PRESS RELEASE

Following the tabling of Bill 35 to modernize the Status of the Artist legislation, the Quebec Council of the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC Quebec) is disappointed by this bill which lacks ambition as it does not address a large number of important issues raised by artists' associations, including the exclusion of certain individuals from the protection of the Act.

Bill 35 has been eagerly awaited by the cultural community for several years. While the Quebec Council understands that this bill addresses some of the issues raised by some organizations, it believes that this bill fails to address several important issues for workers in the industry, concerns that were raised by many when briefs were filed in February 2021.

"In 2022, it is astonishing that the Quebec government still considers it necessary to demonstrate that one is an artist in order to have the right to union recognition in the audiovisual sector, when many technicians working in non-artistic but essential jobs rightly and en bloc obtained recognition in 2009. The previous revision of the Act guaranteed them the right to minimal working conditions, whereas today Bill 35 denies that same right to hundreds of others who work on the same teams on the same productions, with the same parameters," said Bethan Mowat, Chair of DGC Quebec.

In addition, Bill 35 does not propose to review the artificial split into five sectors that was implemented by the government in 2009, which was put in place to end a union dispute between three unions. Today, these unions have merged and the artificial separation into five sectors is no longer relevant and should be abolished. There are over two hundred and fifty members who are legally locked into dual union representation between the Directors Guild of Canada and the newly merged AQTIS Local 514 IATSE. These members were not part of the 2009 union conflict but they are paying the price today.

The Quebec Council of the Directors Guild of Canada is aware of the delays in the adoption of the bill given the imminent closure of the parliamentary session, but still recommends a thorough review rather than a hasty adoption.

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