ARCHIVED - The National Battlefields Commission

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

Program Activity	Actual Spending 2007-2008	2008-2009 ($ thousands)
		Main Estimates	Planned Spending	Total Authorities	Actual Spending	Alignment to Government of Canada Outcome Area
Conservation and Development	5,644	6,768	6,768	7,779	6,863	A vibrant Canadian culture and heritage2
Public Education and Services	1,294	3,215	3,215	3,887	4,078
Internal Services *	5,988
Total	12,926	9,983	9,983	11,666	10,941

^* In 2007-2008, Internal Services came under the former Program Activity Architecture component of “Administration”. In 2008-2009, Internal Services was divided between two program activities: 60% to Conservation and Development and 40% to Public Education and Services.

² The NBC's strategic outcome helps to provide an accessible and educational historic site promoting a vibrant Canadian culture and heritage. The NBC ensures the conservation and development of the Battlefields Park, Canada's first national historic park; helps to raise awareness for Canada's history and the battles fought on its grounds; provides a pleasant entertainment venue; and encourages the public to participate in various interpretive activities, to visit the exhibitions and various attractions featuring the history of the park and events in Canadian history, and to attend concerts supporting up-and-coming artists in the cultural scene.

Discrepancy of $1,683,000 ($11,666,000 - $9,983,000) between Planned Spending and Total Authorities is explained by the following:

Report from previous year	$351 539
Revenue increase versus previous budget	$744 201
Benefits and salaries	$187 757
Additional budget allocated (decision rendered against the NBC)	$400 000
	$1 683 497

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

Transfer to the following year $400 450 Postponement of renovation work on administrative offices $325 000   $725 450

Contribution of Priorities to Strategic Outcome

Operational Priorities	Type	Status	Linkage to Strategic Outcome
Conduct the festivities planned in 2008 for the centenary of the NBC and creation of the park	Previously Committed	Meets expectations. Various activities have been held, particularly festivities for the general public, exhibitions, various theme-based booths and a large historical fresco, all of which were a success.	Strategic Outcome 1 This operational priority is in line with the Public Educations and Services program activity. Raise awareness of Canada's first national historic park and its cultural, recreational and natural assets. In the future, a better integration of volunteers would be a key factor in improving the next edition of the Plaines Lunes show.
Provide the public with quality educational, cultural and nature-related services	Permanent	Meets expectations. The NBC continued to provide its usual services while maintaining a high degree of quality in its exhibitions and interpretive activities. It also put on special activities to mark its 100th anniversary.	Strategic Outcome 1 This operational priority is in line with the Public Education and Services program activity. Raise awareness of Canada's first national historic park and its cultural, recreational and natural assets. In the future, continue to provide a high level of quality services.
Ensure first-rate general maintenance and carry out certain infrastructure repairs	Permanent	Meets expectations to some degree. The NBC continued to carry out regular maintenance of the site and completed some infrastructure rebuilding projects to ensure the safety and health of users. Given the number of events for the 400th anniversary celebrations, there was considerable pressure on the site and significant reconstruction work had to be done after the events (at the end of summer)	Strategic Outcome 1 This operational priority is in line with the Conservation and Development program activity. Preserve and improve site infrastructure and amenities for future generations. In the future, review the Policy for Using the grounds and manage reconstruction work on the site after events are held.
Organize the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the historic battles of 1759 and 1760 in 2009 and 2010	Previously Committed	Meets expectations to some degree. The NBC organized the commemorative activities for the 250th anniversary of the battles. Because of the considerable controversy they generated, some activities had to be cancelled or changed for security reasons.	Strategic Outcome 1 This operational priority is in line with the Public Education and Services program activity. Raise awareness of Canada's first national historic park and its cultural, recreational and natural assets. In the future, choose activities with care and provide detailed information on proposed activities.

Risk Analysis

2008-2009 was a truly outstanding and significant year in the NBC's history. The NBC's 100^th anniversary and the creation of the Battlefields Park were commemorated in an original and monumental way in accordance with the budget at its disposal. The involvement of all of the program activity units and meticulous planning contributed in large part to the success of the commemorative activities that were held.

The events of Quebec City's 400^th anniversary contributed to an increase in the number of events and use of the Battlefields Park site. The NBC demonstrated its willingness to help out and offered to work with various site users. However, as mentioned in the 2008-2009 Report on Plans and Priorities (RPP), the NBC anticipated unforeseen developments and problems. They were bound to arise under the circumstances. Despite some constraints, the NBC believes that it successfully co‑ordinated all of the activities on its site. It had to be flexible to meet its objectives. It was able to demonstrate its expertise, its effectiveness in finding solutions and its ability to ensure compliance with its requirements.

