Status of the Artist Act (S.C. 1992, c. 33)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Status of the Artist Act.

PART IGeneral Principles

Proclamation and Policy concerning the Status of the Artist

Marginal note:Proclamation

2 The Government of Canada hereby recognizes

• (a) the importance of the contribution of artists to the cultural, social, economic and political enrichment of Canada;

• (b) the importance to Canadian society of conferring on artists a status that reflects their primary role in developing and enhancing Canada’s artistic and cultural life, and in sustaining Canada’s quality of life;

• (c) the role of the artist, in particular to express the diverse nature of the Canadian way of life and the individual and collective aspirations of Canadians;

• (d) that artistic creativity is the engine for the growth and prosperity of dynamic cultural industries in Canada; and

• (e) the importance to artists that they be compensated for the use of their works, including the public lending of them.

Marginal note:Policy statement

3 Canada’s policy on the professional status of the artist, as implemented by the Minister of Canadian Heritage, is based on the following rights:

• (a) the right of artists and producers to freedom of association and expression;

• (b) the right of associations representing artists to be recognized in law and to promote the professional and socio-economic interests of their members; and

• (c) the right of artists to have access to advisory forums in which they may express their views on their status and on any other questions concerning them.

4 [Repealed, 2010, c. 12, s. 1774]

PART IIProfessional Relations

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

5 In this Part,

artist

artist means an independent contractor described in paragraph 6(2)(b); (artiste)

artists’ association

artists’ association means any organization, or a branch or local thereof, that has among its objectives the management or promotion of the professional and socio-economic interests of artists who are members of the organization, and includes a federation of artists’ associations; (association d’artistes)

Board

Board means the Canada Industrial Relations Board established by section 9 of the Canada Labour Code. (Conseil)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Labour; (ministre)

party

party means

• (a) in respect of the entering into, renewal or revision of a scale agreement or in respect of a difference in relation to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged breach thereof, the producer or the artists’ association, and

• (b) in respect of a complaint made to the Board, the complainant or the person or organization that is the object of the complaint; (partie)

pressure tactic

pressure tactic includes

• (a) a cessation of work or a refusal to work or to continue to work by artists or artists’ associations in combination, in concert or in accordance with a common understanding, and a slowdown of work or other concerted activity by artists or artists’ associations respecting the provision of their services, done to compel a producer to agree to terms or conditions of engagement, or

• (b) the closing of a place of work, a suspension of production or a refusal to continue the engagement of one or more artists by a producer, done to compel artists, or to assist another producer to compel artists, to agree to terms or conditions of engagement; (moyen de pression)

producer

producer means a government institution or broadcasting undertaking described in paragraph 6(2)(a), and includes an association of producers; (producteur)

scale agreement

scale agreement means an agreement in writing between a producer and an artists’ association respecting minimum terms and conditions for the provision of artists’ services and other related matters; (accord-cadre)

Tribunal

Tribunal[Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 532]

Application

Marginal note:Binding on Her Majesty

• 6 (1) This Part is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) This Part applies

  • (a) to the following organizations that engage one or more artists to provide an artistic production, namely,

    • (i) government institutions listed in Schedule I to the Access to Information Act or the schedule to the Privacy Act, or prescribed by regulation, and

    • (ii) broadcasting undertakings, regulated under the Broadcasting Act, that are federal works, undertakings or businesses, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Labour Code, or that are corporations established to perform any function or duty on behalf of the Government of Canada;

  • (b) to independent contractors determined to be professionals according to the criteria set out in paragraph 18(b), and who

    • (i) are authors of artistic, dramatic, literary or musical works within the meaning of the Copyright Act, or directors responsible for the overall direction of audiovisual works,

    • (ii) perform, sing, recite, direct or act, in any manner, in a musical, literary or dramatic work, or in a circus, variety, mime or puppet show, or

    • (iii) contribute to the creation of any production in the performing arts, music, dance and variety entertainment, film, radio and television, video, sound-recording, dubbing or the recording of commercials, arts and crafts, or visual arts, and fall within a professional category prescribed by regulation.

Purpose

Marginal note:Purpose

7 The purpose of this Part is to establish a framework to govern professional relations between artists and producers that guarantees their freedom of association, recognizes the importance of their respective contributions to the cultural life of Canada and ensures the protection of their rights.

Freedom of Association

Marginal note:Freedom

8 An artist is free to join an artists’ association and to participate in its formation, activities and administration.

Exclusions and Presumptions

Marginal note:Artist contracting through an organization

• 9 (1) An artist is not excluded from the application of this Part simply by contracting through an organization.

