The Committee on Canadian Issues.

• Author: Southard, Kate
• Position: GFOA COMMITTEES

The Committee on Canadian Issues (CCI) is unique among GFOA's standing committees.

It is tasked with helping GFOA meet the needs of its Canadian members, giving the U.S.-based association's staff the guidance and input needed to better serve its international members. Just as GFOA's strategic roles shift to meet the ever-changing needs of its membership, CCI's role also shifts as our Canadian members' needs evolve over time. CCI's members, however, are always guided by a shared and sustained desire for:

1. Providing Canadian context and perspective,

2. GFOA-sponsored training on Canadian-relevant issues, and

3. A unified voice to help inform Canadian fiscal policy.

The committee is made up of 12 members and one advisor. Its cochairs are Catherine Brubacher, general manager of corporate services and city treasurer, City of Brantford, Ontario; and Tanya Garost, chief financial officer, District of Lake Country, British Columbia.

Providing Canadian context and perspective

There are more similarities than differences when it comes to public finance in the United States and Canada, but it is not always obvious where things diverge. GFOA's resources are made stronger by the Canadian context and perspective provided by members of CCI. Committee members are local government employees who also participate in local and provincial membership groups. They identify the resources and best practices that are applicable on both sides of the border and provide the terminology and context needed to make these critical resources useful for Canadian finance officers. With the committee's input, GFOA is growing to serve and support Canadian public finance professionals--either directly, as GFOA members, or indirectly, through their association with one of our partner associations--with a more inclusive and broadly applicable library of materials.

The committee is exploring new avenues for strengthening GFOA's impact in Canadian public finance. CCI is considering new, Canadian-specific best practices, and is seeking out opportunities for joint research projects between GFOA and Canada-based peer organizations.

The Canadian public finance officers who make up the committee also want to identify new networking opportunities that GFOA can facilitate among its Canadian members and their U.S.-based counterparts. We may be separated by miles/kilometres, but our goals are held in common: things like building resilient and thriving communities, striving for transparency...