In addition to managing all of the regular operations and celebrating the 100^th anniversary, the NBC organized the commemorative activities for the 250^th anniversary of the historic battles of Quebec City (1759 and 1760). Several events intended to raise awareness of these historical events were planned. However, changes had to be made to some projects. Owing to a controversy concerning the presentation of the major event scheduled for August 2009—historical re-enactments of the battles—the NBC was forced to cancel the event. It was no longer possible to ensure the safety of spectators and re-enactors. This was a major reversal because over 2,000 volunteers from many countries were expected. This situation resulted in the withdrawal of a few partners and the expenditures on some preparations proved to be unnecessary.

Overall, NBC kept close track of projected expenditures and of the budget allocated for the fiscal year. The total amount of the budget that was used was $10,941,000, including generated revenues and expenditures in the amount of $2,344,000. In the area of human resources, the retirement of some employees made it necessary to hire replacements during the year.

In the area of occupational health and safety, the inventory of equipment for the purposes of implementing the NBC accident prevention program was compiled, as planned. A survey of all potential risks in each unit was carried out. The next step is to draw up an accident prevention guide based on the collected information by 2011.

Various external and internal factors had an impact on the implementation of programs and achievement of the strategic outcome.

The events of the NBC's 100^th anniversary and of Quebec City's 400^th anniversary helped to increase the amount of use made of the park and to exceed the usual annual estimate of 4,000,000 visitors. The Paul McCartney concert (250,000 people) and Céline Dion's concert (over 200,000 people) on the Plains of Abraham, in addition to major recurring events attended by higher numbers of people than in previous years, had a significant impact on program activities. Heavy demands were placed on all of the NBC's units. NBC employees devoted considerable effort, time and energy to ensure the success of all of the planned activities. Special measures had to be taken to ensure the safety of users. More substantial repairs to the grounds had to be carried out after the events because of the large number of installations, high attendance rates and abundant rain that fell during the 2008 summer season. This required a much greater amount of co‑ordination on the part of NBC employees, and several meetings were held to sort out unforeseen developments that had resulted in an overload of work and had caused employees to accumulate compensatory time.

In addition to having a negative impact on site conditions, the poor weather conditions resulted in the cancellation of some concerts at the Edwin-Bélanger Bandstand. There was also a decrease in the number of people attending the concerts because of program cuts resulting from the production of the Plaines Lunes show (1st edition) for the 100^th anniversary.

As in previous years, the City of Quebec carried out an estimated $100,000 of maintenance work. Various services were provided, such as the loan of equipment such as barricades and cleaning services after many events. The Quebec City Police Department made a significant contribution during the major events held on the Plains by ensuring a higher level of safety for Park users.

Several partners contributed to the success of the NBC's 100^th anniversary. The National Film Board collaborated on the production of a documentary highlighting the Park's 100^th anniversary. The documentary was screened in a large tent specially set up for the 100^th anniversary near the Joan of Arc garden and in Brown Basin. Nine federal organizations showcased their organizations and services under the tent awning called Espace Canada. Park visitors and users were able to meet with representatives of the federal organizations and learn about their mandates, services and programs and to visit the NBC exhibition detailing the history of the buildings that once stood on the Plains of Abraham site over the years.

The organizing of the commemorative activities for the 250^th anniversary of the historic battles of Quebec City was well done. Arrangements were made with several partners to hold various activities to raise awareness of this period in history. The planned large‑scale project to hold historical re-enactments provoked a major controversy among population. The partners either reassessed their involvement or withdrew from some projects. Out of a concern for public sensitivity and above all to avoid endangering the safety of visitors and re-enactors, the NBC cancelled this event and made changes to some of the planned activities.

Expenditure Profile

The fluctuation can be explained as follows:

• In 2008-2009, a supplementary budget was obtained to organize celebrations for the NBC's 100^th anniversary, and a budget carryover was authorized to complete the construction of public restrooms and renovations of the administrative offices.
• In 2007-2008, supplementary funding was obtained to organize celebrations as part of the 100^th anniversary of the NBC, make major infrastructure repairs and carry out risk-management work.
• In 2006-2007, the Commission obtained supplementary budget for infrastructure repairs.
• In 2005-2006, the NBC had a base budget but no special supplementary budget.

Voted and Statutory Items

($ thousands)

Vote or Statutory Item	Truncated Vote  or Statutory Wording	2008-2009
		Main  Estimates	Planned  Spending	Total  Authorities	Actuals Spending
55	Program expenditures	8,009	8,009	8,009	8,135
55	Program expenditures			851
(S)	Expenditures pursuant to paragraph 29.1 (1) of the Financial Administration Act	1,600	1,600	2,344	2,344
(S)	Contributions to employee benefit plans	374	374	462	462
	Total	9,983	9,983	11,666	10,941

For explanation of discrepancies between Planned Spending and Total Authorities, refer to this link.