C-57.02 - Act respecting the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

Updated to 20 February 2024

This document has official status.

chapter C-57.02

Act respecting the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

CHAPTER I ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION

1. A council is hereby established under the name of “Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec”.

1992, c. 66, s. 1.

2. The council is a legal person.

1992, c. 66, s. 2; 1999, c. 40, s. 79.

3. The council is a mandatary of the State.

The property of the council forms part of the domain of the State, but the performance of its obligations may be levied against its property.

The council binds only itself when it acts in its own name.

1992, c. 66, s. 3; 1999, c. 40, s. 79.

4. The head office of the council is located in the territory of Ville de Québec at the place determined by the Government. Notice of the location or of any change of location of the head office is published in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

The council may hold its meetings anywhere in Québec.

1992, c. 66, s. 4; 2000, c. 56, s. 220.

5. The council is administered by a board of directors composed of 15 members appointed by the Government, including the chair of the board and the president and chief executive officer.

Board members, other than the chair and the president and chief executive officer, are appointed after consultation with bodies that the Minister considers representative of the artistic and literary communities. The majority of the board members must come from the cultural fields in which the council is competent to act. At least three of the members must come from various regions of Québec other than the Montréal and Capitale-Nationale regions.

1992, c. 66, s. 5; 1992, c. 65, s. 43; 1994, c. 14, s. 34; 2009, c. 20, s. 1; 2022, c. 19, s. 106.

5.1. (Repealed).

2009, c. 20, s. 1; 2022, c. 19, s. 107.

5.2. The office of president and chief executive officer is a full-time position.

2009, c. 20, s. 1; 2022, c. 19, s. 108.

5.3. (Repealed).

2009, c. 20, s. 1; 2022, c. 19, s. 109.

5.4. If the president and chief executive officer is absent or unable to act, the board of directors may designate a member of the council’s personnel to exercise the functions of that position.

2009, c. 20, s. 1.

5.5. (Repealed).

2009, c. 20, s. 1; 2022, c. 19, s. 110.

6. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 6; 2009, c. 20, s. 2.

7. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 7; 2022, c. 19, s. 110.

8. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 8; 2009, c. 20, s. 3; 2022, c. 19, ss. 110 and 459; 2022, c. 19, s. 110.

9. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 9; 2009, c. 20, s. 4.

10. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 10; 2009, c. 20, s. 4.

11. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum at meetings of the board of directors.

1992, c. 66, s. 11; 2009, c. 20, s. 5.

12. (Repealed).

1992, c. 66, s. 12; 2009, c. 20, s. 6.

13. The secretary and the other members of the personnel of the council shall be appointed in accordance with the staffing plan established by by-law of the council.

Subject to the provisions of a collective agreement, the council shall determine, by by-law, the standards and scales of remuneration, employee benefits and other conditions of employment of the members of its personnel in accordance with the conditions defined by the Government.

1992, c. 66, s. 13; 2000, c. 8, s. 114.

CHAPTER II OBJECTS AND POWERS

14. The council shall be competent to act in the fields of visual arts, arts and crafts, literature, performing arts, multidisciplinary arts, media arts and in matters of architectural research.

1992, c. 66, s. 14.

15. The object of the council is to support creation, experimentation and production in all regions of Québec and to foster the diffusion thereof in Québec and, in compliance with Québec’s policies in matters of Canadian intergovernmental affairs and international affairs, elsewhere in Canada and abroad.

A further object of the council is to support artists in the development of their crafts.

1992, c. 66, s. 15.

16. Within the scope of its plan of activities and its financial support programs, the council may provide financial support by way of grants and bursaries on the conditions it determines.

It may also, within the scope of its plan of activities, establish competitions with a view to granting awards for artistic excellence.

1992, c. 66, s. 16.

17. Every year, on the date fixed by the Minister, the council shall transmit to him a plan of its activities. In the plan, the orientations and objectives given to the council by the Minister must be taken into account.

The plan must take the form determined by the Minister and contain the information he indicates.

It is subject to approval by the Minister.

The plan shall be accompanied with the council’s estimates in respect of its activities for the two fiscal years following the year for which the plan of activities is established.

1992, c. 66, s. 17; 2020, c. 5, s. 115.

18. Each of the council’s financial support programs must contain eligibility criteria for financial support, the scales and limits of the support and the procedure for granting it.

The scales and limits of the financial support are subject to approval by the Minister.

1992, c. 66, s. 18.

19. Only natural persons exercising alone an activity covered by a financial support program, and legal persons or groups not pursuing the making of profit for apportionment among their respective members, are eligible for financial support.

1992, c. 66, s. 19.

20. The council shall advise the Minister on any question he submits to it concerning fields or matters within its jurisdiction. Its advice may be accompanied with recommendations.

1992, c. 66, s. 20.

21. In addition to its programs, the council, with the authorization of and on the conditions determined by the Government, shall administer any financial support program entrusted to it by a department or public body.

