ARCHIVED - Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal - Report

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Chairperson’s Message

I am pleased to present the 2012-2013 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.

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 2012-2013, the Tribunal will continue its efforts promoting and supporting collective bargaining in the area of its jurisdiction. It will provide access to useful information on its website, such as scale agreements and analyses of them, for parties engaged in or contemplating bargaining. It will continue to inform 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. It will encourage mediation to help parties conclude scale agreements, manage their relationships, and resolve complaints without the need for formal hearings. And it will maintain close contact and communication with its stakeholders and partners to ensure the relevance of its 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 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.

Integrity, timeliness, confidentiality and impartiality are among the values that guide the ongoing activities of the Tribunal. The Tribunal members and staff 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: Organizational Overview

Raison d’être

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 nearly 180 scale agreements with producers, including government producers and specialty television services, since their certification. Nine 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 and Program Activity Architecture (PAA)

The Tribunal seeks to achieve the following strategic outcome:

The chart below illustrates the Tribunal’s program activities, which contribute to its strategic outcome.

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Organizational Priorities

Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies)
Deal with matters brought before Tribunal with high quality service	Ongoing	Certification, Complaints and Determination Program
Status
Why is this a priority? The CAPPRT has a duty to ensure that cases are handled and resolved in ways that are: fair timely, and consistent with the requirements of natural justice and administrative fairness. Plans for meeting the priority Average time between hearing and issue of decision will not exceed 60 calendar days Average time to process cases from application to issue of decision will not exceed 200 days We expect that at least 75% of our decisions will be upheld on judicial review We expect that at least 75% of requests for complaints mediation assistance will result in complaints resolved We expect that at least 75% of requests for bargaining mediation assistance result in agreements reached or renewed

Priority	Type1	Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies)
Fully inform and assist stakeholders	Ongoing	Certification, Complaints and Determination Program
Status
Why is this a priority? For the Act to be effective, stakeholders need to be aware of it and the rights and responsibilities that flow from it. Plans for meeting the priority Outreach and communications activities, including attendance at industry conferences, information sessions, newsletters and bulletins, continuously updated website.

Priority	Type	Strategic Outcome(s) and/or Program Activity(ies)
Improve management practices	Ongoing	Internal Services
Status
Why is this a priority? Staff support to the Tribunal’s decision-making must be efficient and effective in use of financial and human resources. Plans for meeting the priority The Tribunal Secretariat will continue to modernize and improve its management practices 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.

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.

Continuing uncertainty in the world economy has affected the arts and culture sector, and the impact is not likely to diminish 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.

Planning Summary

Financial Resources ($ thousands)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
2,060	2,060	2,060

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
10	10	10

Strategic Outcome 1: The rights of artists and producers under Part II of the Status of the Artist Act are protected and respected.

Performance Indicators	Targets
Provide the performance indicators for the strategic outcome as they appear in the departmental MRRS.	Provide the target, i.e., the level of performance expected, for each indicator as it appears in the departmental MRRS.

Planning Summary Table
($ thousands)

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2011-12	Planned Spending			Alignment to Government of Canada Outcomes
		2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Certification, Complaints and Determination Program	817	1,610	1,610	1,610	Vibrant Canadian culture and heritage
Total Planned Spending		1,610	1,610	1,610

Planning Summary Table

Program Activity	Forecast Spending 2011-12	Planned Spending
		2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Internal Services	393	450	450	450
Total Planned Spending		450	450	450

Expenditure Profile

Departmental Spending Trend

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The Tribunal has not had any significant increase or decreases in expenditures over the past four years as indicated by the graph. However, the level of activity surrounding the caseload, a caseload that the tribunal does not control or regulate in any way, has been less than planned and, as a result, actual expenditures have been less than planned. As mentioned earlier, monies not spent by the Tribunal are returned to the Consolidated Revenue Fund at the end of each fiscal year. Planned spending over the 3 year planning period, however, is based on a “full” case load.

Estimates by Vote

For information on our organizational appropriations, please see the 2012-13 Main Estimates publication.

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