a history of curriculum services canada

First Steps
addressed the core business of the clearinghouse and included identifying learning materials and
establishing criteria for their inclusion in a catalogue, identifying from whom material should be
collected and to whom it should be distributed, and determining the scope of the first catalogue,
how to handle orders, updates, and French-language and Catholic materials.
Although a task force for communications and marketing was not officially formed at this time,
some members of the Work Group did meet with the Executive Director of the Canadian Book
Publishers Council and representatives of the publishing industry on December 13. Again, the
group heard a variety of concerns. Publishers were worried that materials for student use,
collected through the clearinghouse, might not be vetted through the Circular 14 process.
Moreover, these materials could be distributed in direct competition with materials that
publishers were producing, which would constitute unfair trade practice. And finally,
publishers were concerned about the potential for copyright infringement, particularly in
materials assembled from multiple sources.
The Work Group considered several options to address these concerns, including providing a
list of teacher needs to publishers, connecting publishers directly with the consortia, and
collecting and sharing only materials developed for teachers. The latter would prove most
effective. This led the group to consider the classifications that might best apply to catalogue
materials, e.g., "C-14", "board-developed", "teacher-developed", and "published but not on C-
14".
As the year ended, each of the three task forces presented recommendations for budget
proposals and both short- and long-term mandate/role issues. The three budget options each
included two staff members and also allotted funds for the purchase of some small capital
equipment (computers, fax, printer, etc.). The long-term mandate recommendations called for
the Work Group or its successor to assume primarily a policy function. This would include
developing policies and procedures on staffing, operations, accountability processes,
identification of curriculum and resource materials, evaluations, and pricing, as well as
approving the budget, developing agreements with other parties, and encouraging the sharing,
co-operative development, and low-cost distribution of materials.
For the short-term mandate, the Work Group combined policy and management functions.
These functions included preparing and approving budgets for two fiscal years (1993-94 and
1994-95) and a Framework for Action Plan. The plan included many recommendations, notably
that agencies or individuals submitting materials should bear responsibility for copyright
compliance. It was also suggested that the catalogue should contain sections for Transition
Years, the Common Curriculum, and various grade groupings (K-3, 4-6, etc.); that a disclaimer
should be added regarding the “quality and pertinence” of materials listed; and that a feedback
mechanism be developed to gauge the usefulness of materials.
Another recommendation contained points related to staffing: to develop criteria for an
application, to advertise, and to interview for a co-ordinator (probably seconded) and support
staff. These positions should initially be for a specified period of time. With this in mind, work
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