Madam Chair, on behalf of the artist members of our association, I thank you most sincerely for the opportunity to testify before you today.
My name is Alexandre Alonso and I am the executive director of SPACQ, the Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec.
SPACQ is a professional association of artists that was born 40 years ago. In 1992, SPACQ was officially recognized under the Quebec status of the artist act. In 1996, SPACQ was accredited under the Canadian Status of the Artist Act. Today, SPACQ represents over 600 members.
We ensure minimum working conditions for artists with an annual business volume of over $1 million, of which approximately 15% comes from our framework agreements with producers covered by the Canadian Status of the Artist Act.
Since its enactment, the Status of the Artist Act has not been substantially revised. Today, several important legislative revisions are needed to ensure the sustainability of our culture. The Broadcasting Act, the Copyright Act and the Official Languages Act must be revised.
We view these laws as a coherent body of legislation in the service of culture, the backbone of which must be the Status of the Artist Act. In this respect, we recommend a new Status of the Artist Act, one that imposes technological neutrality, i.e., that obliges producers to negotiate minimum working conditions for any new broadcasting channel or any new means of production within a reasonable period of time after their first use. For example, do you think it is fair that when a producer develops new podcasts for a mobile application, they are not obliged, within a reasonable period of time, to negotiate framework agreements for these new means of production or new channels of distribution?
We recommend legislation that mandates the services of our artists, that is, legislation that mandates maximum use of Canadian resources by producers by retaining the services of our artists first and foremost. For example, do you think it is fair that a producer can use royalty-free music libraries from foreign services rather than using original compositions by our artists?
We recommend a law that protects the Copyright Act, that is to say a law that requires producers to respect the spirit of the Copyright Act by safeguarding the full copyright of artists. For example, do you think it is fair that a producer should be able, because of the strong imbalance in bargaining power, to significantly diminish the effect of framework agreements by taking a significant share of the copyright income or even by obtaining a full assignment of the artist's copyright?
We recommend a law that imposes the protection and promotion of French, that is, a law that requires producers in provinces and territories where anglophones are in the majority to retain the services of a minimum number of French-speaking artists. For example, do you think it is fair that producers in majority-anglophone provinces and territories only retain the services of anglophone artists, to the detriment of francophone artists in those provinces and territories, who are already marginalized?
We recommend legislation that imposes fair treatment of artists, that is to say legislation that requires independent producers who receive federal financial assistance or tax benefits to respect existing framework agreements or to negotiate their own framework agreements. For example, do you think it is fair that an independent producer who receives government support, like federal institutions and broadcasting undertakings protected by the Broadcasting Act, should be able to use public money from taxpayers to fund their productions without guaranteeing any minimum working conditions for artists?
We recommend a law that thwarts business schemes, a law that also subjects companies related to the producers covered by the law. For example, do you think it's fair that a covered producer is able to create numerous subsidiaries without any liability for those other entities under his control?
Finally, we recommend legislation that promotes the establishment of provincial status of the artist laws.
Has the Status of the Artist Act contributed to improving the minimum working conditions of artists? We answer this question in the affirmative, but we strongly insist that as it stands it is not sufficient to ensure the sustainability of our culture, and we invite you to undertake a thorough review.
Thank you for your attention.