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Message from the Chairperson
I am pleased to present the 2009-2010 Report on Plans and Priorities for the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal ("CAPPRT" or "the Tribunal"). This report outlines the Tribunal's intended direction for the next three years.
The Tribunal is committed to the development and maintenance of constructive professional relations between artists and producers, and to the economic and social well-being of its stakeholder community. As one of more than twenty federal organizations supporting a vibrant Canadian culture, the Tribunal is an important part of a complex whole, making a critical contribution to long-term progress for the cultural sector.
The Tribunal's principal responsibility is to adjudicate matters brought before it under the Status of the Artist Act. The Tribunal will continue to provide fair and timely resolution of these matters, and continue to develop a solid body of precedents and case law that can be used to help resolve future cases.
In addition, the Tribunal plays an informative role, promoting increased collaboration between artists, artists' associations and producers, increasing their understanding of their rights and obligations under the Act, and supporting the collective bargaining process by providing impartial, timely information. In this respect, we will continue to emphasize the value of mediation to help parties reach scale agreements, manage their relationships under scale agreements, and resolve complaints without the need for formal hearings.
Ultimately, the work of the Tribunal contributes to harmonious professional relations in the cultural sector, which in turn contributes to better conditions of engagement for artists and a more stable, predictable workforce for producers.
In 2009-2010, the Tribunal will continue to focus its efforts on informing artists and producers about the Status of the Artist Act, in order to permit them to fully exercise their rights and fulfil their responsibilities under the Act. We will maintain close contact and communication with our stakeholders and partners to ensure the relevance of our services and activities.
The Tribunal will continue to assist the parties in the negotiation process under the Status of the Artist Act, ensuring that they have ready access to information and mediation assistance when they need it. It will provide a high quality of service in dealing with adjudicative matters within its statutory responsibilities. These include complaints of unfair labour practices and other matters brought forward by artists, artists' associations, producers, and labour arbitrators, determination of sectors of cultural activity suitable for collective bargaining, and certification of artists' associations to represent self-employed artists working in these sectors.
I feel compelled to note at this point that, however optimistic and enthusiastic we at the Tribunal may be, the Tribunal's ability to meet its commitments depends on a sufficient number of members being appointed to ensure quorum to hear cases.
Integrity, timeliness, confidentiality and impartiality are among the values that guide the ongoing activities of the Tribunal. The Tribunal members and staff, even faced with a shortage of members and an inability to make quorum, will make every effort in the year ahead to promote harmonious professional relations in the cultural sector. I look forward to leading the Tribunal in this endeavour.
Section I – Agency Overview
1.1 Summary Information
Raison d’être
Parliament created the Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal to administer Part II of the Status of the Artist Act, which sets out a structure for professional relations between self-employed artists and producers in federal jurisdiction. The Tribunal defines sectors of artistic activity for collective bargaining, certifies artists' associations to represent self-employed artists working in those sectors, and deals with complaints of unfair labour practices from artists, artists' associations and producers.
Responsibilities
The Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal administers Part II of the Status of the Artist Act. Its objective is to contribute to Canada's cultural community by encouraging constructive professional relations between artists and producers in federal jurisdiction.
The Tribunal has the following main responsibilities
- To define the sectors of cultural activity suitable for collective bargaining between artists' associations and producers within the Tribunal's jurisdiction, and certify artists' associations to represent self-employed artists working in these sectors; and
- To deal with complaints of unfair labour practices and other contraventions of Part II of the Act brought forward by artists, artists' associations or producers, and prescribe appropriate remedies.
Parliament passed the Status of the Artist Act as part of a commitment to recognize and stimulate the contribution of the arts to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of the country. The Act reflects the recognition that constructive professional relations in the arts and culture sector are an important element of a vibrant Canadian culture and heritage.
Since its inception, the Tribunal has defined 26 sectors of artistic activity and certified 24 artists' associations to represent them. Certified artists' associations have concluded over 150 scale agreements with producers, including government producers and specialty television services, since their certification. Over 20 percent of these are the first agreements that the parties have ever concluded.
The Tribunal reports to Parliament through the Minister of Labour.
Strategic Outcome
The Tribunal seeks to achieve the following strategic outcome:
The rights of artists and producers under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are protected and respected.
Program Activity Architecture
The chart bellow illustrates the Tribunal's program activities, which contribute to its strategic outcome.
