The Minister of Canadian Heritage Announces the Creation of an Independent Committee to Recommend Qualified Candidates for the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors Français
The Government of Canada is seeking independent appointments that are based on merit
GATINEAU, QC, June 20, 2017 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to open and transparent processes for selecting appointees, to help strengthen trust in Canada's democracy and ensure the integrity of its public institutions. Today, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the creation of an advisory committee for appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors.
This independent advisory committee will have a mandate to lead the selection process for the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors. It will present its recommendations for qualified candidates to the Minister.
This independent, non-partisan committee is made up of experts in broadcasting and digital technology, and representatives of cultural sectors from across Canada. Indigenous Peoples, official-language communities and youth are also represented.
The committee will be chaired by Tom Clark from Ontario. Mr. Clark has worked in Canadian television news for the past 45 years.
The following people are also appointed to the committee:
- Prem Gill (British Columbia) started her career in the television and broadcasting industry. She has more than 20 years' experience in digital media, content creation and entertainment.
- Carolyn Warren (Alberta) is a leader in the Canadian cultural sector and has experience with art and broadcasting institutions.
- Janelle Wookey (Manitoba), is a Francophone Métis woman from the Prairies and an award-winning artist who works as an independent director and producer in Winnipeg.
- Colm Feore, O.C. (Ontario) is a well-known theatre, film and television actor.
- Marc Beaudet (Quebec) is a pioneer in the digital content industry in Quebec. He is president and CEO of Turbulent, a company that develops broadcasting platforms.
- Monique Savoie (Quebec) is a digital visionary. In 1996, she created the Société des arts technologiques, a creative Montréal space dedicated to technological development.
- Alanis Obomsawin, O.C., G.O.Q., C.A.L.Q. (Quebec) is a member of the Abenaki Nation and one of the most distinguished documentary filmmakers in Canada. For more than 40 years, she has been producing films at the National Film Board of Canada that tell about the lives and concerns of First Nations and deal with issues that are important to everyone.
- Éric Larocque (New Brunswick) is active in projects related to Acadia and to his community, particularly those that deal with youth. He is director of the organizing committee for the 2021 Games of La Francophonie.
The advisory committee will provide the Minister with the names of qualified candidates for each vacant position, as well as supplementary qualified candidates to create a pool to fill posts in the future.
As the digital shift brings many changes in its wake, the public broadcaster continues to play a crucial role in providing us with information and entertainment, as well as helping guide the next generation. As a Crown corporation in the Canadian Heritage portfolio, CBC/Radio‑Canada is an organization that is independent from the government and responsible for its own day-to-day activities.
Quotes
"Our government firmly believes in the importance of our national public broadcaster, CBC/Radio‑Canada. I am pleased to establish this independent advisory committee composed of experts in broadcasting, digital technology and culture, who reflect Canada's diversity. This new committee will recommend qualified candidates for a selection process that is open, transparent and based on merit."
—The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage
Quick Facts
Under the Broadcasting Act, CBC/Radio‑Canada's Board of Directors is composed of 12 directors, including a chair and a president/CEO, appointed by the Governor in Council during good behavior for a maximum period of five years.
The selection processes for the positions of chair, president/CEO, and part-time directors are posted on the Governor in Council's website.
In 2016, the Government of Canada adopted a new approach that requires a selection process be initiated for full-time and part-time positions. Those interested can apply online.
All appointment opportunities for the 18 organizations in the Canadian Heritage portfolio are posted on the Governor in Council's appointments site as they become available.
Related Products
| Advisory committee mandate |
will be published in https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/corporate/ministerial-council-appointments.html
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| Questions and answers |
will be published in https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/corporate/ministerial-council-appointments.htmlhttps://www.canada.ca/fr/patrimoine-canadien/organisation/nominations-ministerielles-conseil.html |
| Biographies and photos of advisory committee |
An information note will accompany the news release |
Associated Links
| CBC/Radio-Canada |
Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the
CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors
The Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors (Advisory Committee) is an independent and non-partisan body whose mandate will be to conduct selection processes for Governor in Council appointments to CBC/Radio-Canada in order to provide the Minister of Canadian Heritage with recommendations of qualified candidates for these appointments.
The Advisory Committee will be guided by published, merit-based criteria in order to identify Canadians who would make a significant contribution to the work of the Board of Directors of CBC/Radio-Canada, with the end goal of high-quality independent appointments being made by the Governor in Council.
