funding through partnerships or internal reallocations.
In
a letter
dated October 5, the CCA requested an urgent meeting with
the Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss this issue of the
reallocation cuts, but also the broader pressing issue of
how arts and culture must be a key component of Canada 's
emerging international policy. We are watching this situation
closely and will keep members and supporters informed of any
further developments.
What
Can I Do?
Letters
to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable
Peter MacKay, and Foreign
Affairs Opposition
Critics
expressing concerns over the reallocation cuts and emphasizing
the importance of public diplomacy for the arts and culture
sector would help in building support for reinstatement of
the funds. Copies of your letters should also be sent to the
Members
of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and we would
of course appreciate getting a copy. Remember, when writing
to Parliamentarians, that no postage is required.
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