ARCHIVED - Canadian Artists and Producers Professional Relations Tribunal - Report

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Section II - Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome(s)

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

Program Activity: Certification, Complaints and Determination Program

Program Activity Description

This program activity includes the Tribunal’s 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.

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
1,610	1,610	1,610

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
7	7	7

Program Activity Expected Results	Performance Indicators	Targets
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.	Average number of calendar days between hearing and issue of reasons	Average time between hearing and issue of reasons does not exceed 60 calendar days
	Average time to process cases from application to issue of reason for decision	Average time to process all cases from application to issue of reason for decision does not exceed 200 days
	Cases are upheld on judicial review	At least 75% of cases are upheld on judicial review
	Requests for mediation assistance result in complaints resolved and in agreements reached or renewed	75% of requests for complaints mediation assistance result in complaints resolved 75% of requests for bargaining mediation assistance result in agreements reached or renewed
	Prompt response to requests for Information	Responses to information requests within 2 working days Responses thorough and correct
	Timely information bulletins	Information bulletins published monthly Special bulletins, if required, published within 60 days of decisions and other major events
	Stakeholder satisfaction	Stakeholders are satisfied, based on ongoing informal surveying

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 2012-2013 with a cross-section of stakeholders from the artists’ and producers’ communities, to identify and meet their information needs.
  
• The Tribunal will continue monthly information bulletins, which began on an experimental basis in 2010-2011, and will review their effectiveness early in 2012-2013. 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 Common Look and Feel and WCAG 2.0 standards.

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.

Program Activity: Internal Services

Program Activity Description

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

Financial Resources ($ millions)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
450	450	450

Human Resources (FTEs)

2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
3	3	3

Planning Highlights

The Tribunal has internal service expectations and monitors overall service performance of its internal services. The Tribunal has a sound results-oriented framework utilizing the Management Accountability Framework (MAF) and a quality assurance framework that will continue to ensure that services are conducted in a timely and cost effective manner.

The Tribunal’s internal services have had to be carefully designed to take into account the extremely small size of the organization. The Tribunal outsources some corporate services that are not required on a full time basis. For example, it contracts with Canadian Heritage for human resources services, and with the Public Service Labour Relations Board and Industry Canada for informatics, security, and mail services. It has arrangements with two other federal labour boards to use their hearing rooms and library services.

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