1992, c. 66, s. 21.

22. The council may, in particular, in exercising its powers and performing its duties,

(1)  enter into an agreement, according to law, with a government other than that of Québec, a department of such a government, an international organization, or an agency of such a government or organization;

(2)  receive gifts, legacies, subsidies or other contributions, provided the conditions attached thereto are compatible with the exercise of its powers and performance of its duties;

(3)  form committees responsible for the assessment of applications for financial support that are addressed to it or candidacies in competitions that are submitted to it, and determine the operating rules of such committees;

(4)  form consultative committees with a view to facilitating the carrying out of this Act, and determine the powers, duties and operating rules of such committees.

The members of the committees formed under subparagraph 3 of the first paragraph shall come from the arts community or the letters community. They shall not be members of the board of directors or of the personnel of the council or of the public service.

The Government shall determine the remuneration of the members of committees formed under subparagraphs 3 and 4 of the first paragraph. The members are also entitled to be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, on the conditions and to the extent determined by the Government.

The committees formed under subparagraphs 3 and 4 of the first paragraph may hold their meetings at any place in Québec.

1992, c. 66, s. 22.

23. The council shall carry on its activities principally in the territory in which its head office is located.

1992, c. 66, s. 23.

24. The council may adopt by-laws to regulate its internal management.

The by-laws may, in particular, provide that absence from a number of meetings fixed therein, in the cases and circumstances determined therein, constitutes a vacancy.

1992, c. 66, s. 24.

CHAPTER III FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

25. The council may use the funds put at its disposal under this Act to make short-term investments

(1)  in securities issued or guaranteed by the government of Canada, of Québec or of another Canadian province;

(2)  in securities issued by the municipalities of Québec;

(3)  in deposits with a bank or deposit institution authorized under the Deposit Institutions and Deposit Protection Act (chapter I-13.2.2), or in certificates, notes or other short-term securities or instruments issued or guaranteed by a bank or financial institution.

1992, c. 66, s. 25; 2002, c. 45, s. 291; 2004, c. 37, s. 90; 2018, c. 23, s. 747.

26. The council shall not use sums derived from gifts, legacies, subsidies or other contributions, except those voted annually by Parliament, for purposes other than the granting of financial support or awards, but it may invest such sums in accordance with section 25.

The same applies to any sums derived from such investments.

1992, c. 66, s. 26.

27. In no case may the council, unless authorized by the Government, contract a loan that increases its total outstanding borrowings to more than the amount determined by the Government.

1992, c. 66, s. 27.

28. The Government may, on the conditions it determines, guarantee the payment in principal and interest of any loan or other obligation of the council.

The sums required for the purposes of this section are taken out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1992, c. 66, s. 28.

29. The council shall not make payments or assume obligations the cost of which exceeds, in the same fiscal year, the amounts at its disposal for the year in which such payments or obligations are made or assumed.

Nothing in this section shall prevent the council from making a commitment for a term of more than one fiscal year.

1992, c. 66, s. 29.

30. The fiscal year of the council ends on 31 March each year.

1992, c. 66, s. 30.

CHAPTER IV DOCUMENTS, ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS

31. No deed, document or writing binds the council unless it is signed by the chair of the board of directors, the president and chief executive officer of the council or a member of its personnel and, in the latter case, only to the extent determined by the by-laws of the council.

The council may, on the conditions it determines, allow a signature to be affixed by means of an automatic device to the documents it determines, or a facsimile of a signature to be engraved, lithographed or printed on such documents. However, the facsimile has the same force as the signature itself only if the document is countersigned by a person authorized by the chair of the board or the president and chief executive officer.

1992, c. 66, s. 31; 2009, c. 20, s. 7.

32. The minutes of the meetings of the board of directors, approved by it and certified true by the chair or any other person authorized to do so by the council, are authentic. The same applies to documents or copies of documents emanating from the council and forming part of its records, provided they are signed or certified true by such a person.

1992, c. 66, s. 32; 2009, c. 20, s. 8.

33. Not later than 30 June each year, the council shall submit its financial statements and an annual management report for the preceding fiscal year to the Minister.

The financial statements must contain separate entries of the council’s income and expenditure related to financial support and the granting of awards and that related to the exercise of its other powers and its administration. The report must contain the names of the beneficiaries of financial support, together with the amounts granted to each. The financial statements and the report must also contain all the information the Minister may prescribe.

1992, c. 66, s. 33; 2022, c. 19, s. 431.

34. The Minister shall table the report and statements before the National Assembly within 30 days of receiving them if the Assembly is in session or, if it is not sitting, within 30 days of resumption.

1992, c. 66, s. 34.

35. The books and accounts of the council shall be audited every year by the Auditor General and whenever the Government so orders.

The annual management report and the financial statements of the council must be accompanied with the auditor’s report.

1992, c. 66, s. 35; 2022, c. 19, s. 431.

35.1. The council must also provide the Minister with any information the Minister may require concerning the council.

2009, c. 20, s. 9.

