ETS to be suspended effective April 1, 2008

It is with regret that we announce that the Exhibit Transportation Services (ETS) will be discontinued effective April 1, 2008, due to operational requirements.  The announcement is being made now to give the museum community and private sector fine arts transporters time to adjust to this new situation.

In 2005, an internal audit of the Canadian Conservation Institute’s financial and procurement management led to the conclusion that an employer/employee relationship existed with the drivers/fine art handlers, and that we could no longer hire them on contract. Over the past year, we analyzed several options, including hiring drivers/fine art handlers as Government of Canada employees. Unfortunately, this option is not feasible because public service employment practices are inherently different from those of the private trucking industry.

We will do whatever we can to assist you in this transition, including developing and offering a workshop for exhibition staff on managing traveling exhibitions, including service standards.

We are extremely proud of the excellent reputation that ETS has earned over the years, and would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the commitment and professionalism of the fine art handlers/drivers and the small ETS team.

If you have any questions, or for further information, please do not hesitate to contact me or Charlie Costain, Associate Director General and Director of Conservation and Scientific Services.

Jeanne Inch
Director General & CEO