Gomery Commission / Commission Gomery

Media Advisory
Gomery Commission Roundtable Consultation Session in Edmonton

17 October 2005, Ottawa: The Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities will hold the fourth roundtable working session of its Phase II program. Phase II is focused on the preparation of the Commission's final report - the Recommendations Report.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities will be in Edmonton on Wednesday, October 19 to conduct the fourth in a series of five roundtable consultation sessions with invited experts.

These roundtable sessions are part of the Commission's overall consultation program regarding its second report (The Recommendations Report) which is due in February 2006. Previous expert roundtables have been held in Moncton, Quebec City and Toronto.

Attached is a list of the invited participants and the discussion agenda for the Edmonton session. Members of the Commission's Advisory Committee will also attend the session. (See the news release at http://www.gomery.ca/newsroom for information on the Advisory Committee)

Media arrangements

Commissioner Gomery will not be making any public statements or conducting any media interviews while in Edmonton. Prof. Donald Savoie, the Commission's Research Director, will be available for media interviews on Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM outside the meeting room.

While the working session discussions are closed to media, cameras are welcome prior to the start of the session at 9:00 am. Invited participants wishing to speak to news media will also be available at the conclusion of the session, around 4:00 PM, outside the meeting room.

Note: Roundtable Working Session
 
Date: Wednesday, 19th October, 2005
 
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
The Westin Edmonton
Centennial Room

-30-


For further information contact:

François Perreault
Commission Spokesperson
(613) 992-1834


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


The Hon. Harvie Andre, former Minister of Supply and Services, former Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, former Government House Leader and currently President of Cresvard Corporation and Chairman of Bow Energy Resources; Professor Barry Cooper, a political scientist at the University of Calgary, he has distinguished himself as a prolific author on political theory, Canadian politics and public policy; Mr. Gary Dickson, one of Western Canada's leading experts on privacy, a former member of the Alberta legislature, he helped develop the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and is currently the first full-time Information and Privacy Commissioner for the province of Saskatchewan; Mr. Rod Love, an advisor to Premier Ralph Klein over a period of eighteen years, an advisor on the restructuring of the Government of Alberta, a member of the board of the Canada West Foundation and currently the principal of Rod Love Consulting in Calgary; Mr. Robert Marleau, a renowned expert on parliamentary practice and procedure spent thirty-one years in the Canadian Parliament as an advisor to seven Speakers and Members of both Houses; Mr. Ian McClelland, a former Member of Parliament, former Assistant Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole House, a former Member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly where he chaired a committee on strengthening Alberta' role in Confederation; Dr. David Smith, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Saskatchewan and an expert on the structure of government, the Crown and on federalism.


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 abuse 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 lessons learned that will not be impeded by inappropriate political influences?