The cultural community responded instead in favor of the artist status bill filed Wednesday by Culture and Communication Minister Nathalie Roy. According to the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ), this reform, if adopted, would be “historic”.
Bill 35 proposes to consolidate the two existing laws, which date from the 1980s, and apply to all professional artists, including those in the fields of literature and visual arts.
Thus, writers will gain comparable status to other artists if the bill is adopted.
Bill 35 will radically change the lives of writers, explains Laurent Dubois, director general of UNEQ. We’ve all been pretty moving since this morning.
We are starting right now, he added. [Avec le projet de loi 35]we get real status, real protections, we balance the balance of power in the industry, we force producers and broadcasters to negotiate collective agreements and we can protect our writers when they experience harassment and other abuse of power.
Both positive reception from the side of the Union of Artists (UDA). Its president Sophie Prégent believes in the adoption of this bill on June 10, the date of the end of the parliamentary session, the last before the election this fall.
It’s playful, he thinks. Si Ms. Roy is including all [complètement] with us. And there is nothing in this bill that will put anyone on the street.
Sophie Prégent specifically welcomes the section of Bill 35 which gives the government regulatory power to set minimum conditions applicable to the conclusion of professional contracts with artists not covered by collective agreements.
It can be a game-changer in the dance sector where there are no producer associations. We negotiate piecemeal agreements with each producer, he explained. It is more difficult to have real control over the working conditions of the dancers.
Luc Fortin, president of the Guild of Musicians of Quebec (GMMQ), is more nuanced. We are satisfied, but there are still things to clarifyhe said.
The purpose of the reform is to improve the socio-economic conditions of artists. So far, I don’t see [dans le projet de loi] this has been fully achieved.
Better accountability is desired
L ‘UNEQako ‘UDA and the GMMQ Bill 35 would have wanted to oblige producers to respect collective agreements that are enforced in order to receive public money in the form of subsidies, for example.
That is not a deal breaker, confirmed Laurent Dubois. We are confident that the Minister or his successor will have the opportunity to move forward on this issue along with other regulations, in particular by providing a larger framework for SODEC funding programs with a clause that states: “if you receive public money, you are obligated to honor employment agreements”.
Unfortunately, we can’t do everything legally, Nathalie Roy, the Minister of Culture and Communication, pointed out in an interview with Catherine Richer, cultural columnist on the program. 15-18. We are seriously working on finding mechanisms to see to what extent we can find an appropriate solution.
ADISQ feels it has already been heard
As for the organizations representing producers, the Quebec Association for Media Production (AQPM) and ADISQ also reacted relatively positively.
We noted that some requests made by ADISQ in the context of consultations were heard, for example in terms of expanding and regulating the powers of the authorities called to settle disputes arising from the application ofindicated, through a press release, the director general of ADISQ, Eve Paré.
As forAQPMhe was pleased to see the bill proposing to apply to other provisions in the field of art that already exist within the audiovisual industry.
However, he expressed concern about the regulatory power the government would need to set a minimum term on contracts. He wants the government to clearly define its interventions.
Producers have been operating in a fragile and underfunded ecosystem for many years and the conditions of engagement that AQPM has communicated with artists ’associations respect a delicate balance considering realities of our environment.announced, through a press release, Hélène Messier, the CEO ofAQPM.
It is important to maintain this balance if we are to achieve, at least in our field, the stated objectives of the Act.he added.
As of Wednesday night, the National Association of Book Publishers (ANEL) had not yet commented on Bill 35.
This text was written frominterviews conducted by Catherine Richercultural columnist on the show 15-18and by journalist Louis-Philippe Ouimet. Comments can be edited for clarity and brevity.
Source: Radio-Canada
