Resource Library
CCVO & Sector Partner Feedback to Government on the Federal Accountability Act (FAA)
In May 2006, CCVO, along with 14 other Canadian voluntary sector organizations, commented on and endorsed an Imagine Canada submission about the proposed Federal Accountability Act. Imagine Canada presented the submission to a Parliamentary Committee and responded to questions for over half an hour. The Committee’s questions focused on the procurement of federal government contracts and why it is important to the sector, and issues of personal liability for directors.
The submission included the following recommendations:
Grants and Contributions:
Re-calibrate the negative impact on the community nonprofit sector of the ‘web of rules’ embedded in federal Grants and Contributions practices and re-focus on outcomes that are consistent with the sector’s mandate to its donors, volunteers, and the communities that depend on them.
Procurement:
Enshrine ‘fairness, openness and transparency’ in the Act but recognize that the consolidation of government purchasing power is inconsistent with the fairness principle to be enshrined in the Act insofar as it results in contracting practices that greatly favour large enterprises over small and medium enterprises and organizations.
Sector Infrastructure:
Identify complementary measures - such as an endowed fund to supplement current grants and contributions and contract funding, or a dedicated Parliamentary Committee – to address the broader policy objective of investing in a strong community nonprofit sector in Canada through longer-term and more stable funding models to improve sector infrastructure and organizational capacity.
Government Accountability Framework for the Sector:
Adopt a Government Accountability Framework for the Community Nonprofit Sector by updating the Government’s commitment to the Accord Between the Government of Canada and the Voluntary Sector and the Code of Good Practice on Policy Dialogue and, in particular, the Code of Good Practice on Funding.
