CCA Bul­letin 08/07

Ottawa, Thurs­day, Feb­ru­ary 22, 2007

Fed­eral Gov­ern­ment Seeks Input on a Code of Con­duct for Procurement

Delays on the Fed­eral Account­abil­ity Act unac­counted for

Update on the CCA Cul­tural Pol­icy Mandate

A New Plan­ning Tool for arts, cul­tural and her­itage organizations

Fed­eral Code of Con­duct for Procurement

On Feb­ru­ary 9 2007, the Hon. Michael Fortier, Min­is­ter of Pub­lic Works and Gov­ern­ment Ser­vices Canada, announced that the fed­eral gov­ern­ment is seek­ing input on a Code of Con­duct for Pro­cure­ment.  ”The Code will ensure that pub­lic ser­vants and sup­pli­ers are work­ing from the same con­cise state­ment of expec­ta­tions and com­mit­ments that clearly out­line what is accept­able con­duct when con­tract­ing with the gov­ern­ment,” said Min­is­ter Fortier in a pub­lic statement.

The Code will con­sol­i­date the government’s exist­ing legal, reg­u­la­tory, and pol­icy require­ments into a con­cise and trans­par­ent state­ment of the expec­ta­tions gov­ern­ment has of its employ­ees and its sup­pli­ers.  The gov­ern­ment is seek­ing input from inter­ested par­ties, includ­ing sup­pli­ers, indus­try asso­ci­a­tions, and pro­cure­ment offi­cers across gov­ern­ment.  The draft Code, as well as infor­ma­tion on how to par­tic­i­pate in the online con­sul­ta­tion, is avail­able on the department’s web­site and through MERX, the government’s elec­tronic ten­der­ing sys­tem.  The online con­sul­ta­tion will be open from Feb­ru­ary 9 to March 7, 2007.

At its Feb 17–18 meet­ings, the Board of gov­er­nors of the Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA) approved the fol­low­ing set of three over­ar­ch­ing prin­ci­ples, which will guide its brief inter­ven­tion on the mat­ter to be sub­mit­ted prior to the March 7 dead­line.  The CCA also encour­ages its inter­ested orga­ni­za­tional mem­bers to also con­tribute their views to the online consultation.

1. That the fed­eral gov­ern­ment com­mit to procur­ing work from Cana­dian cul­tural work­ers and suppliers;
2. That when the fed­eral gov­ern­ment is con­tract­ing artists, it is expected that such con­tracts be guided by the pro­vi­sions of the fed­eral Sta­tus of the Artist Act;
3. That in keep­ing with the recent Blue Rib­bon Panel’s Report on Grants and Con­tri­bu­tions, the objec­tive for account­abil­ity and trans­parency not cre­ate a bar­rier for Cana­dian artists, cre­ators, and their orga­ni­za­tions to ful­fill their mandate.

Delays on Fed­eral Account­abil­ity Act (FAA) Still Unac­counted For

The polit­i­cal thrust and parry that dom­i­nated the fall ses­sion of Par­lia­ment over the pas­sage of Bill C-2, the Fed­eral Account­abil­ity Act (FAA), has now shifted to a debate on the imple­men­ta­tion of the legislation.

When fed­eral leg­is­la­tion is passed by both the House of Com­mons and the Sen­ate and given Royal Assent, there is an addi­tional step that needs to be taken to acti­vate it as the law of the land, called proclamation.

While three of the four steps have been taken, much of the Fed­eral Account­abil­ity Act (FAA) is not yet fully acti­vated.  This delay is due in part to the fact that some 150 fed­eral statutes, reg­u­la­tions to be drafted, new posi­tions cre­ated and staffed and train­ing of pub­lic ser­vants on the admin­is­tra­tion of the leg­is­la­tion that needs to be under­taken.  It could thus take years before the full leg­is­la­tion is pro­claimed, accord­ing to recent arti­cles in The Hill Times.

What has been proclaimed?

