A Call to Action: A Year 2000 Research Report and Discussion Paper on the Status of the Artist Policy and Legislation in Canada

Cul­tural Enter­prises International

Novem­ber 2000

The Cana­dian Con­fer­ence of the Arts (CCA) com­mis­sioned con­sul­tants, Cul­tural Enter­prises Inter­na­tional, to pre­pare a report on the past and present Sta­tus of the Artist ini­tia­tives across the coun­try and to sug­gest issues and vehi­cles for con­sid­er­a­tion and action by the CCA.

The unique pat­tern of employ­ment of artists as self-employed work­ers and their con­se­quent lack of ben­e­fits which other work­ers have has been dis­cussed in Canada for over 30 years. After var­i­ous stud­ies and lob­by­ing, sta­tus of the artist leg­is­la­tion was adopted in Que­bec in 1987 and in the fed­eral juris­dic­tion in 1992.

Most work in the cul­tural sec­tor in Canada is reg­u­lated by the provinces. The need for sta­tus of the artist leg­is­la­tion was stud­ied in most of the other provinces in the early 1990s; this report looks par­tic­u­larly at the efforts of Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Colum­bia. How­ever, no other province has since adopted sta­tus of the artist leg­is­la­tion. Some have, though, made changes for artists in spe­cific areas, like health and safety and work­ers com­pen­sa­tion. In recent years, there has been renewed inter­est in the artists’ com­mu­nity in pro­mot­ing changes to rec­og­nize their sta­tus for exam­ple, in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.

The fed­eral leg­is­la­tion passed in 1992 did not include the needed changes for artists in income taxes, employ­ment insur­ance and other areas. Based on inter­views and past stud­ies, an overview of the var­i­ous changes to provin­cial and fed­eral laws which would bring eco­nomic and social ben­e­fits to artists is pro­vided. Options to deal with the com­pli­cated issue of bar­gain­ing national agree­ments sub­ject to provin­cial juris­dic­tion are offered.

The con­sul­tants rec­om­mend a con­certed national effort to draw up a “Cul­tural Code”. This Code would com­prise the prin­ci­ples under­ly­ing the recog­ni­tion of artists, and the eco­nomic, social and legal issues affect­ing them. The Code would also pro­vide the guid­ance and frame­work for leg­is­la­tors to make needed changes. The “Cul­tural Code” would expand the notion of Sta­tus of the Artist beyond col­lec­tive bar­gain­ing with which it has become identified.

The CCA could play a lead­er­ship role in a work­ing group of all stake­hold­ers which would develop the Code. Also the Cana­dian Coun­cil on the Sta­tus of the Artist should be re-activated by the Min­is­ter of Cana­dian Her­itage so that it can be a cat­a­lyst in mov­ing the ini­tia­tive forward.

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