Gomery Commission / Commission Gomery

Media Advisory

30 August 2005, Ottawa: The Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities will hold the first roundtable working session of its Phase II program which will be focused on the preparation of the Recommendations Report.

Attached herewith is a list of the participants and the agenda for the meeting.

Note: Roundtable Working Session
 
Date: Wednesday, 31 August, 2005
 
Location: Moncton, New Brunswick
University of Moncton

-30-


For further information, please contact:

François Perreault
Commission Spokesperson
Tel.: (613) 992-1834/ (506) 854- 4344/ (514) 992-1363


P.O. Box 1388, Station "B", Ottawa, Ontario / C.P. 1388, succursale "B", Ottawa (Ontario)
K1P 5R4
(613) 992-1834  Fax / télécopieur (613) 992-2373
Annexe 1.0

Participants


Mr. Derek Burney, President of the Board, New Brunswick Power, Adjunct Professor and Senior Distinguished Fellow at Carleton University, former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States of America; Mr. Spencer Campbell, partner in the firm Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales and former Chief of Staff to the Premier of Prince Edward Island; Hon. John C. Crosbie, Chancellor of Memorial University, former Minister of Finance, former Minister of Justice, former Minister of Transport, former Minister of International Trade, former Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and former Minister for Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA); Professor Pierre Foucher, University of Moncton, School of Law; Dr. Paul Howe, University of New Brunswick, former Research Director at the Institute for Research on Public Policy in Montreal; Mr. Dean Jobb, University of King's College School of Journalism and former reporter, editor and columnist at the Halifax Herald; Ms. Aldéa Landry, President of LANDAL Inc., a lawyer and business woman, a former civil servant with the New Brunswick Department of Justice, a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Premier of New Brunswick; Senator Donald H. Oliver was appointed to the Senate in 1990 and also serves as counsel with Power, Dempsey, Cooper & Leefe; Mr. Wynne Potter, a member of the Board of Genome Atlantic, formerly with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) in Nova Scotia and an advisor to government officials, Ministers, Premiers and Cabinet Committees; Mr. Gordon Slade, Executive Director of ONE OCEAN, former Deputy Minister of Fisheries for Newfoundland and Labrador, former Deputy Minister for the Ministry of State for Economic and Regional Development as well as the Offshore Development Fund, former Vice President for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Executive Director for the International Centre, Memorial University; Professor Jennifer Smith, Chair, Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University.
Annexe 2.0

Discussion Agenda - Roundtable Questions
  1. Advertising and Sponsorship
    Should government advertising and sponsorship programs be insulated from political influence?
    If so, how?

  2. Responsibility
    Do deputy ministers have sufficiently clear responsibilities and should they be protected from undue political pressure?
    If so, how?
    Is there sufficient clarity in the separation of responsibilities among elected officials, exempt staff, and public servants?

  3. Accountability
    With the growing trend to "horizontality" in government, what new measures or mechanisms are required to ensure accountability?
    Who should be accountable to whom and for what?
    For how long?
    Does accountability cease when a person leaves a position?

  4. (Accountability)
    What sanctions, if any, should be imposed on public servants, elected officials, exempt staff and others who misappropriate public funds?

  5. Transparency
    Should "values and ethics" guidelines for public servants be linked to specific responsibility and accountability processes to safeguard against wrongdoing: Should they be enshrined in legislation?

  6. (Transparency)
    What limits, if any, should there be to full transparency of government programs and management and expenditure decision/actions?
    What mechanisms are acceptable to protect secret/confidential information and decisions that would still allow an acceptable level of transparency to the public?

  7. (Transparency)
    How effective is the current Access to Information legislation?
    Should it be expanded?
    Does it ensure that public servants enforce the spirit as well as the letter of the law?

  8. General
    What protections should be afforded to public servants who believe they have witnessed impropriety in the management of government programs ("whistle blowers")?

  9. (General)
    How can government departments and officials learn from their mistakes and develop feedback loops for lessons learned that will not be impeded by political pressures?