TORONTO — Canada’s major film and TV unions say Telefilm is putting taxpayer dollars into a significant number of productions that aren’t adequately protecting workers.
They are pressuring the federal cultural agency to only fund productions that sign collective agreements or abide by minimum workplace standards.
Eight major unions and guilds representing more than 87,000 Canadian film and TV professionals say Telefilm should update its guidelines and solely support productions in “good standing” with industry unions.
In an open letter posted Tuesday, the coalition argued “lax” policies leave workers unprotected and fail to protect taxpayer investments.
The coalition surveyed 349 productions funded by Telefilm from 2018 to 2023 and found that 40 per cent only had half or fewer of the unions typically involved in such projects, according to Dave Forget, national executive director of the Directors Guild of Canada.
“This is concerning to us because of what the implications are in terms of workplace rights,” says Forget.
“All of our members are freelance workers. It’s precarious work. They work from contract to contract and show to show. And yet these are often highly skilled jobs.”
Forget says most productions typically involve four or five unions and guilds overseeing talent and crew, depending on the region.
He notes their roles range from safeguarding creative rights to enforcing health and safety standards to “making sure people get paid.”
Telefilm did not make anyone available for an interview. In a statement, it said fair working conditions are essential to a thriving audiovisual industry, and that it is in discussions with the unions and guilds to explore how they can find “sustainable solutions.”
The coalition, which includes the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Writers Guild of Canada and the Directors Guild of Canada, says it met with Telefilm twice this year urging it to adopt policies similar to those of the Canada Media Fund.
In 2021, the Canada Media Fund introduced a rule disqualifying producers placed on any union or guild’s “unfair engager” list.
Despite their efforts, the coalition says Telefilm’s updated guidelines did not implement these measures.
“When you think about other industries where the government commissions contracts for different activities, it is not at all unusual for them to have minimum requirements that unions be involved, or that the standards be no less than what would have normally been in union contracts,” says Forget.
“This concept isn’t new, that these are taxpayer dollars and they should come with standards for the workers.”
The coalition is pushing for changes to Telefilm’s guidelines ahead of the agency’s next public assembly on Nov. 28.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press