ARCHIVED - The National Battlefields Commission - Report

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Minister’s Message

The Department of Canadian Heritage and its portfolio organizations play an important role in our cultural, social, and economic lives. Together, they promote the creation of an environment where all Canadians can enjoy cultural experiences, celebrate their heritage, and take part in building stronger communities. As a Canadian Heritage portfolio organization, the National Battlefields Commission implements programs and offers services that help us achieve these objectives.

In 2010-11, the National Battlefields Commission (NBC) continued its mission to maintain the conservation and development of the National Battlefields Park and provide public education and services, which contributed to an increase in the number of participants and visitors. The users and visitors were able to enjoy the park safely and increase their knowledge about the park's history and historical events tied to the park. Over the year, the NBC conducted a variety of repairs and infrastructure work, offered new activities and launched a sustainable development action plan.

As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, I am pleased to present the 2010-11 Departmental Performance Report for the National Battlefields Commission. I invite you to take a look at it for an overview of the activities that this organization has undertaken over the past year to fulfill its mandate and contribute to the vitality of Canadian society.

 

The Honourable James Moore P.C., M.P.

 

 

SECTION I - Overview

Summary Information

Raison d'être

The National Battlefields Commission (NBC), as manager of Battlefields Park, enables Canadians to enjoy the first national historic park in Canada and one of the most prestigious urban parks in the world.

Responsibilities

The NBC is responsible for the administration, management, conservation and development of National Battlefields Park (located in the city of Québec) and manages the funding allocated for this purpose.

The Commission's mandate derives from the Act Respecting the National Battlefields at Québec, 7-8 Edward VII, c. 57, passed on March 17, 1908, and its amendments. It reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages. The Commission is administered by a nine-member Board of Directors. Seven members are appointed by the Governor in Council and the NBC's enabling legislation authorizes the provinces of Quebec and Ontario to each appoint a member in recognition of their contribution at that time of the creation of the Commission.

The Board of Directors decides on general orientations aiming at the achievement of the strategic outcome to make the Battlefields Park in Québec a prestigious, accessible, safe and educational historic and urban site and assumes the general surveillance.

The Secretary, who acts as Director General, is appointed by the Governor in Council and is responsible for implementation of policy and for day-to-day management of all NBC operations. He therefore strives for attainment of both strategic outcome and program targets.

The grounds of the NBC constitute one of the most important historic sites in Canada. Commonly called the Plains of Abraham, the site is the largest urban park in Québec and ranks among the prestigious parks in the world. The NBC must thus reconcile the Plains of Abraham's historic significance with its mission as an urban park. The NBC must preserve this historic Canadian legacy for future generations and develop it so that the public fully benefits from these treasures and Canadians learn more about the major events in Canadian history associated with this important site.

Strategic Outcome

The NBC works to achieve the following strategic outcome:

The Battlefields Park of Quebec is a prestigious, accessible, safe and educational historic and urban site.

The role of the National Battlefields Commission is to make Battlefields Park a prestigious national site, maintain its historic integrity and ensure that its urban mission receives equal consideration, allow for its safe use, and provide activities and relevant services in line with historic, cultural, recreational and natural aspects.

Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

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Organizational Priorities

Priorities	Type	Performance Status	Linkage to Strategic Outcome
Ensure high-quality general maintenance and carry out planned infrastructure repairs.	Ongoing	Fully met according to planned renovations. The NBC continued to carry out regular maintenance of the site and improved some areas of the park for users and visitors.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with the Conservation and Development program activity: results attained under this priority contribute to preserving and improving the site's infrastructure and amenities for future generations.
Provide a healthy environment by adopting sustainable development principles.	New	Fully met. The NBC identified measures to adopt to further expand its work in the spirit of sustainable development and prepare a suitable plan.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with the Conservation and Development program activity: results attained under this priority contribute to preserving and improving the site's infrastructure and amenities for future generations.
Provide the public with quality services on aspects of education, culture and nature.	Ongoing	Fully met. The NBC continued to deliver services such as exhibitions, shows and interpretative activities while taking users' and visitors' expectations into consideration and ensuring that high quality was maintained and the diversification of activities offered.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with the Public Education and Services program activity: results attained under this priority contribute to preserving and raising awareness of the history of Canada's first national historic park and its cultural, recreational and natural assets.
Provide information about the park's history and the context and events of 1760 in Québec, and increase visitor services.	Previously committed	Fully met. The NBC organized activities and events, marked the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Sainte-Foy, and conducted archaeological digs.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with the Public Education and Services program activity: results attained under this priority contribute to preserving and raising awareness of the history of Canada's first national historic park.
Internal Management	Ongoing	Partially met. Review of the Land Use Policy is still under way. However, in order to protect the park, all agreements with event organizers include special measures and a functional and operational framework. The guide on prevention of workplace accidents was developed and measures were taken to ensure a safe work environment in all workplaces.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with the Conservation and Development program activity: results attained under this priority contribute to the preservation and improvement of site infrastructure and amenities for future generations. This measure is in line with the above result. This guide will be used as a reference to ensure safe work conditions for employees and prevent injuries.
Human Resources Renewal	Previously committed	Fully met. The NBC hired new employees to replace those going on maternity leave and retiring. It also amended the organizational structure of customer service.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with internal services, but it also concerns other programs and allows for the retention and hiring of a qualified workforce so as to pursue the NBC's objectives.
Disposal of Archives	Previously committed	Partially met. The NBC started to update the document filing plan and the archival document disposal process in accordance with the Library and Archives of Canada Act.	Strategic Outcome 1 This priority is in line with internal services, but it also concerns other programs. The update of the document filing system will allow for the preservation and disposal of documents consistent with the agreement signed with Library and Archives Canada.

Risk Analysis

In 2010-11, the National Battlefields Commission did not encounter any specific risks that might have had a major impact on achieving these objectives. The majority of planned projects in its Report on Plans and Priorities were carried out without too many constraints.

The federal budget had an impact on the NBC's budget. Budget 2010 included cost-containment measures for the next three years for government departments and agencies. For 2010-11, these measures represented a shortfall of $14,104.

The projected revenue exceeded its target by $631,000. This is explained by the increase in parking fees and profitable activities. The NBC allocated the surplus revenue to special projects, such as updating the entire NBC computer system, building a garage at the Pavilion, and various repair or improvement work.

Contrary to what was planned in the 2010-11 RPP, the anticipated appointments (succession planning) within the Board of Directors were not realized.

According to the Management Accountability Framework - Round VII evaluation report, the NBC has management accountability practices in place that support its performance and given its size, makes an effort to continue to improve itself in various management areas by: ensuring that the results listed in the RPP correspond with the expected results in the DPR; completing the health and safety prevention guide; establishing internal policies on procuring professional services and high-risk payments; and by fully complying with the Info Source criteria in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Over the year, the NBC had to re-evaluate the priority of some projects and consult its Board of Directors. Two projects involved some financial risk for the NBC and a major impact on other infrastructure projects: the transfer of the Commander's House and the Plaines Lunes show.

For some time, the NBC has been negotiating with the Department of National Defence to procure the Commander's House. The NBC would like to house its administrative offices, given the lack of office space, and group together employees from other administration areas. Additional costs, which were not originally expected, considerably changed the initial project and a cost-effective transfer could no longer be completed by the NBC. After evaluating the situation, it decided to abandon the project and maintain the status quo on the short-term.

The Plaines Lunes show was not as successful as anticipated despite the promotion efforts made. After an analysis, the NBC decided to not renew the project in 2011-12 and eventually evaluate the possibility of putting on another type of event, while benefiting from the investments and gains, by using the costumes, decorations and accessories.

Given the city of Québec's expectations with regard to the opening of Gilmour Hill during the winter, the NBC has mandated Public Works and Government Services Canada to study the impact and challenges of such an acceptance.

Summary of Performance

2010-11 Financial Resources ($ thousands)

Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending
9,472	10,602	9,889

2010-11 Human Resources

Planned	Actual	Difference
55 FTEs	60 FTEs	5 FTEs*

* The increase in salaries costs was absorbed by revenues: this increase came from the Public Services and Education program activity.

