Canadian Heritage Committee on March 30th, 2022

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Good afternoon, everyone. I call this meeting to order.

I would like to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

Welcome to meeting number 13 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Pursuant to the motion adopted by the committee on January 31, 2022, the committee is meeting on the study of Status of the Artist Act and its impact on improving basic working conditions for artists.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of November 25, 2021. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using Zoom.

Per the directive of the Board of Internal Economy on March 10, 2022, all those attending the meeting in person must wear a mask except when they are eating, and we should refrain from moving around the room. I'd also like to warn—and this is something I keep saying—that you may speak with your masks on. You are heard. Interpreters can hear you, and doing so does stop aerosol particles from entering the room. I would hope that everyone who is in the room would follow the mask-wearing mandate of the Board of Internal Economy. Thank you.

I want to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, please click on the microphone icon to activate your mike, and mute it when you're not speaking. Interpretation is available. If you are on the floor, you can get it in English and French, and you can use your earpiece to do so. For those attending virtually, at the bottom of your screen you can choose floor, English or French. I remind everyone that all comments should be addressed through the chair.

For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand and the clerk will let me know that you have done so. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function. The clerk and I will manage the speaking order as well as we can. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard. If you are having a problem with interpretation, please raise your hand immediately so that we will know and can try to rectify it and pause the meeting in the interim.

In accordance with our routine motions, I'm informing the committee that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.

I would now like to welcome our witnesses.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

I have a point of order, Madam Chair.

I'm sorry to interrupt you. Just before we get started with our witnesses' opening statements, I want to say that we will be having bells at about 4:33. We just had a quick chat in the room here, and there is consensus that we will go into the bells for about 10 minutes. I think there's consent to do that. I just wanted to interrupt us now rather than interrupting us in 20 minutes when bells happen. I think you'll find consent for that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, John. That was what I was going to go to next. We do have bells, but we also have witnesses who need to leave at a certain time. If we all agree to that, it would be so good and efficient and effective.

Again, I want to ask everyone to please obey the Board of Internal Economy's dictum to wear a mask when you are in the room with your colleagues. Thank you.

Now we're going to begin with the witness list we have here. The first witness is l'Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec. We have two people present, but I hope everyone understands that only one of you may present or both of you may share the presentation time.

We have the Canadian Arts Coalition and la Fédération culturelle canadienne-française. Then we have Gonez Media, and we have La Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec.

Each witness or each witness group has five minutes to present.

I will give you a one-minute yell, to cut through the noise, so that you know you have one more minute to finish what you're saying. If you don't finish what you have to say in five minutes, you will be able to elaborate as you get questions from the committee itself.

With that having been said, I will ask the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec to begin. Please indicate who will be speaking, and whether you will be sharing your five minutes.

Please begin.

[Gabriel Pelletier, President, Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, for giving us the opportunity to speak before you today. My name is Gabriel Pelletier, and I am the president of the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec.

The ARRQ is an association of artists and a professional union that has been legally accredited and recognized under status of the artist legislation, both provincially and federally, to represent and defend the interests of all directors working in Quebec, in French and in any language other than English, in the fields of film, television, the Web and animation.

Our association has over 850 members and will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. This study of the legislative framework is of direct concern to directors, as it is for them that the ARRQ negotiates collective agreements and framework agreements providing for minimum working conditions.

I will now yield the floor to Ms. Mylène Cyr.

[Mylène Cyr, Executive Director, Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec]

Thank you, Mr. Pelletier.

Members of the committee, thank you for giving me this opportunity to express our recommendations for possible measures or amendments to the Status of the Artist Act. My name is Mylène Cyr, and I am the executive director of the ARRQ.

While ARRQ has only negotiated one framework agreement under the federal Status of the Artist Act, or SAA, we believe that some amendments to it could greatly improve its effectiveness. Our first negotiation with the National Film Board spanned almost five years and involved 59 negotiation sessions. Fortunately, we finally got a framework agreement.

With regard to the arbitration mechanism, negotiating a first collective agreement is often a very arduous process. It is particularly difficult for directors, who find themselves performing this function alone on a set. We understand that a balance of power is difficult to establish. Thus, to facilitate the establishment of a first agreement, the Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, crafts and literature and their contracts with promoters, namely Quebec's law S‑32.01, provides for the possibility of holding an arbitration of disputes for the first collective agreement at the request of one of the parties.

