1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

In its capacity as a manager of public funds, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (“the Conseil”) is not only accountable to artists and arts organizations but also to the general public. 

In this perspective, the Conseil wishes to establish a policy that defines how it processes and disseminates information concerning the organization. Moreover, the Conseil wishes to benefit from the confidence of artists and arts organizations and the public through the communication of information on its activities that the type of operations it carries out warrants.

The Conseil is thus seeking, in the elaboration and implementation of this policy governing the dissemination of information (“the policy”), to strike a balance between its determination to achieve openness and its obligation to protect the interests of artists and arts organizations, while complying with legislation, contractual commitments, and the rights of third parties.

The Conseil adheres to certain principles to achieve such balance, which determines the terms of its policy. Specifically, it endeavours to:

• foster the realization of its mission in accordance with the Act respecting the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (the “Act respecting the Conseil”) and act in the best interests of its clienteles;
• comply with the legislation to which it is subject;
• comply with its contractual commitments to maintain confidentiality;
• respond to requests for access to documents that concern it in accordance with the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information (“access legislation”);
• openly disseminate information on any question of public interest that concerns the Conseil.

This policy stipulates the Conseil’s obligations and habitual practices in respect of the dissemination of information, the forms of dissemination and the process of controlling the information to be disseminated in order to create a framework suited to the dissemination of information.

2. SCOPE OF THE POLICY

This policy applies to the Conseil’s employees and directors and is intended to serve as a guide to the disclosure of information. It covers the entire range of information disseminated by the Conseil by whatever means among the media, clienteles and the public.

3. OBLIGATIONS AND HABITUAL PRACTICES OF THE CONSEIL CONCERNING THE CONTENTS OF THE INFORMATION DISSEMINATED

3.1 Legal obligations of the Conseil in respect of the dissemination of information 

The Conseil is required to disseminate information in order to comply with legislation to which it is subject, especially the Act respecting the Conseil, the Public Administration Act, and access legislation.


3.1.1 Act respecting the Conseil

The Act respecting the Conseil stipulates that the Conseil is required to submit each year to the Minister of Culture and Communications an annual report on its activities during the year and its financial statements and that the Minister must table these documents in the National Assembly. The Conseil is bound by its accountability obligations to disseminate information each year.


3.1.2 Public Administration Act

The Public Administration Act, to which the Conseil has been subject since April 1, 2003, obliges the Conseil to adopt a declaration of services to the public, a strategic plan and an annual management report. The Conseil disseminates these documents in conjunction with its accountability obligation.


3.1.3 Access legislation

Access legislation allows any individual to gain access to documents held by a public agency under Québec jurisdiction in the exercise of the individual’s principal and ancillary functions. Exceptions and restrictions apply to the disclosure of certain types of information. The Conseil is a government agency and is required to respond to requests for access from the media and the public within the deadlines stipulated in access legislation. The Conseil adheres to the principles of access to information and understands the importance of such access from an overall perspective of transparency in the public administration.


3.2 Habitual practices governing the dissemination of information

The Conseil disseminates information whenever it is required to do so. Upon request and subject to the following provisions concerning the means of and processes pertaining to the dissemination of information, the Conseil disseminates all of the information it possesses except for documents containing confidential information. The following types of information are deemed to be confidential under this policy:

(i) information the dissemination of which may or must, as the case may be, be denied in accordance with access legislation, i.e.:

• any information whose dissemination would reveal a transaction or a proposed transaction respecting goods or services when such dissemination would undermine the Conseil’s economic interests;
• any industrial, financial, commercial, scientific or technical information provided by a third party and usually handled confidentially by the third party and whose dissemination has not been authorized by the third party;
• any industrial, financial, commercial, scientific or technical information supplied by a third party whose dissemination risks harming the third party’s competitiveness and has not been authorized by the third party;
• reports on the deliberations of a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Conseil until the expiry of a waiting period of 15 years from the date of the reports;
• personal information on an individual, i.e. any information concerning a natural person that makes it possible to identify the person.

(ii) information that the Conseil has undertaken in respect of a third party to keep confidential.

4. MEANS AND PROCESSES CONCERNING DISSEMINATION

The Conseil regularly disseminates, in writing or otherwise, on its own initiative or upon request, information concerning the Conseil by means of press releases that it issues or press conferences that it organizes and when it responds to the requests for information submitted to it. Some of this information is available on the Conseil’s Website.


4.1 Press releases

The Conseil disseminates information through press releases when it wishes to publicize key aspects of its activities.

The Conseil strives to disseminate information quickly and accurately when it issues press releases.


4.2 Press conferences

The Conseil disseminates information when it holds a press conference, mainly to make announcements or to comment on events or issues.