Strategic Outcome: The Battlefields Park of Québec is a prestigious, accessible, safe and educational historic and urban site.
Performance Indicators - General state and integrity of the park and its facilities. - The quality level of public of and educational services.	Targets - Maintain the general state of the park and make improvements to its infrastructure between now and 2013. - Maintain the quality of services, increase education about the park's history and historical events tied to the park, and improve services for visitors.	2010-11 Performance - The general condition of the park has been maintained and some work has been carried out to ensure the safety of employees and users, such as installing a depressurization system to eliminate the radon in the administrative building and implementing standards and structural reinforcements for the workshop. Other work, such as the repair of the Braves monument and the construction of a permanent structure above the Pavilion's garage entrance, was required. In addition, some trees need pruning in order to support the NBC's efforts to ensure the safety of users and the sustainability of the urban forest. Concrete measures that target the objectives of the NBC's sustainable development policy were adopted and have already resulted in gains. - The quality of public educational services rose slightly. Client satisfaction was 93% according to an in-house survey (in comparison with 90% in 2009-10). - The number of visitors to exhibitions was 40,444, while the number of participants in activities was 91,085. These statistics represent an increase of 12% and 7% respectively, in comparison with the previous year. - In 2010-11, the Plaines Lunes show was put on with some changes to the tables compared to the 2008-09 version. However, attendance was lower for this 2nd edition. - Free shows at the Edwin-Bélanger Bandstand drew 28,650 spectators to 31 shows, an increase in attendance in comparison with the previous year, despite a decrease in the number of shows. - The projects carried out as part of the 250th anniversary of the battle of 1760, including the addition of busts of Lévis and Murray in Des Braves Park and a heritage day with discovery workshops, conferences and activities.

Program Activity	2009-10 Actual Spending	2010-11 ($ thousands)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Alignment to Government of Canada Outcome Area
Conservation and Development	2,170	2,749	2,749	3,074	2,321	A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage1
Public Education and Services	1,005	822	822	822	1,085
Internal Services	6,279	5,901	5,901	6,706	6,483
Total	9,454	9,472	9,472	10,602*	9,889**

^*The difference of $1,130,000 ($10,602,000 - $9,472,000) between Total Authorities and Planned Spending is explained by the following:

Report from previous year	$367,716
Revenue increase versus previous budget	$631,337
Benefits and salaries	$130,574
	$1,129,627

^**As for the difference between Total Authorities and Actual Spending, it is explained by:

Transfer to the following year	$374,278
Postponement of renovation work on administrative offices	$325,000
Cost containment measure - budget 2010	$14,104
	$713,382

¹ The NBC’s program activities are aligned with the Government of Canada’s outcome A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage. The role of NBC is to provide an accessible and educational historic site. The NBC helps to raise awareness of Canada’s history and the battles fought on its park grounds and provides a pleasant entertainment venue. It also encourages the public to take part in various interpretive activities, to visit exhibitions and other attractions featuring the history of the park and of Canada, and to attend concerts supporting artists from the cultural milieu.

Expenditure Profile

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The fluctuation can be explained as follows:

• In 2008-09, supplementary funding was obtained to organize celebrations for the NBC's 100^th anniversary, and a budget carry-over was authorized to complete the construction of public restrooms and renovations to the administrative offices.
• In 2009-10, supplementary funding was allocated for salaries and employee benefit plans (EBP). A budget carry-over was authorized for renovations to its administrative offices.
• In 2010-11, there was no such budget carry-over. The NBC exceeded its estimated revenues by $631,000. This is a result of the increase in fees for some services on April 1, 2010 (i.e. parking) and the revenue generated by a new exhibition at Brown Basin and Plaines Lunes show in summer 2010. A budget re-profiling was done for the next financial year.

Voted and Statutory Items ($ thousands)

For information on our organizational Votes and/or statutory expenditures, please see the 2010-11 Public Accounts of Canada (Volume II). An electronic version of the Public Accounts is available at Public Works and Government Services Canada's Web page, Public Accounts of Canada 2010.

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