ACTRA lobby day blitzes the Hill, 50 meetings in two days

OTTAWA—Members of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) were in the capital last week to lobby for long-term funding for Canadian programming and tax averaging for actors. ACTRA brought Canadian actors from across the country to Parliament Hill to meet with MPs. Heather Allin, president of ACTRA Toronto, said nearly 50 meetings were held over two days, in which Canadian actors discussed some policy priorities they’d like to see implemented under the Conservative majority government. “There’s 22,000 of us across the country,” Allin said in an interview. “If you think about it, that’s 22,000 small businesses that have generated income and that have a stake in the economy.” Allin said one of ACTRA’s priorities is to secure stable and long-term funding for the Canada Media Fund (CMF). ACTRA wants the government to view stable funding as an investment and ensure it’s allocated to CBC/Radio-Canada, Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board (NFB), she said. “Over seven per cent of the gross national product is our industry, the entertainment industry,” Allin said. “It’s a pillar in the economic industry and a way to go forward in these difficult times.” Allin said tax averaging for actors is another important priority for ACTRA and its members. “We’re looking to ask for tax averaging over a five-year period to help spread taxable income so that it’s a fair share of taxes,” she said. Allin told The Wire Report that actors have a unique income earning pattern. In some years an actor may earn $5,000 to $20,000 and in other years they may get lucky with a series lead at $100,000 for two to three seasons, she said. In order to balance their incomes, many Canadian actors have to draw down their RRSPs, she said. “It puts into jeopardy our ability to retire with respect and dignity,” Allin said. Ferne Downey, president of ACTRA National, said the Conservative government's Bill C-11, the omnibus copyright reform legislation, is also a priority for ACTRA, but the union right now is primarily focused on Canadian content. Downey said in an interview that ACTRA’s main focus was talking to MPs about triggering private investment while keeping public investment stable. “We’re looking at Canadian content overall creation through investment,” she said. ACTRA said in a release that tax credits are an effective way to increase Canada’s competitiveness and attract investment. “It rewards risk by encouraging producers to spend money without putting government investment upfront,” a release said. The actors’ union said the federal government should broaden the Canadian film or video production tax credit and the production services tax credit eligibility criteria. The expansion would cover all costs, including post-production costs as well as labour costs, involved in production, ACTRA said. The union said the two tax credits have already been expanded provincially in Ontario and Quebec. “We also recommend that the federal government introduce labour-based tax credits for digital and interactive media similar to those available in a number of provinces,” ACTRA said in a release. The union is also arguing that the Income Tax Act should be amended to award tax deductions to companies that advertise on Canadian-owned websites or digital media services, on the condition that it gives prominence to Canadian digital media content. The tax deduction exists in the magazine and newspaper industries and “should be extended to include all media platforms,” the union said. Downey said that by maintaining stable funding for the CMF, the government has created a good foundation, but she said some of that funding should be expanded to larger institutions. More private sector investment should also be attracted to the television and broadcasting sector which is now on multiple platforms, she added. “We have more eyeballs and more capacity for people to see Canadian content, so we have to make some really good decisions about how we incent that,” she said. Although the Conservative government is developing a national digital economy strategy, Downey said Canada does not have a digital strategy for online content creation. “We have to draw attention to some of this capacity that we have to grow,” she said. Downey noted last week, in an interview with The Globe and Mail, that it was unfortunate Heritage Minister James Moore “declined to take the opportunity to meet with us.” James Maunder, a spokesman for Moore, told The Wire Report that the minister and members of his staff have met with ACTRA in the past but that this year the minister’s schedule could not accommodate a meeting. Joanne Deer, director public policy and communications at ACTRA, told The Wire Report that, although ACTRA members did not get a meeting with Moore, they met with NDP Leader Nycole Turmel on Wednesday and had arranged to sit down with Labour Minister Lisa Raitt on Thursday but that meeting was cancelled at the "last minute." Those meetings were among many other meetings with MPs over the two days. “My first meeting was with Justin Trudeau,” Angela Asher, star of CBC’s 18 to Life and an ACTRA member, said in an interview. “It’s very incredible to come up here, be part of my union and be of service,” Asher added, “to hopefully lobby and make a difference.” ACTRA hosted a reception on Parliament Hill Wednesday night that was attended by NDP MPs Charlie Angus (the party’s digital affairs and ethics critic), Tyrone Benskin (heritage and cultural industries critic), Jasbir Sandhu (public safety critic), Irene Mathyssen (critic for seniors), as well as Liberal MP Scott Simms (the party’s heritage critic), to name a few. Although NDP leadership contender Brian Topp remains a member of ACTRA as executive director of ACTRA Toronto, Downey said Topp did not participate in the lobby day. “This is the actors and the leadership of ACTRA, and we don't do endorsements of individual candidates," Downey said. Deer said that the meetings marked ACTRA’s fourth annual lobby day on the Hill. “We find that it’s just useful to connect with the MPs,” she said, “just to bring our message about how important culture and content is to the emerging digital economy.” dgrenier@thewirereport.ca --- CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Brian Topp's current position with ACTRA and the union's meeting with Labour Minister Lisa Raitt was cancelled.

ACTRA lobby day blitzes the Hill, 50 meetings in two days

News | 11/07/2011 10:37 pm EST

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