Registration is Open for the 2004 National Policy Conference

Ottawa , Sep­tem­ber 2 2004 – Reg­is­tra­tion is now open for the CCA ‘s 2004 national pol­icy con­fer­ence, to be held at the MacKen­zie Art Gallery in Regina , Saskatchewan , on Fri­day 19 and Sat­ur­day 20 Novem­ber 2004 .   The reg­is­tra­tion form can be down­loaded from the CCA ‘s web­site or is avail­able by con­tact­ing james.missen@ccarts.ca or 613–238-3561, exten­sion 14.

What is the con­fer­ence about?

Enti­tled From Act to Action: Mov­ing For­ward on Sta­tus of the Artist , the con­fer­ence will focus dis­cus­sion on fed­eral and provin­cial Sta­tus of the Artist (SofA) leg­is­la­tion.   How is exist­ing leg­is­la­tion oper­at­ing?   How does it af fect the lives of work­ing artists?   What more could be done – for instance, in the areas of tax­a­tion and social ben­e­fits for indi­vid­ual artists – and how?   What is the sit­u­a­tion for artists in other coun­tries?   The con­fer­ence will address these ques­tions and more.

What are the conference’s objectives?

The aims of the con­fer­ence are threefold:

•  To dis­cuss poten­tial recommendations/amendments to fed­eral SofA leg­is­la­tion to encom­pass social ben­e­fits, fis­cal reg­u­la­tions, and other mea­sures to ben­e­fit work­ing artists.

•  To per­suade the fed­eral gov­ern­ment to rein­state the Coun­cil on Sta­tus of the Artist, in accor­dance with the fed­eral Sta­tus of the Artist Act, to defend and pro­mote the pro­fes­sional sta­tus of artists in Canada.

•  To stim­u­late the devel­op­ment of SofA leg­is­la­tion in provinces where it does not exist, and to help move it for­ward in provinces where it does exist, to the ben­e­fit of pro­fes­sional artists across Canada .

Who is the con­fer­ence for?

This con­fer­ence will be of par­tic­u­lar inter­est to cul­tural and labour activists, those with an inter­est (either at the pro­fes­sional or stu­dent level) in cul­tural pol­icy, fed­eral and provin­cial offi­cials work­ing in the cul­tural sphere, and indi­vid­ual pro­fes­sional artists whose lives are, or could be, af fected by Sta­tus of the Artist leg­is­la­tion at both the provin­cial and fed­eral levels.

What is the cost to attend?

The fee sched­ule is indi­cated on the reg­is­tra­tion form, and includes some meals, recep­tions, and con­fer­ence mate­ri­als.   CCA mem­bers receive a pre­ferred rate on all CCA con­fer­ences.   A spe­cial con­fer­ence rate has been obtained for hotel accom­mo­da­tion; please refer to the reg­is­tra­tion form for details.   www.ccarts.ca/en/events/documents/ReginaRegform.pdf

How do I register?

Reg­is­tra­tions are now being accepted for the 2004 Con­fer­ence in Regina .   Print off the reg­is­tra­tion form on CCA ‘s web­site and mail or fax it to:

Con­fer­enceReg­is­tra­tion 2004

Cana­dian Con­fer­enceof the Arts

804 – 130 AlbertStreet

OTTAWA , Ontario

K1P5G4

Pay­ment must be made at the time of registration.

What will the con­fer­ence cover?

The fol­low­ing pro­vides an out­line of the con­fer­ence agenda:

Fri­day 19 November

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER: Albert Mil­laire, renowned Que­bec actor and for­mer chair of the Cana­dian Coun­cil on the Sta­tus of the Artist.

Panels/Conversations:   Pro­fes­sional artists speak to issues such as: How does SofA leg­is­la­tion af fect their lives?   What real­is­tic amend­ments should be made for improve­ments?   Is there a rela­tion­ship between exist­ing fed­eral and provin­cial leg­is­la­tions?   How could a fed­eral Coun­cil on Sta­tus of the Artist ben­e­fit pro­fes­sional artists? The sec­tor has expressed a desire to res­ur­rect the Coun­cil on Sta­tus of the Artist, but what should be its role?   What is the best way to achieve its rein­state­ment?   How could such a Coun­cil best serve artists?

CCA annual Awards cer­e­mony, hosted by the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan , the Hon­ourable Dr Lynda M Haverstock.

Sat­ur­day 20 November

Dis­cus­sion of SofA at work in Que­bec and in the inter­na­tional arena.

Panels/Conversations:   Sta­tus of the Artist leg­is­la­tion has been con­sid­ered, and in some cases intro­duced, in a few provinces: What has hap­pened on the provin­cial level regard­ing Sta­tus of the Artist?   What are the suc­cesses and fail­ures?   What is left to do?   How are these issues being tackled?

Break­out work­shops and Ple­nary (details to follow).

A num­ber of artis­tic events will take place through­out both days.

Fur­ther details (guest speak­ers, pan­el­lists, spe­cial guests and artis­tic events) will be announced shortly.