The fate of the NCC

There are some good reasons to move responsibility for Canada Day and Winterlude away from the National Capital Commission and into the hands of the Department of Canadian Heritage, especially with the country’s 150th birthday approaching in 2017. But the reasons outlined in the federal budget are not among them.

The 400-plus page budget devotes all of one paragraph to what amount to dramatic changes to the NCC and, potentially, to Ottawa. Some have called it the “beginning of the end” for the NCC.

The budget explains the decision to move Canada Day and Winterlude celebrations to Heritage Canada was necessary because the federal government wants “to ensure a broad, national perspective is brought to these celebrations. Currently, the locally based National Capital Commission is responsible for promoting the National Capital Region.” In order to to ensure that such celebrations “draw on the cultural and social fabric of the whole of Canada” the budget says, the government will move responsibility for such festivities to Heritage Canada.

Which is not a bad decision. It makes sense that the federal government wants a direct hand in the planning of Canada celebrations, especially leading up to the country’s 150th birthday, and dealing with them through an arms-length agency adds complication.

That might be a reason for the change, but to add more Can-Con? Have government officials ever watched a Canada Day concert on the Hill? They tend to be so geographically correct — with every region of the country represented, from throat singers on — that some have rightly complained they are more about clicking off geographic boxes than entertaining. The NCC as well is made up of a board from across the country and it consults across the country. And, generally, Canada Day on the Hill is a highlight in Ottawa. There is no reason it can’t be as good or better under Heritage Canada but the end product is hardly a problem that needed fixing.

It does make sense, however, that the government wants to use the celebrations held in the capital, especially the country’s 150th, to promote its vision. That is what governments do.

But that leaves a problem. Area minister John Baird says the NCC will still exist but with responsibility for land-use planning, which he hopes will improve. Will this shakeup be a chance for the bloated, often criticized NCC to become more agile and function better? More answers will be anxiously awaited in Ottawa.