This very important mechanism does not exist in the SAA, which is limited to offering the intervention of a mediator to help the parties reach a framework agreement. This remains insufficient. In the event of an impasse, the mediator obviously has no power to impose a framework agreement. Moreover, an impasse can arise even if both parties fulfil their obligation to negotiate in good faith.

We are also of the opinion that recourse to arbitration upon renewal of a framework agreement should also be available upon request of one of the parties, but under certain conditions. This is to avoid lengthy negotiations that penalize those whom the act is supposed to protect. In addition, the parties could request arbitration after a certain period of time has elapsed since the start of negotiations, thus allowing the parties to really negotiate and not unduly block the process from the start. Provision should also be made for the parties to be able to refer to arbitration only those matters that have not been agreed, thus avoiding the need to review all terms before an arbitrator.

With respect to government financial support for producers, there are few directors currently covered by federal legislation. For example, CBC/Radio-Canada, which used to hire male and female directors for its in‑house productions, now uses the services of independent producers. Minimum working conditions may be required through negotiated agreements with these producers.

Currently, a producer can receive government funding without any obligation to guarantee artists that they will provide minimum working conditions. These artists hired for government-funded productions have no social safety net. The pandemic has shown us how important it is to reflect on this situation.

The ARRQ believes that the federal government must take the necessary steps to ensure that producers who receive government funding guarantee minimum working conditions. This could be done by making it a condition of funding that minimum working conditions be established, for example, by reference to an existing framework agreement, and by requiring accountability in this regard.

With respect to the scope of the definition of artist, section 6(2)(b)(i) of the SAA defines artists covered by the act as professional independent contractors as follows:

6(2)(b)(i) are authors of artistic, dramatic, literary or musical works within the meaning of the Copyright Act, or directors responsible for [...] audiovisual works,

This section uses concepts from the Copyright Act for artistic, dramatic or other works, but appears to make a distinction in the case of directors. In our view, this creates confusion as to whether directors are authors. However, practice and jurisprudence recognize that directors are indeed authors within the meaning of the act. This distinction therefore creates ambiguity and unduly complicates the determination of whether a person is an artist.

The ARRQ therefore suggests that the definition of artist be amended to be more in line with the definition used in Quebec's Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of performing, recording and film artists, Bill S‑32.1, namely:

[...] a natural person who practises an art on his own account and offers his services, for remuneration, as a creator or performer [...]

We thank you for your interest, and we are available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Now I will go to the Canadian Arts Coalition. Ms. Iley and Jacoba Knaapen are here.

I don't know if you will share your time or not, but you have five minutes. Thank you.

[Sarah Iley, Member of Steering Committee, Canadian Arts Coalition]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the committee for undertaking this study of the Status of the Artist Act and its impact on improving basic working conditions for artists.

Jacoba Knaapen and I are here as volunteer members of the Canadian Arts Coalition, which is a coalition of artists and arts organizations that first came together in 2005 as a non-partisan advocacy movement of volunteers and that has been advocating for the arts and culture sector ever since.

The world has changed a lot in the past 20 years, since the act came into being, and the basic working conditions of artists have been impacted by those changes. While the act has made a big difference to the way artists and producers work together and how associations have been able to represent groups of like-minded individual creative cultural workers, the landscape of artists' work has changed tremendously. It also became clear in the past two years that there are other concerns that need to be addressed to improve the working conditions of Canadian artists.

The first is the nature of employment. The fact is that most artists are self-employed. What became clear during the pandemic was the inadequacy of our employment income program to serve the self-employed. The mixed employment realities of self-employed creative workers mean that some may be traditionally employed part time while having a self-employed contract, and can also go through ebbs and flows of income regarding the seasonality of work.

As the government looks to modernize the employment income program, the coalition hopes that the realities of self-employed creative artists will be considered in shaping that program. For example, self-employed artists do not have an employer to pay into the system. This will need to be considered. As well, while some artists can enrol in an opt-in benefit program, many cannot afford to do so. Government, employers and the self-employed individual should all contribute to the self-employed benefit.

