You will find below the GMMQ's brief on the revision of the Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of performing, recording and film artists, filed on February 1, 2021.
GMMQ Brief (in french).
See also the dossier on the revision of the LSA in La Presse.
As the Quebec cultural scene waited in suspense, consultations on the two acts respecting the professional status of artists, which had begun on February 24, 2020, resumed on November 19. They concluded on February 1, when the GMMQ filed its brief alongside other artists’ associations, producers and presenters. The process seeks to give a voice to stakeholders in the cultural community, with the aim of facilitating and modernizing the application of legislation that is primarily intended to improve the socio-economic situation and working conditions of artists, creators and professionals in Quebec's cultural community. More than 30 years after the acts were adopted, there are a growing number of legal loopholes and various issues that must be addressed and corrected. The GMMQ’s brief, which was filed with the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, contains 10 recommendations.
The first recommendations seek to amend the definitions of “producer” and “artist” to broaden the scope of the Act. For example, the GMMQ recommends that festivals be required to negotiate in good faith with the GMMQ to provide adequate working conditions for musicians.
In addition, several recommendations address producers’ obligations to provide musicians with fair and equitable compensation. Specifically, they propose that all government assistance should be conditional on showing proof that hired artists will receive adequate compensation. Producers should also be held personally liable for unpaid musicians’ fees rather than their short-lived companies, which often become insolvent once a project has ended.
Other recommendations address workplace health and safety for artists to provide musicians with the key components of a healthy workplace: a compensation plan for occupational injuries and illnesses, a danger prevention regime and a protection mechanism for workplace psychological harassment. This protection mechanism would go hand in hand with additional support for artists who wish to file a complaint by prohibiting any form of retaliation towards them.
Finally, certain more legally technical amendments seek to improve the GMMQ’s negotiating power and ability to conclude collective agreements. These recommendations include extending the agreements to a larger number of producers, limiting the duration of deadlocked negotiations, designating a specialized and competent tribunal for any disputes to ensure that negotiations proceed smoothly, and eliminating a clause that allows producers to negotiate down musicians’ working conditions because they are “junior artists.” The aim of these proposals is to allow artists’ associations and producers to negotiate on a more equal footing. This would enable the GMMQ to continue to defend and promote the economic, social, moral and professional interests of musicians even more effectively.
The die is cast: now we can only wait to see what unfolds.
Read the GMMQ’s brief (in French)
Melissa Raymond, Labor Relations Agent and Legal Advisor at the GMMQ.
