Experts urge government to hurry up with 2017 plans
It’s not clear what Ottawa thinks sesquicentennial will look like
OTTAWA – Two years ago, when the Institute of Public Administration of Canada organized a conference of 300 people and 27 notable speakers to talk about how to mark and plan for the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, the group’s recommendations included a simple command: “Start now.”
“Our 150th anniversary excites Canadians. People want to talk about the country and its future, but there isn’t time to waste. Organizers spent a decade preparing for the Centennial. The time to get started is now,” their report said. That was 2010. As of December 2012, it isn’t yet clear what the federal government thinks the sesquicentennial will look like. And many provinces haven’t started their own planning for 2017, with some indicating they’re waiting on federal funding announcements and others saying it’s too early.
Parks Canada and the Royal Canadian Mint said there were currently no specific plans afoot. Canadian Heritage said it was “currently in the planning stages” to mark Canada 150 and details “will be announced in the months ahead,” according to Jessica Fletcher, a spokeswoman for Heritage Minister James Moore.
But experts and those planning local or provincial Canada 150 commemorations suggest if the federal government is serious about marking the sesquicentennial, it needs to show its hand now. The Commons heritage committee made a similar recommendation in September, telling the federal government it should inform Canadians as soon as possible what it has in mind for 2017, to help with planning.
“To a lot of people it seems as though 2017 is practically a half-century away still, but in planning terms, we’re probably behind the ball on where we should be,” said Peter MacLeod with Toronto-based consulting group MASS LBP, which helped organize the 2010 conference in Ottawa.
Planning for the centennial in 1967 started in 1963 with the creation of the independent Centennial Commission, but citizens, organizations and the government were actively talking about the 100th anniversary of Confederation as early as 1957 in the Canadian Centenary Council.
Vancouver Olympic organizers spent six years and spent $40 million planning the torch run that brought the Olympic flame to hundreds of communities across the country, said Andrea Shaw, the former vice-president of sponsorship and marketing for the Vancouver Olympics.
A huge part of the planning is about deciding on the budget, experts agree, adding governments of all levels should be ready to budget big on 150 projects after previous celebrations cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars.
When Canada celebrated 125 years, the federal government allocated $50 million, or $73.9 million in 2012 dollars, for the anniversary. By way of comparison, two years ago, the federal commitments to the Vancouver Olympics totalled $1.25 billion, which, with inflation, is about $1.31 billion in 2012 figures.
In 1967, the government created a separate agency to come up with ways to spend the $100 million (about $744 million in 2012 dollars) the federal government budgeted for the celebrations, with one-quarter of the allotment funding grants to groups and organizations. They came in under budget, with total spending at $85.6 million, or $561 million in 2012 dollars.
But in 1967, the country was flush with money. Now, the federal government doesn’t expect to balance the budget until 2017, according to Department of Finance figures.
That might make it difficult to underwrite a large bash.
Shaw said the budget is based on the scope of the celebrations. The bigger organizers want to go, the more money needs to be pumped into planning and execution.
“If they want to tap into the pride of Canadians and really garner that sort of enthusiasm (in 2017) … you’ve got to do it right and you’ve got to have the budget behind it.”
And a clear vision is essential to make it easier for corporate Canada to help fund events around the country, she said.
But landing sponsorship for a national anniversary could still be a tough sell, said Andrew Graham, a former federal deputy minister who teaches public sector finances at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
“I still have a problem getting my head around the core of 150,” Graham said.
“I’m not opposed to it, but in terms of getting people really excited, there would be greater resistance on a part of the private sector as opposed to (sponsoring) a sporting event.”
So far, the government has spent more than $60 million on initiatives linked to the 2017 anniversary depending on how you define it — including $28 million marking the war of 1812 bicentennial and the $7.5 million spent to hand out 60,000 medals commemorating Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee. These are part of the “Road to 2017,” Canadian Heritage spokesman Pierre Manoni said in an email.
“Timing is an issue and the government should show its hand soon.” Andrew Graham, former federal deputy minister
More directly, the government is spending $35 million to rebrand the Canadian Museum of Civilization into the Canadian Museum of History, he added.
This year is not the only one that has seen the federal government invest in the “Road to 2017.” In 2009, the government brought together 150 early-career bureaucrats to have them discuss what policy issues they would face in 2017. The cost for the conference was $52,887, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada said.
The federal government is the one with financial might to fund local projects, Graham said, and may decide to bypass provinces and dole out cash in the same way it did with stimulus spending on infrastructure. Graham said the federal government will have to set that funding budget while also deciding what the centrepiece event of the 150th year will be.
“Timing is an issue and the government should show its hand soon or it’s going to come to the party late,” Graham said. “If you’re going to do it, you better do it. These things don’t happen overnight.” Where are provinces in their planning? ❚ A spokeswoman for Manitoba’s culture department said the province is currently thinking about helping communities through existing grant programs and will apply for federal programs whenever they are announced. ❚ In Ontario, ideas for commemorating the sesquicentennial are “currently under consideration,” a spokeswoman for the tourism and culture ministry said, but couldn’t provide any specifics because it was “too early” in the process. ❚ Nova Scotia’s archivists are going through its museum collections to see what historical documents can be used to tell the story of Canada and the province’s role in shaping a nation.
But planning is well underway for 2017 in that province, specifically for the 100th anniversary of the Halifax explosion. ❚ Prince Edward Island is the most advanced in planning for the sesquicentennial because for the province, marking Canada at 150 begins in 2014. That year will mark the 150th anniversary of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, the meeting that set the foundation for the British North America Act in 1867.
Planning is almost finalized for the celebration that will go across the province and connect with Quebec City where the Fathers of Confederation met after Charlottetown.