If the new program is designed as an opt-in program, self-employed workers can terminate their enrolment when they change careers. Consider that the average income and hours of the self-employed creative worker will have spikes and dips between weeks, months and years. These fluctuating levels will have to be considered when determining insurable hours and eligible income. We suggest that this program be available to those demonstrating a modest level of prior income and be available without prior contribution to the program.

[Jacoba Knaapen, Member of Steering Committee, Canadian Arts Coalition]

Thank you, Sarah.

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of this committee.

Another issue for artists is space. We all know that our cities are becoming less affordable. Housing is a top priority, but those who create art face a severe shortage of other kinds of space—affordable and accessible space to rehearse, to create and to perform. In cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, artists are struggling to find available, appropriate, affordable and accessible space that satisfactorily fulfills the requirements for very basic working conditions.

As Canadians have increasingly turned to digital experiences with the arts over the past two years, this has exposed the challenges faced by artists and arts organizations to meet the demands of their fellow citizens while being fairly compensated for their own work. Digitization has highlighted the need for the current copyright, licensing and royalty regimes to be updated.

The transition from live performances to digital experiences has also highlighted the severe technology gaps, data access and poor infrastructure that racialized and indigenous communities are experiencing. It's demonstrated that many artists and arts organizations require significant investment in basic technology and also, very importantly, in training.

[Sarah Iley]

As a result, the CAC recommends that the government expand eligible costs in programs that support digital activities, through the Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage, to include funding for acquiring the technology and equipment needed to record and distribute performances, and ensure that indigenous, racialized, the deaf and disabled, and other marginalized artists and arts organizations are enabled to engage in digital activities.

As well, ensure that funding for equipment through programs like the Canada cultural spaces fund is assessed and delivered in an expedited manner to help organizations, especially through the pandemic period.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 20 seconds.

[Jacoba Knaapen]

Finally, the long-standing and painful truth is that those who contribute the most to the arts and culture sector and who are the lifeblood of this $53.1-billion industry, the artists, are paid the least for their contributions.

The Canadian Arts Coalition asks for support for a basic income program to ensure a stable and effective future that recognizes the changing nature of employment for all Canadians, including artists.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much for your presentation. You were right on time.

Now I will go to the next witnesses, from Fédération culturelle canadienne-française.

Ms. Morin, you have five minutes, please.

[Marie-Christine Morin, Executive Director, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française]

Thank you.

Madam Chair and members of the committee, allow me to begin with the words once spoken by Herménégilde Chiasson, the celebrated Acadian poet, playwright, filmmaker and former lieutenant governor of New Brunswick:

To be an artist is to have the courage to invent a world of one's own and to make sure that one can give it to others with generosity, without knowing if what one does will interest anyone, without knowing if [someone] somewhere, someday... will cast another look and will come to us to tell us that the world resembles the one we have imagined, the one we have painted, printed, sculpted, photographed, modelled or drawn.

These words resonate with the reality of many artists and cultural workers in the Canadian and Acadian francophonie, who take risks on a daily basis while practising their craft. In fact, the major gaps in the social safety net for our sector condemn them to courage on a daily basis. Their socio-economic situation is first and foremost a real systemic issue exacerbated by the pandemic.

Still today, professional artists rarely have access to professional development, employment insurance, workers' compensation, pension plans or other comparable social programs that other professionals enjoy. In addition, artistic work often involves a considerable amount of work that is unaccounted for and unrecognized, known as invisible work.

In addition to this reality is the intermittent nature of artistic employment, which exposes our artists to significant financial risk, discontinuous work and precariousness evoking a truth: our artists and cultural workers do not currently enjoy equitable access to the Canadian social safety net, despite the essential role they play in the Canadian economy, and even more so in our francophone minority communities.

The assistant director general for culture at UNESCO reminded us of this, right in the middle of the crisis:

Culture has brought us together, keeping us connected and shortening the distance between us. It has provided comfort... at a time of enormous anxiety and uncertainty.

The WHO also confirmed in 2019 that the arts play a cardinal role in the health and well-being of societies, communities and individuals. It is here that the words of Gabrielle Roy take on their full meaning: “Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?”