1.2 Planning Summary
| Financial Resources | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ($ millions) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
The financial resources table above provides a summary of the total planned spending for the Tribunal for the next three fiscal years.
| Human Resources | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) | 10 | 10 | 10 |
The human resources table above provides a summary of the total planned human resources for the Tribunal for the next three fiscal years.
| Performance Indicators | Targets |
|---|---|
|
Cases are resolved in a fair and timely way, with natural justice and administrative fairness observed, Stakeholders have easy, timely access to information about the Act and about Tribunal decisions and activities:
|
|
| Program Activity | Expected Results | Forecast Spending 2009-10 |
Planned Spending | Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | ||||
| Certification, Complaints and Determination Program |
Fair and timely resolution of cases. Stakeholders have easy, timely access to information about the Status of the Artist Act and their rights and responsibilities under it, and about Tribunal decisions and activities |
2.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | Vibrant Canadian Culture and Heritage |
| Internal Services | Support to Tribunal to ensure it has necessary tools to provide fair and timely resolution of cases. | 0 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | Vibrant Canadian Culture and Heritage |
| Total | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | ||
Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcomes
As noted above, the Tribunal has a single strategic outcome, to which all its operational priorities contribute.
| Operational Priorities | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Deal with matters brought before Tribunal with high quality service | Ongoing | The CAPPRT, like any administrative tribunal, has a duty to ensure that cases are resolved fairly and in a timely way, fully respecting the requirements of natural justice and administrative fairness. |
| Fully inform and assist stakeholders | Ongoing | Through its outreach and communication activities, the Tribunal builds stakeholder awareness of the Status of the Artist Act and the rights and responsibilities that flow from it. |
| Management Priorities | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Improve management practices | Ongoing | Like any government agency, the Tribunal Secretariat must continually strive to modernize and improve its management practices, in order to support the Tribunal in its decision-making and administrative capacities. |
Risk Analysis
The nature of the Tribunal's mandate and its business environment makes the organization relatively risk averse. The same observation could be made of any quasi-judicial organization. Accordingly, the Tribunal has in place numerous management strategies to mitigate potential risks. It must be noted, however, that the most important risk is that an insufficient number of members to assure quorum for hearings will be appointed. The Tribunal, when it lacks quorum, cannot process cases before it. It can facilitate mediation between parties who are waiting for the Tribunal to be able to hear their case. Mediation, it should be noted, is not feasible for all cases.
Like any court or administrative tribunal, the CAPPRT must be prepared to deal with highs and lows of case volume. The Tribunal's services must be available to artists and producers as and when the need arises. The Tribunal has certified artists' associations to represent most sectors under its jurisdiction, so its certification work is relatively predictable. Complaints under the Act and references from arbitrators are less predictable and can arise at any time.
The current economic crisis has begun to affect the arts and culture sector, and the impact is expected to become more severe in the immediate future. If economic problems result in parties having difficulty meeting their obligations under the Act or reaching agreements under it, there may be an increase in demand for the Tribunal's services. Even certification work could increase, if an unstable economy gives rise to challenges to representation.
The Tribunal has traditionally been able to manage the unpredictability of caseloads by judicious planning and budgeting within its existing appropriation levels for both human and financial resources. In years where its total appropriations have not been used, it has returned funds to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Expenditure Profile
For the 2009-2010 fiscal year, the Tribunal plans to spend $2.0 million to meet the expected results of its program activities and contribute to its strategic outcome.
For the 2006-2007 to 2008-2009 periods, the total spending includes all Parliamentary appropriation: Main Estimates, Supplementary Estimates, Treasury Board Vote 10, 15, and 23. It also includes carry forward adjustments. For the 2010-2011 to 2012-2013 periods, the total spending corresponds to the planned spending. Supplementary funding and carry forward adjustments are unknown at this point and are therefore not reflected.
The core funding illustrates the baseline funding that the Tribunal receives from Parliamentary appropriation.
Since 2006-2007, the Tribunal's core spending has declined. This is a reflection of changes in hearing activity. Levels of hearing activity are broadly predictable but, as with any quasi-judicial tribunal, inevitably vary from year to year.
Voted and Statutory Items
This table illustrates the way in which Parliament approved CAPPRT resources, and shows the changes in resources derived from supplementary estimates the Tribunal and other authorities, as well as how funds were spent.
| Vote # or Statutory Item (S) | Truncated Vote or Statutory Wording | 2008-09 Main Estimates |
2009-10 Main Estimates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Program expenditures | 1.8 | 1.8 |
| (S) | Contribution to employee benefit plans | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Total | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