4.3 Official positions

To ensure that all of the information transmitted to the media is always accurate and that the appropriate background information is provided to avoid misinterpretation, all questions, requests from the media and drafts of press releases must be submitted to the Direction des relations publiques, which is responsible for coordinating and managing the Conseil’s press relations overall. The public relations branch analyses the questions and requests submitted to it. It responds verbally to the questions or requests or, if need be, drafts an official written response. Once the response has been drafted in light of information provided by the branch concerned, it is sent to the branch for its opinion and then submitted to the President and CEO for approval. The same is true of the contents of press releases or press conferences.


4.4 Spokespersons

The President and CEO is the official representative of the Conseil and acts as its spokesperson in respect of the government, other agencies and governments, and the public. In his absence or in the event he is unable to act, the Vice-President of the Conseil acts as the organization’s official spokesperson. Employees designated by the Direction des relations publiques may also act as spokespersons to answer questions and requests from the media. If need be and for specific reasons the President and CEO may designate a director or an employee to act as a spokesperson. Unauthorized employees or administrators are prohibited from acting as a spokesperson for the Conseil and communicating with the media.

A director other than the President and CEO who is asked to officially represent the Conseil outside the organization must first obtain the specific authorization of the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee or the President and CEO and the director may not bind otherwise in any way whatsoever the Conseil. Any similar commitment or representation must be compatible with the Conseil’s objectives, guidelines and policies.


4.5 Responses to general information requests 

The Conseil disseminates information when it responds to general information requests submitted to it by the media or the public. The information that it communicates may appear in the annual report or be available on its Website.

General information requests may be submitted to the Direction des relations publiques by

• e-mail:  info @ calq.gouv.qc.ca
• telephone: 514-864-2930;
• telephone through the toll-free number: 1-800-608-3350;
• fax: 514-864-4161;
• regular mail: Secrétaire et responsable de l’accès aux documents, 500, Place d’Armes, 15e étage, Montréal (Québec) H2Y 2W2.

To ensure that they are processed in accordance with this policy, all requests from the media and the public, except for access to information requests pursuant to access legislation, must be submitted to the Direction des relations publiques, which examines them and responds to them in accordance with this policy.


4.6 Requests for access to documents pursuant to access legislation

The Conseil disseminates information when it responds to requests for access to documents submitted to it by third parties, in accordance with access legislation. All requests for access to documents must be submitted to the Secretary of the Conseil, who is responsible for access to documents.

Such requests may be submitted to the Secretary, who is the official responsible for access to documents by

• e-mail: secretaireduconseil @ calq.gouv.qc.ca
• telephone: 514864-4346;
• telephone through the toll-free number: 1-800-608-3350;
• fax: 514-873-7885;
• regular mail: Secrétaire et responsable de l’accès aux documents, 500, Place d’Armes, 15e étage, Montréal (Québec) H2Y 2W2.

The Secretary, who is the official responsible for access to documents, examines the requests for access to documents submitted to him, and responds in accordance with this policy and provisions in access legislation. 

Any employee who receives a request for access to documents must promptly submit the request to the Secretary, who is the official responsible for access to documents. 


4.7 Documents disseminated on the Conseil’s Website

The Conseil disseminates on its Website documents of public interest, in particular:

• the Act respecting the Conseil;
• internal administration by-laws governing the Board of Directors;
• its annual report;
• its strategic plan;
• its declaration of services to the public;
• the code of ethics and professional conduct governing its directors and employees, members of juries, advisory committees and assessors, and the declaration of principle concerning compliance with rules of ethics and professional conduct governing the directors of agencies;
• its grant programs for professional artists and grants for arts organizations and its application forms for financial assistance;
• the list of grants awarded;
• certain policies that are of public interest, including, in particular, the policy on the dissemination of information, the complaints management policy, the policy governing juries, advisory committees and assessors, and the policy governing the attribution of prizes and recognition;
• certain guides, including the Peer Evaluation Information Guide, the Grant Application Presentation Guide, and the guide concerning the elaboration of a policy governing intellectual property, copyright and the payment of fees;
• its press releases;
• its public newsletters;
• other documents whose dissemination on the Website is compulsory pursuant to access legislation;
• any other document that it deems relevant.

4.8 Requests for the dissemination of documents and information reserved for internal use

The Conseil receives requests for the dissemination of information documents reserved for internal use, in particular studies, research, statistical reports, policy directions, policies, rules of conduct, study papers, documents and recommendations intended for various bodies, and so on.

Documents and information reserved for the Conseil’s internal use must not be disseminated unless authorized by the President and CEO or a decision of the Board of Directors. In case of doubt concerning a request for documents or information, an employee or director who receives such a request must submit it to the Secretary of the Conseil who, after examining the request and assessing it from the standpoint of the application of access legislation, makes a recommendation to the President and CEO. The President and CEO makes the final decision concerning the dissemination of a document or information reserved for the Conseil’s internal use. In case of doubt, the President and CEO may submit the question to the Board of Directors for a decision.

5. COMING INTO FORCE

This Policy Governing the Dissemination of Information will come into force upon its adoption by the Board of Directors. The same is true of any amendment to this policy.