Gomery Commission / Commission Gomery

Media Advisory
Gomery Commission Roundtable Consultation Session in Vancouver

18 October 2005, Ottawa: The Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities will hold the fifth 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 Vancouver on Thursday, October 20 to conduct the last of 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 ,Toronto and Edmonton.

Attached is a list of the invited participants and the discussion agenda for the 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 Vancouver. Prof. Donald Savoie, the Commission's Research Director, will be available for media interviews on Thursday 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: Thursday, 20th October, 2005
 
Location: Vancouver, B.C
The Multipurpose Room, Main Floor
The Liu Institute for Global Issues
6476 North West Marine Drive (UBC)

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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


Senator Pat Carney, one of Canada's leading female politicians, she was Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources as well as Minister of International Trade (responsible for the Free Trade negotiations). She also held the position of Treasury Board President. Dr Kenneth Carty, former head of the University of British Columbia's Department of Political Science, past-president of the Canadian Political Science Association and currently a Senior Fellow of UBC's Green College. The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, former Member of Parliament and former Minister of Revenue Canada, of Fisheries and Oceans and of Natural Resources. Mr. Gordon Gibson, ex-Leader of the Liberal Party of British Columbia, former Member of the B.C. legislature and former special assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Currently a Senior Fellow with the Fraser Institute in Vancouver. Professor David Good, former Assistant Deputy Minister for the Privy Council Office, for the Treasury Board, for the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans and for Human Resources Development Canada. Currently teaches Public Administration at the University of Victoria; Mr. Rafe Mair, accomplished attorney and well known B.C. political commentator and author. He once served as a Minister in Bill Bennett's Cabinet. Professor Cynthia Williams, formerly Deputy Minister in a number of federal departments, including Social Development Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Northern Affairs. Currently a Senior Fellow with the Canadian Policy Research Networks and with Simon Fraser University's Public Policy Program.


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?