Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Strategic Outcome - The rights of artists and producers under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are protected and respected.

The following section describes the Tribunal's program activities and identifies the expected result, performance indicators and targets for each of them. This section also explains how the Tribunal plans on meeting the expected results and presents the financial and non-financial resources that will be dedicated to each program activity.

This section will contain a discussion of the following Program Activities:

• Certification, Complaints and Determination Program
• Internal Services

Additional information on the Tribunal’s performance measurement framework and methodology can be found on the Tribunal’s website (www.capprt-tcrpap.gc.ca).

Program Activity: Certification, Complaints and Determination Program

This program activity includes the Tribunals quasi-judicial determinations activity relating to certification applications, complaints (such as bad faith bargaining, failure in the duty of fair representation, etc.), and referrals by arbitrators under the Act. It also includes the research and outreach structure necessary to ensure that stakeholders and the public 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.

Planning Highlights

In order to achieve the expected result, the Tribunal plans to undertake the following activities:

• The Tribunal will continue to focus on carrying out its statutory mandate fairly and in a timely manner.  The Tribunal will ensure that the time required to issue reasons for decisions after hearings, and the total time required to process cases, from the date an application is received until the date of the decision, meet or surpass the targets shown in the table above.
  
  
• The Tribunal will assess its fairness – encompassing impartiality, accessibility, integrity, and confidentiality – using as an indicator the percentage of its decisions upheld on judicial review. The Federal Court may review a Tribunal decision in the following circumstances:
  • if the Tribunal acted without jurisdiction or beyond its jurisdiction or refused to exercise its jurisdiction;
  • if it failed to observe a principle of natural justice, procedural fairness or other procedure that it was required by law to observe; or
  • if it acted, or failed to act, by reason of fraud or perjured evidence.
  The Federal Court acts as the arbiter of fairness of federal quasi-judicial tribunals, so this is an important indicator. The Tribunal has set as a target that more than 75 percent of its cases are upheld on judicial review.
  
  
• Stakeholder satisfaction is not necessarily a good indicator of fairness – parties may be dissatisfied with Tribunal decisions that are fair but do not go their way – and measuring it in any systematic way through stakeholder surveys is impractical and would be a burden on the stakeholders.Nonetheless, in our informal contacts with the stakeholder community of artists, artists' associations, and producers, we pay close attention to how they view the Tribunal and the fairness of its processes.
  
  
• An important outcome of fair Tribunal decisions is the development of a solid body of precedents.  These can be used to help resolve future cases.
  
  
• The Tribunal will fully inform and assist the artists, artists' associations, and producers that make up its stakeholder community. One way that the Tribunal does this is through timely responses to inquiries. The Tribunal receives a wide variety of questions from stakeholders, dealing with subjects like jurisdiction, specifics of the various cultural industries, and how to use the Act. Tribunal staff members respond to these questions quickly and thoroughly, always inviting further comment or question. Responses will be within 2 working days of the inquiry.
  
  
• With respect to more general information needs about the Act and the Tribunal's services and activities, the Tribunal has traditionally used information bulletins, regularly-updated information on its Web site, and information sessions for stakeholders. Follow-up with stakeholders has shown that these are well received and considered useful. The Tribunal has recently emphasized more tailored and customized information over group information sessions. Its various stakeholders have different, often quite specific, needs for information. More focused, personalized information and small group or individual meetings are an effective way of addressing stakeholders' needs. The Tribunal will continue to emphasize these more direct approaches to stakeholders, including participation in industry conferences that bring stakeholders together. Tribunal staff will continue to meet informally in 2011-2012 with a cross-section of stakeholders from the artists' and producers' communities, to identify and meet their information needs.
  
  
• The Tribunal began, in 2010-2011, an experiment with monthly information bulletins, and will continue this through 2011-2012, with an evaluation of their effectiveness early in 2012. It will also issue special information bulletins as required, to report important developments.
  
  
• The Tribunal will also continue revising its website to make it more helpful and accessible, and to ensure continuing compliance with the government's Common Look and Feel standards.
  
  

Benefits for Canadians

This program activity 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. This is a critical contribution to a vibrant Canadian culture, the economic benefits of which have been amply demonstrated by recent research.

Internal Services

Internal Services are activities and resources that support the needs of the Tribunals operating program and other corporate obligations. They include administrative, human resources, financial, information management, and information technology services.