A paradigm shift is needed. We need to be more sensitive to the realities of all Canadian workers and leave no one behind. Artists, artisans and cultural workers in Canada's francophone communities are an essential socio-economic component of the vitality and sustainable development of francophone minority communities. The precariousness of our artists and cultural workers, which has been confirmed and amplified by the pandemic, must be eliminated. Consequently, they must also be protected by an adequate social safety net.

It is impossible to talk about a viable economic recovery in Canada without talking about our workers. In the Canadian and Acadian francophonie alone, our sector employs over 26,000 people and generates over $1 billion in revenue annually. The implementation of fair protection measures is also in line with Canada's international commitments, including UNESCO agreements on the status of the artist.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have one minute left.

[Marie-Christine Morin]

More specifically, the 1980 Belgrade Recommendation and the 2005 UNESCO Convention call on member states to improve artists' professional, social and economic status and ensure the sustainability of the social and economic rights of artists. This is why expanding the safety net to make it equitable for our artists and cultural workers in the Canadian and Acadian francophonie is fundamental to the survival of our language, culture and society, and to foster the sustainability of our francophone minority communities.

Thank you for your attention.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. That was right on time, well done.

Our next witness will be Mr. Gonez, CEO of Gonez Media Inc.

You have five minutes.

[Brandon Gonez, Chief Executive Officer, Gonez Media Inc.]

Thank you so much.

As you heard, my name is Brandon Gonez. My experience is unique. I spent several years in the traditional system, working for all the major networks, including CTV and Global News here in Canada. However, I quickly learned that there were limitations on the types of stories I could tell and the growth opportunities available.

I decided to go out on my own and launch my own digital media company, called Gonez Media Inc. Part of this is The BG Show and News You Can Use, which live primarily on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

After launching, I immediately saw the huge opportunity that online platforms can provide. Every day, I'm able to export Canadian stories to a worldwide audience at absolutely no cost. Our growth has been remarkable. I started just over a year ago and today, I employ 10 people and run a full studio in Toronto. As an independent creator, I also have the opportunity to tell stories that matter to me to represent local and diverse communities whose stories aren't often shared in legacy media.

This committee undertook the study of the Status of the Artist Act to consider whether there are other mechanisms the federal government should be looking at in order to support artists and creators. What stands out to me about the act is that, like many other regulatory frameworks, it doesn't apply to digital creators like me, because it became law well before the Internet existed as we know it today.

The Internet has fundamentally changed the relationship between creators and audiences—in my opinion, in a very good way. It has given me and so many others the opportunity to build our audiences and our businesses without government assistance. I encourage you to take this into consideration when it comes to your evaluation of the Status of the Artists Act and other legislation, like Bill C-11, which you will eventually be asked to study.

I am here today to advocate for the next generation of creators, who will ultimately be Canada's biggest cultural export.

Thank you for having me today. I look forward to answering any questions you may have about my path from the traditional broadcasting system to where I am today, as the CEO of my own entertainment company, leveraging the power of the open Internet to create Canada's number one online news and entertainment show.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Mr. Gonez.

We'll now go to the final witness.

We will now hear from the Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec.

Mr. Alonso, you have the floor.

[Alexandre Alonso, Executive Director, Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec]

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.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Nater had suggested that when the bells start ringing we go for 10 minutes. I think these are 30-minute bells. I don't know how members intend to vote. I hope you are not going to walk back to the House, because many of these artists have taken the time to come and present to us and I know they want an interaction with you. So if we could move forward to expedite finishing up this meeting, that would be really great.

I will start now. There is only time, I think, for the first MP to ask questions. That is Mrs. Rachael Thomas of the Conservative Party for six minutes.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

I have a point of order, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Go ahead.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

I agree with your comments. We have very important witnesses.

I would suggest five minutes for the first round, because after that I do have to run to the House, because our leader is not there. As House leader, I have to cast a vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

How does the committee feel? Do I have unanimous consent to do this?

I see nodding of some heads, but I can't see the whole floor. Could the clerk inform me? Is everyone in agreement?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Aimée Belmore]

Madam Chair, I see general agreement around the table.