CHPC Committee Report

Supplementary Report of the New Democratic Party:

Canadian Heritage Committee’s Study on the Status of Artist Act and Its Impact on Improving

Basic Working Conditions for Artists

Introduction

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage study on the Status of Artist Act and Its Impact on Improving Basic Working Conditions for Artists heard from twenty-nine witnesses who represented artists, musicians, screen writers and producers in television, cinemas, and radio over seven meetings. The testimony was clear – Canadian artists are living with extremely precarious livelihoods.

In a 2021 Federal government survey, the Canadian Artists and Content Creators Economic Survey[1], the majority of the respondents were self-employed and without Employment Insurance coverage if they lost their jobs. One quarter of the respondents said that their income, prior to the pandemic, could fluctuate from year to year up to 100%. Nearly 60% of the respondents reported a gross annual income of under $40,000 in 2019. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Canada in 2020., live performances were shut down immediately. Nearly 80% of musical artists and over 70% of performing artists reported loss of income due to the pandemic.

Federal government Covid-19 pandemic support was helpful in the short run. Many artists continue to suffer from financial loss and lack of EI coverage. Over the course of the committee hearing, witnesses have given the committee many valuable recommendations. The New Democratic Party would like to highlight three important recommendations: basic income protection, Employment insurance reform and fair bargaining process between parties.

Basic Income and Minimum Working Conditions for Artists

During committee hearings, we heard from multiple witnesses that, coming out from the pandemic, basic income and minimum working conditions were crucial for artists’ livelihood. Ms. Judith Marcuse (Founder and Director, International Centre of Art for Social Change) said: “Pre-pandemic, professional artists in Canada earned 46% of the median income of all Canadians. The incomes of BIPOC artists are significantly lower…. I advocate for a universal basic income. Basic income programs for artists are currently existing in Ireland, Finland, and New York State. Ireland also provides pensions to their artists. A model of guaranteed income, in the form of CERB, has been a critical economic survival mechanism for artists during the pandemic.”[2]

Ms. Jacoba Knaapen (Canadian Arts Coalition) said in her testimony that the 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, is essential.[3]

Ireland currently is undertaking a three-year pilot project to provide 2000 eligible artists and creative arts workers €325 per week (about $467CAN). 1000 eligible but unsuccessful applicants are recruited to be part of the control group study. The goal of this pilot project is to find out if there are significant difference between the eligible artists and the non-eligible artists in terms of their time spent on various activities including creative practice, working in the arts, work in other sectors, training, professional development, leisure time and overall well-being.[4]

Finland and Upstate New York are also conducting similar pilot projects. The New Democratic Party, therefore, proposed the Government of Canada to undertake a comprehensive review of the best practices from countries such as Ireland, Finland, and upstate New York, which have implemented basic income programs for artists.

Employment Insurance Reform

The New Democratic Party believes that the Government of Canada must accelerate the Employment Insurance reform so that it accommodates for the nature of artistic work and the various employment realities of cultural workers. We believe that a new EI program needs to allow artists and cultural workers to pay and withdraw from EI and that it makes the program more accessible for artists and self-employed cultural workers to all EI regular and special benefits.

Ms. Marie-Christine Morin (Executive Director, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française) said in her testimony that many artists and cultural workers take risks on a daily basis while practising their art. She identified major gaps in the social safety net therefore, artists and cultural workers often fell through the cracks. The employment insurance system must be opened up to self‑employed and contract workers and to people with intermittent jobs. They currently don't have access to this social safety net. Significant changes should be made to the system so that these workersare fully recognized and able to benefit from the Canadian social safety net. This path should certainly be explored.”[5]

Mr. Simon Brault (Canadian Council for the Arts) brought up the example in France entertainment industry casual workers have been protected under law since 1936. While the Canada Council for the Arts supports the arts ecosystem in a broad sense, they have no control over the mechanisms and systems that are currently in place—such as employment insurance, income tax and legislation like the Status of the Artist Act—that directly impact working conditions. As a recent UNESCO report entitled “Reshaping Policies for Creativity” states, the pandemic highlighted that a stronger social safety net for artists is needed more than ever, and that there are multiple avenues worth exploring.[6]

Fair Bargaining Process

Currently, the Status of the Artist Act lacks effectiveness and provides little provision to reach a scale agreement. According to Mr. Dave Forget, National Executive Director of Directors Guild of Canada, a national labour organization representing over 6,000 creative and logistical professionals in the film, television, and digital media industries in all areas of direction, design, production, logistics and editing, even when a party is willing to negotiate, additional issues may arise. It often takes years to conduct a complete negotiation to secure both the initial and subsequent agreement.  For this reason, the DGC recommends including a provision in the act that ensures binding arbitration for a first contract as is currently the case in Quebec's Status of the Artist Act, as well as in provincial and federal labour codes. The benefits to artists derived from the act are only available once an agreement is secured. Keeping in mind the precarious nature of working conditions, any delays in the process only further negatively impact the artists. It is important to ensure meaningful and fair bargaining between parties.[7]

Therefore, the New Democratic Party recommended the Government of Canada to establish a binding arbitration process in the negotiation between parties.

Conclusion

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertook this study to improve the difficult financial circumstances that many artists and cultural workers face everyday in Canada. Over the course of our meetings, we heard from artists and unions that represent artists that they were not getting enough support from the federal government. Their inability to sustain their livelihood and perform means that Canada is in a danger of losing our cultural strength.

Other countries are much more advanced than Canada in this regard. Our government needs to take this seriously and start to make the changes that other countries have made to provide for a solid basis for artists in our country.