RISK MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

GOVERNANCE

Year in Review

ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND PROACTIVE DISCLOSURE

During 2015-2016 CBC/Radio-Canada answered all Access to Information Act (ATI) requests on time except for three. The downward trend in ATI-related complaints received by the Corporation continued during 2015-2016, with only 27 such complaints being received. This is the lowest number of complaints received by the Corporation since becoming subject to the Access to Information Act in 2007.

CBC/Radio-Canada also proactively posts records released in answer to ATI requests that are of general interest to Canadians. During 2015-2016, more than 7,500 pages of records released in answer to 59 such ATI requests were posted on the Corporation’s website.

In December 2015, CBC/Radio-Canada received an ‘A’ rating from the Information Commissioner of Canada for its 2013-2014 performance. This is the third ‘A’ the Corporation has received in a row from the Commissioner, and reflects the Corporation’s continued commitment to fulfilling its responsibilities under the Access to Information Act.

Annual public meeting

The public broadcaster's 2015 Annual Public Meeting (APM) took place at the University of Winnipeg in September 2015. This year’s theme was “Invite. Ignite. Inspire.”, and included a conversation with four young Winnipeggers who are raising the bar on engagement within their communities. This year, our approach was to support our strategy of enhancing the public broadcaster as Canada’s public space by using the strategic pillar of “Community” as the fifth platform. We offered our APM as a platform to engage with the community and make it shine across the country. Approximately 675 people participated online and in person.

Code of Conduct

CBC/Radio-Canada employees at all levels are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct and policies governing their behaviour in such areas as respect for democracy, respect for people, integrity, stewardship and excellence. Our Code of Conduct and human resources policies can be viewed on our corporate website.

Journalistic Standards and Practices

CBC/Radio-Canada has an extensive code of Journalistic Standards and Practices and editorial control mechanisms to guide employees and to ensure that our programming remains balanced and accurate, particularly in today’s social media environment. You can view CBC/Radio-Canada’s Journalistic Standards and Practices on our corporate website.

Ombudsmen

Public complaints about news and current affairs programming that are not resolved at the program level to the satisfaction of the complainants are dealt with by the Corporation’s two Ombudsmen. The Ombudsmen are completely independent of CBC/Radio-Canada programming staff and programming management, and report directly to the President and CEO and, through the President and CEO, to the Board of Directors. The role of the Ombudsmen is pivotal in strengthening the national public broadcaster’s accountability and transparency to Canadians.

Communications not directly related to our news and current affairs programming were forwarded to the programming departments concerned.

In January 2016, Guy Gendron was appointed as CBC/Radio-Canada’s French Services ombudsman, replacing Pierre Tourangeau effective March 8, 2016.

 

Compliance with THE Canadian Environmental Assessment Act

CBC/Radio-Canada uses a risk-based approach to facilitate compliance with Sections 67-69 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012. As part of the established process, a project manager must complete a checklist for all physical activities prior to the initiation of the project. The checklist details the scope and description of the project and is our formal tool to ensure the project examines any potential adverse environmental impacts, including but not limited to, asbestos, halocarbons, mould, fuel storage tanks, water or air quality, etc. The checklist also allows us to describe any appropriate action needed to minimize any effects identified.

As per the process outlined above, no project completed in the 2015-2016 fiscal year was determined to result in a significant adverse environmental effect.

It should be noted that CBC/Radio-Canada considers a physical activity as something that goes beyond normal maintenance, such as removing a wall, replacing equipment or excavating a parking lot. For the purposes of this approach, painting walls or maintaining equipment is considered maintenance work.

Director CHANGES

As noted in last year's annual report, Rob Jeffery was appointed to the Board of Directors for a five-year term on April 30, 2015. Effective
June 1, 2015, Edward W. Boyd was renewed for a second five-year term. On June 18, 2015, Norman May was appointed to the Board of Directors for a five-year term.

Pierre Gingras resigned from the Board of Directors effective October 1, 2015. On April 17, 2016, Brian Mitchell resigned from the Board of Directors following eight years of service. We thank them for their contribution to the public broadcaster.