A Primer on Advocacy & Communications, in this section:

Advocacy:

The Pieces: Mission and Vision, Resolutions, Multi-year Strategies, Emerging Issues

How It All Fits Together

Staff Allocation

The MCC Policy Committee

Communications:

The Manitoba Focus Magazine

MCC Website

E-Info Omnibus

Submissions

Op-Eds

Membership Directory

 

Advocacy Primer

Not only is the MCC the largest business association in Manitoba, it is also the most diverse. In addition, it is a grassroots organization – absolutely committed to serving the needs of its members.

Add it all up and it means the MCC is involved an amazing array of issues affecting the health of your business, community and province.

This section gives you a quick primer on those efforts and features:

The Pieces: Mission and Vision, Resolutions, Multi-year Strategies, Emerging Issues

How It All Fits Together

Staff Allocation

The MCC Policy Committee

The Pieces:

Mission and Vision:

These set out the cores values of the MCC.

The Mission of the MCC is similar to that of many organizations in Manitoba, namely,

To foster a dynamic economy and vibrant communities, making Manitoba the best place in which to live, work, invest and raise a family.

What sets us apart is our Vision, which describes the Manitoba we are working to achieve. Click here to access our Vision.

Resolutions:

Resolutions are primarily submitted by local chambers, but may also be proposed by the MCC Board the MCC Policy Committee. The submitted Resolutions are then discussed, possibly amended and then rejected or approved by local chambers during the MCC AGM.

Each Resolution has an effective lifespan of one calendar year.

Resolutions largely set the MCC’s advocacy mandate for any given year. All Resolutions are brought to the attention of appropriate government officials and other bodies to which the various recommendations are directed.  The method of presentation may vary by Resolution due to a number of factors, including timing; subsequent events and legislation which may affect the subject matter; or additional information that may become available.

Throughout the year, members are kept informed of the action taken on each of these positions by way of summaries and reports in the Chambers’ publications.

To access:

• Current Resolutions and our Resolutiuon Archive (both inlcudeScorecards and Reports)click here,

• What is involved in sumbitting a Resolution, click here

Multi-year Strategies:

Because Resolutions have a one year lifespan they tend to be very specific. As well, we know they are certain key issues that our members want us to be engaged in whether they are covered by a Resolution or not. For these reasons the MCC has developed multi-year strategies to address the key long-term, big picture issues facing our province.

Currently, the key multi-year strategy relates to the MCC’s ‘Have’ Province Initiative.

Emerging Issues:

Emerging issues arise during the year, often ‘out of the blue’. They have medium to long-term affects and relate in some way to the core values, Resolutions or multi-strategies.

These issues can run the gamut from government initiatives to emergencies and opportunities facing the province. The MCC’s efforts in this regard are usually covered in its communications. See the “MCC News” portion of this website for a sample.

How It All Fits Together:

Resolutions play a key role in giving the MCC its grassroots nature as they depend upon the will of the local chambers. True to its commitment to those grassroots, Resolutions are not limited by the MCC’s core values, multiyear strategies or the positions taken by the MCC on emerging issues.

Interestingly, for all the diversity of our membership, the chamber movement has demonstrated an amazing consistency between the elements of its policy structure – in fact, the core values, multiyear strategies and the MCC’s positions on emerging issues often lead to ideas for new Resolutions.

Not only does the MCC’s policy structure display a consistent and compelling system of values, by addressing members’ immediate needs through emerging issues, short-term needs through Resolutions, and long-term challenges through multi-year strategies, it is able to simultaneously be responsive and proactive – to see the forest as well as the trees.

Staff Allocation:

To handle the incredible volume of issues the MCC must grapple with, the Policy Department has been broken down into two sections:

The MCC President primarily deals with emerging issues. These are the ‘out of the blue’ issues that arise outside of the more formal, longer term aspects of the Policy Framework. This area attempts to satisfy the diverse membership of the MCC which expects the MCC to be responsive to their individual needs as they arise throughout the year. To cite but a few examples, this can include emergencies, public consultations or the sudden announcement of pending legislation. The goal (requirement of members) is to be ‘credible, use few resources so as to cover as many (of the required) issues as humanly possible. By its very nature this area is reactive.

The MCC Director of Policy and Communications deals with the more formal, longer term aspects of the Policy Framework – primarily Resolutions and Multi-Year Strategies. These are the issues that are so important to a wide swath of our membership that there is an expectation that the MCC be extensively involved. In fact, part of the MCC brand is to distinguish itself by the quality of its work on these issues. Here the MCC is ‘a mile deep with a narrow focus’. Given the limited number and the labour intensive nature of each of these issues, they must be chosen carefully. By its very nature this area is proactive.

The MCC Policy Committee:

The Policy Development Committee is appointed annually by the MCC Board and consists of the President, three or more Directors of the MCC and two additional persons as the Board may determine.

The MCC Policy Committee has three roles:

• Review draft Resolutions prior to the MCC AGM to ensure each Resolution meets three criteria and to otherwise assist local chambers to present sound Resolutions. The timing and nature of this role is mandated by the MCC’s Bylaws. The three criteria the Committee has to consider are: is the Resolution provincial or national in character, timely in importance and general in application to both economic and public wellbeing.
• Advise MCC Policy Department Staff (President and Director of Policy) on improving the policy advocacy process and advise on specific issues.
• Deal with policy related issues as directed by the Board from time to time and report to the Board. E.g. the mandate provided under the 2005 Strategic Plan