a history of curriculum services canada

III. 1994
The Work Group lost no time in moving ahead. The new year brought with it a preliminary
decision to contract with ONTERIS for data entry and an exportable Dbase file.
Staffing was the group’s next initiative. Job descriptions for a "Clearinghouse Co-ordinator"
and an "administrative assistant" were finalized and advertising options discussed. A selection
team was appointed and application forms, advertising copy, advertising venues, and guidelines
for recruiting, interviewing and selecting candidates were proposed.
With a Co-ordinator soon to be hired, the Work Group determined that the time was right to
shift its primary focus to policy making. Its first directives, issued in a February 1 policy
statement, were that “only the best material” should be included in the catalogue and that the
needs of all the stakeholders should be addressed.
Meanwhile, OPSBA was chosen as the not-for-profit project "banker" to receive transfer
payments from the Ministry and to administer the project's funds under the direction of the
Work Group. Peter Brown, of Corporate Services and Accounts, was invited to address the
Work Group on the Ministry’s position. He advised that MET would try to keep the project in a
positive cash flow position, that accountability mechanisms were key, and that the project
should request its funds in phases, as needed. If they believed their work should extend into the
future, a business plan would be required before current funding ran out. It should include
potential cost savings to boards and strategies to address long-term costs. He also stressed the
need to keep the Ministry fully informed about the progress of the project at all times.
With February came good news. The Toronto Board of Education was interested in listing its
materials in the catalogue. The clearinghouse had its first indication of potential buy-in! The
Work Group now began in earnest to address the logistics of soliciting, receiving, and
processing materials.
Further consideration was given to how publishers might become involved with the
clearinghouse. However, in March 1994, the Canadian Book Publishers' Council - School
Group formalized its opposition to the project. While the Council supported sharing "best
practice" teaching strategies among boards, it felt that the clearinghouse was redundant.
ONTERIS already had a database of materials, some of which were published, together with the
C-14 list, on OTF's Electronic Village, which served the entire province. In addition, the
Council reiterated its concern about the circumvention of the C-14 process and the potential for
copyright infringement.
On March 24, while this situation was developing, the selection/interview team recommended to
the newly dubbed "Ontario Curriculum Clearinghouse" (OCC) Work Group that Susan Langley
be appointed as Co-ordinator (seconded from the Peel Board), effective 15 April 1994 to 30
June 1995. A press release would announce her acceptance. At the same meeting, the Policies
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