CHAPTER V TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

36. The financial assistance programs of the Ministère de la Culture and the related budgets, identified by the Government in a transfer plan, shall, with the necessary adaptations, be managed by the council for the fiscal year 1993-94 from the date or dates fixed in the transfer plan. The transfer plan shall stand in lieu of the council’s plan of activities for that fiscal year.

The management of the programs referred to in the first paragraph, together with any records or documents of the department related thereto, shall be transferred in accordance with the procedures established by the Minister in cooperation with the council.

1992, c. 66, s. 36; 1992, c. 65, s. 43.

37. For the purposes of section 36, in any order, contract or other document, any reference to the Minister or the Deputy Minister of Culture or the Ministère de la Culture is a reference to the council where it pertains to a program the management of which is transferred to the council.

1992, c. 66, s. 37; 1992, c. 65, s. 43.

38. The employees, including the managerial personnel, of the Ministère de la Culture whose principal or secondary tasks are likely to come under the responsibility of the council become the employees of the council, subject to the provisions of any collective agreement applicable to them, and to the extent that an order for their transfer is made before 7 July 1994.

Such employees shall occupy the positions and perform the duties assigned to them by the council, subject to the provisions of any collective agreement applicable to them.

1992, c. 66, s. 38; 1992, c. 65, s. 43.

39. Every employee transferred to the council under section 38 may apply for a transfer to a position in the public service or enter a promotion selection process for such a position in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1) if, on the date on which he was transferred to the council, he was a public servant with permanent tenure in the department.

1992, c. 66, s. 39; 2013, c. 25, s. 34; 2021, c. 11, ss. 33 and 49.

40. When an employee to whom section 39 applies wishes to obtain a transfer or enters a promotion selection process, he may require the chair of the Conseil du trésor to give him an assessment of the classification that would be assigned to him in the public service. The assessment must take account of the classification of the employee in the public service on the date of his transfer, and the experience and formal training acquired in the course of his employment with the council.

When an employee is transferred pursuant to section 39, the Deputy Minister or chief executive officer shall assign to him a classification compatible with the assessment provided for in the first paragraph.

When an employee is promoted pursuant to section 39, his new classification must take account of the criteria set out in the first paragraph.

1992, c. 66, s. 40; 1996, c. 35, s. 19; 2009, c. 20, s. 8; 2013, c. 25, s. 34; 2021, c. 11, s. 49.

41. If all or some of the activities of the council are discontinued or if there is a shortage of work, any employee to whom section 39 applies is entitled to be placed on reserve in the public service with the classification he had before the date of his transfer.

The chair of the Conseil du trésor shall, where applicable, establish his classification taking into account the criteria set out in the first paragraph of section 40.

1992, c. 66, s. 41; 1996, c. 35, s. 19; 2009, c. 20, s. 8.

42. An employee placed on reserve pursuant to section 41 remains with the council until the chair of the Conseil du trésor is able to assign him to a position.

1992, c. 66, s. 42; 1996, c. 35, s. 19; 2009, c. 20, s. 8.

43. Subject to any remedy available under a collective agreement, any employee to whom section 39 applies who is dismissed may bring an appeal under section 33 of the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1).

1992, c. 66, s. 43.

44. The associations of employees certified in accordance with Chapter IV of the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1) representing groups of employees of the Ministère de la Culture on the date on which the employees are transferred in accordance with section 38 continue to represent those employees within the council until the date on which the collective agreements in force at the time of the transfer expire.

The associations of employees also represent future employees of the council, according to the groups to which they belong, until the date on which the collective agreements referred to in the first paragraph expire.

The provisions of such collective agreements continue to apply to the employees of the council, to the extent that they are applicable to them, until the date on which they expire.

However, the provisions of such collective agreements concerning job security do not apply to the employees referred to in the second paragraph.

1992, c. 66, s. 44; 1992, c. 65, s. 43.

45. (Amendment integrated into c. R-10, Schedule III).

1992, c. 66, s. 45.

46. (Amendment integrated into c. R-12, Schedule II).

1992, c. 66, s. 46.

47. (Amendment integrated into c. R-12, Schedule IV).

1992, c. 66, s. 47.

48. The appropriations granted for the fiscal year 1993-94 to the Ministère de la Culture shall, to the extent and according to the procedures determined by the Government, be transferred to the council.

The other sums required for the purposes of this Act are, for the same fiscal year, taken out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to the extent determined by the Government.

1992, c. 66, s. 48; 1992, c. 65, s. 43.

49. The Minister of Culture and Communications is responsible for the administration of this Act.

1992, c. 66, s. 49; 1992, c. 65, s. 43; 1994, c. 14, s. 34.

50. (Omitted).

1992, c. 66, s. 50.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 9 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes and regulations (chapter R-3), chapter 66 of the statutes of 1992, in force on 1 September 1993, is repealed, except section 50, effective from the coming into force of chapter C-57.02 of the Revised Statutes.