Chair
Tom Clark (Ontario)
Tom Clark is the Chair of Global Public Affairs and for 45 years has been a fixture of Canadian television news. Reporting from home, from 33 other countries and six war zones, Tom has been witness to the remarkable history of our age. He has worked at all levels of electronic journalism and has written extensively in newspapers and on line.
Members
Prem Gill (British Columbia)
With a career that began in television and broadcasting, Prem Gill, CEO of Creative BC, brings more than two decades' experience in digital media, content creation and entertainment to this Independent Advisory Committee, including national, international, private and public leadership expertise. As head of the province's economic development agency devoted to the creative industries, Prem's strategic focus is on ensuring a growth culture for British Columbia's creative industries and positioning them to succeed in our digital global reality. Prem is currently Vice-Chair of the National Screen Institute Board of Directors.
Carolyn Warren (Alberta)
Carolyn Warren is a leader in the Canadian cultural sector with experience in both arts and broadcast institutions. Most recently Senior Arts Advisor at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and prior to that, Vice-President of Arts Programs, Carolyn was also Regional Manager of Cultural Programs at CBC in Montreal for many years and has a passion for the arts, all forms of storytelling and a commitment to support both in the digital age.
Janelle Wookey (Manitoba)
Janelle Wookey is an award-winning, Franco-Métis filmmaker and independent television producer born and raised in the Canadian prairies. Since launching her company, Wookey Films alongside her brother Jérémie, her work has aired nationally on CBC, Radio-Canada, APTN, TV5, Unis and TFO in French, English, Cree and Méchif and has screened at festivals worldwide. In 2016, their work was nominated for 3 awards at the Prix Gémeaux including Best Arts and Culture Documentary.
Colm Feore, O.C. (Ontario)
Colm Feore is a well known stage, film and television actor. He attended Canada's National Theatre School and then joined the prestigious Stratford Festival in 1981. In Canada, Colm's most famous roles were as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the critically acclaimed television mini-series Trudeau, and as Glenn Gould in the 1993 film Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Recently, he reprised his role as Martin Ward in Bon Cop Bad Cop 2.
Marc Beaudet (Quebec)
Marc Beaudet is amongst the pioneers of Quebec's digital industry. Marc is the president of Turbulent managing a team of 65 passionate professionals specialized in web technology and content development for the gaming, education and television industries. Turbulent has produced the Star Citizen website that has been inducted twice into the Guinness Book of World Records, holding the title for the largest amount raised for a crowdfunded project with $150 million.
Monique Savoie (Quebec)
In 1996, Monique Savoie founded the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), a non-profit organization internationally recognized for its active and leading role in the development of immersive technologies and augmented reality and the creative use of high-speed networks. With its triple mission as an artists', research and digital arts training centre, the SAT was created to support a new generation of creators/researchers in the digital era. This outstanding, internationally reputed arts and technology organization now has over 10,000 members and hosts, produces or co-produces approximately 240 events per year. Monique also chairs the SAT, acts as artistic director and develops this organization where anything is possible, connecting the artistic, scientific and technological sectors and helping to position Montreal as a key digital culture hub in the world.
Alanis Obomsawin, O.C., G.O.Q., C.A.L.Q. (Quebec)
Alanis Obomsawin, a member of the Abenaki Nation, is one of Canada's most distinguished filmmakers. For over four decades, she has directed documentaries at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) that chronicle the lives and concerns of First Nations people and explore issues of importance to all.
Ms. Obomsawin has directed almost 50 films with the NFB, including such landmark works as Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance (1993), documenting the 1990 Mohawk uprising in Kanehsatake and Oka, and winner of 18 international awards. Her latest film, the 2016 documentary We Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice, about a court challenge by the Assembly of First Nations and Child & Family Caring Society of Canada that argued that welfare services provided to First Nations children on reserves and in Yukon were underfunded, had its world premiere in the Masters program at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Ms. Obomsawin has received numerous awards for film and social activism. In November 2016, she received the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association, given to artists whose work has enriched the understanding and appreciation of film in Canada. Earlier in the year, she was honoured with two of Quebec's highest distinctions when she was named a Grande Officière of the Ordre national du Québec and awarded the Prix Albert-Tessier, for lifetime achievements in cinema. In 2015, was named a Companion of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec. She is currently in production on the upcoming NFB documentary Norway House (2017).