Some pro­vi­sions on elec­tion financ­ing ban some kinds of dona­tions by cor­po­ra­tions, unions, or orga­ni­za­tions at any time.  Indi­vid­ual dona­tion lim­its have decreased from $ 5,000.00 to $ 1,100.00 com­bined total of gifts to nom­i­na­tion can­di­dates, can­di­dates, and rid­ing asso­ci­a­tions. The limit for indi­vid­ual dona­tions to party lead­er­ship can­di­dates has also been reduced from $5,000.00 to $1,100.00.  Cash dona­tions over $20.00 to politi­cians and polit­i­cal par­ties are banned.

The period dur­ing which Elec­tions Act vio­la­tions can be inves­ti­gated and pros­e­cuted is extended from three years to ten years.  The Chief Elec­toral Offi­cer has the power to appoint return­ing officers.

Other mea­sures ensure that Offi­cers of Par­lia­ment will be appointed only after all party con­sul­ta­tion and a major­ity vote in the House of Com­mons.  The staff of politi­cians will no longer be guar­an­teed a job as a gov­ern­ment employee if the politi­cians they work for resign or are defeated in an elec­tion.  Senior gov­ern­ment offi­cials are required to record in writ­ing any dis­agree­ment that they have with a Cab­i­net Min­is­ter con­cern­ing spend­ing deci­sions to help ensure that the per­son respon­si­ble is held account­able for ille­gal or unjus­ti­fi­able waste.

The Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA) will con­tinue to fol­low the imple­men­ta­tion process of the remain­ing ele­ments of the leg­is­la­tion and how they may affect your rela­tions with the fed­eral gov­ern­ment and the pol­icy mak­ing process.

Updated Cul­tural Pol­icy Man­date of the Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA)

Since 1945, the Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA) has been engaged in the devel­op­ment, analy­sis, and pro­mo­tion of pub­lic poli­cies to advance the state of the arts and cul­ture in Cana­dian soci­ety.  When it was first cre­ated, not only was the CCA the only national umbrella orga­ni­za­tion bring­ing all of the arts together, it was also charged with rep­re­sent­ing spe­cific dis­ci­pli­nary and regional inter­ests of artists, cre­ators, and arts professionals.

Much has changed since those early days.  Now, in addi­tion to many national arts ser­vice orga­ni­za­tions rep­re­sent­ing pro­duc­ers, artists, and art forms, there are well-established cul­tural labour orga­ni­za­tions, copy­right col­lec­tives, as well as provin­cial, ter­ri­to­r­ial, munic­i­pal, and community-based arts umbrella orga­ni­za­tions.  Together these orga­ni­za­tions ensure that the issues of impor­tance to their spe­cific con­stituen­cies are dealt with in a seri­ous and pro­fes­sional manner.

At its Feb­ru­ary 17 and 18 Board meet­ings in Ottawa, the gov­er­nors of the Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA) felt it was appro­pri­ate to revisit the pub­lic and cul­tural pol­icy man­date of the orga­ni­za­tion in order to reframe its man­date in a man­ner that is reflec­tive and respon­sive to the changes ongo­ing in the arts and cul­ture sec­tor in Canada.  As the old­est and largest national arts umbrella orga­ni­za­tion, the CCA is well-positioned to main­tain a strong role in the artic­u­la­tion, analy­sis and devel­op­ment of poli­cies that sup­port the con­tin­ued growth and matu­rity of the arts and cul­ture sec­tor in Canada.

A new plan­ning tool for arts, cul­tural and her­itage organizations

Good news! 2010 Lega­cies Now and the Cre­ative City Net­work of Canada have devel­oped two new resources to assist local gov­ern­ments, as well as arts, cul­tural and her­itage orga­ni­za­tions, plan for the future. While tar­get­ing local gov­ern­ments, this new tool can cer­tainly, mutatis mutan­dis, be inspi­ra­tional for those who oper­ate at other lev­els of government.

The Cul­tural Plan­ning Toolkit is a guide to assist with strate­gic think­ing, decision-making and com­mu­nity con­sul­ta­tion as you go through the cul­tural plan­ning process. It includes an adapt­able model and prac­ti­cal check­lists to help you cre­ate and imple­ment a viable plan.

The toolk­its are now avail­able in Eng­lish at www.creativecity.ca/toolkits in PDF for­mat. Print copies will be avail­able shortly. French ver­sions will be avail­able in late spring.