Éric Larocque (New Brunswick)
Éric Larocque has been active in matters that involve Acadia and its community for most of his life. Currently, he is director general of the National Organization Committee for the IXe Jeux de la Francophonie 2021 that will be held in New Brunswick in 2021. Before this role, he was director general of the Congrès mondial acadien de 2019, a participant in the Jeux de la Francophonie and a three-time participant in the Sommet de la Francophonie. Eric has also received the Prix Philippe-Rossillon, a prize awarded by the Conseil international de la langue française to a young person who is devoted to the Francophone cause.
Mr./Mrs
Title
Address
Address
Address
Dear Mr./Mrs:
I am writing to congratulate you on being named as a member of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors and to thank you for accepting to be the Chairperson of this Advisory Committee. I am also writing to initiate the process that will culminate with the Advisory Committee providing me with recommendations of qualified candidates for appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors for the positions of Chair, President/Chief Executive Officer, and part-time Directors.
Your term is for a period of six months with the possibility of extension, effective June 20, 2017. This should allow sufficient time for the completion of selection processes for the positions of Chair, President/Chief Executive Officer, and part-time Directors to fill three current vacancies and to create a roster of qualified candidates for future vacancies.
As you know, the Government of Canada has adopted a more rigorous approach to naming Governor in Council (GIC) appointees. This approach supports an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process which will result in the recommendation of high-quality candidates while also achieving gender parity, ensuring that Indigenous Canadians and minority groups are properly represented in positions of leadership and supporting our commitment to official languages. Our Government also committed to reviewing the process by which members are appointed to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors to ensure merit-based and independent appointments.
The Advisory Committee is composed of eight additional members and its expectations are outlined in the Terms of Reference for the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors.
The Committee will be guided by published, merit-based criteria in order to identify Canadians who would make a significant contribution to the work of the Board of Directors of CBC/Radio-Canada. The assessment criteria will be published on the Governor in Council website in the near future. During the selection process, the Committee will be supported by a Secretariat within the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Furthermore, it is desirable that the board reflect the current transformation of CBC/Radio Canada as it becomes more local, more digital and more ambitious in its Canadian programming, while remaining true to its mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain. More specifically, it is desirable that the Board of Directors include individuals who:
- contribute to the development of a shared national consciousness and identity;
- reflect the regional and cultural diversity of Canada, including Indigenous communities;
- understand the need to offer local, national and international information and analysis from a Canadian point of view;
- have contributed to the development of Canadian talent and culture;
- understand the impact of the digital shift on broadcasting and on Canadians' consumption of news and entertainment content;
- see the opportunity for Canada's public broadcaster to use multiple platforms to connect Canadians to the best of Canadian content; and
- understand the crucial role the CBC/Radio-Canada plays in promoting the vitality of official-languages minority communities across Canada.
In making your selection, I would ask that you consider the desire for GIC appointments to achieve gender parity, ensure that Indigenous Canadians and minority groups are properly represented, and support our commitment to official languages. Following each selection process for Chair, President/Chief Executive Officer, and part-time Directors, I ask that the Advisory Committee submit to me, for my consideration a list of three or more names of qualified candidates for each vacant position along with additional names of qualified candidates to create a roster from which to draw to fill future vacancies and end of terms. In compiling this list, I also ask that you observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in your consideration of all candidates.
Within three months of submitting the names of qualified candidates to me, and following each subsequent appointment process, the Advisory Committee will be required to provide me with a report, in both official languages, that contains information on the process, including on the execution of the terms of reference and statistics relating to the applications received. In addition, the report may provide recommendations for improvements to the process. This report will be made public.
As you will appreciate, this process is sensitive and I expect that all information received in relation to candidates and any discussions and proceedings undertaken by the Advisory Committee will be kept strictly confidential during the process and after the Committee has concluded its work.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your commitment to this important task and for agreeing to be part of the Independent Advisory Committee for Appointments to the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors. I look forward to receiving your recommendation at the conclusion of your deliberations.
Please accept my best wishes.
Sincerely,
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P.
SOURCE Canadian Heritage
(media only), please contact: Pierre-Olivier Herbert, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, 819-997-7788; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]
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