• Marginal note:Presumption for purposes of Competition Act

  (2) For the purposes of subsection 4(1) of the Competition Act,

  • (a) artists’ associations certified under this Part that were formed for the purpose of providing appropriate protection for the professional interests of the artists they represent are deemed to be combinations of employees, in relation to those activities of the association that are directed to achieving that purpose; and

  • (b) contracts, agreements or arrangements between or among two or more producers, whether made directly between or among them or through a corporation or an association of producers, pertaining to bargaining in respect of remuneration and the terms and conditions of engagement of artists, are deemed to be contracts, agreements or arrangements.

• Marginal note:Employees excluded

  (3) This Part does not apply, in respect of work undertaken in the course of employment, to

  • (a) employees, within the meaning of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, including those determined to be employees by the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, and members of a bargaining unit that is certified by that Board; or

  • (b) employees, within the meaning of Part I of the Canada Labour Code, including those determined to be employees by the Board, and members of a bargaining unit that is certified by the Board.

Canada Industrial Relations Board

10 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

11 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

12 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

13 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

14 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

15 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 534]

Powers

Marginal note:Regulations

16 The Board may make any regulations that it considers conducive to the performance of its duties under this Part, and in particular regulations providing for

• (a) the practice and procedure before the Board, including the assessment and awarding of costs;

• (b) the certification of artists’ associations;

• (c) the conduct of representation votes;

• (d) the period for submission by an artists’ association of a new application for certification, if the Board previously refused to certify the association in respect of the same or substantially the same sector;

• (e) the period for submission of an application for revocation of the certification of an artists’ association, if the Board previously refused an application for revocation in respect of the same sector;

• (f) the forms to be used in any proceeding that may come before the Board;

• (g) the periods in which and the circumstances under which the Board may exercise its powers under section 20;

• (h) the period and form in which evidence and information may be presented to the Board in connection with any proceeding before it;

• (i) the period for sending notices and other documents, the persons and associations to which they shall be sent, and the circumstances in which they are deemed to have been sent or received;

• (j) the criteria for deciding whether an artist is represented by an artists’ association;

• (k) the circumstances in which the Board may receive evidence in order to establish whether any artists wish to be represented by a particular artists’ association, and the circumstances in which that evidence may not be made public; and

• (l) the delegation to any person of the Board’s powers and duties, other than the power to delegate or to make regulations, and that person’s obligations with respect to those powers and duties.

Marginal note:Board’s powers

17 The Board may, in relation to any proceeding before it under this Part,

• (a) on application or of its own motion, summon and enforce the attendance of any person whose testimony is necessary, in the Board’s opinion, and compel the person to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce any documents or things that the Board considers necessary for the full investigation and consideration of any matter within its jurisdiction;

• (b) administer oaths and solemn affirmations;

• (c) accept any evidence and information that it sees fit, on oath, by affidavit or otherwise, whether or not the evidence is admissible in a court of law;

• (d) examine any evidence that is submitted to the Board respecting the membership of any artist in an artists’ association that is seeking certification;

• (e) examine documents pertaining to the constitution, articles of association or by-laws of an artists’ association;

• (f) make any examination of records and any inquiries that it considers necessary;

• (g) require a producer or an artists’ association to post in appropriate places and keep posted a notice concerning any matter relating to the proceeding that the Board considers necessary to bring to the attention of artists;

• (h) order, at any time before the conclusion of the proceeding, that

  • (i) a representation vote or an additional representation vote be taken among artists affected by the proceeding, whether or not a representation vote is provided for elsewhere in this Part, if the Board considers that the vote would assist it to decide any question that has arisen or is likely to arise in the proceeding, and

  • (ii) the ballots cast in that representation vote be sealed in ballot boxes and counted only as directed by the Board;

• (i) authorize any person to do anything that the Board may do under paragraphs (a) to (h), and to report to the Board on it;

• (j) adjourn or postpone the proceeding;

• (k) abridge or extend the time for instituting the proceeding or for doing any act, filing any document or presenting any evidence;

• (l) amend or permit the amendment of any document filed;

• (m) add any person to the proceeding at any stage thereof;

• (n) set requirements for public notice in respect of any application made under this Part;

• (o) award costs; and

• (p) decide any question that arises in the proceeding, including whether

  • (i) a person is a producer or an artist,

  • (ii) an artist is a member of, or is represented by, an artists’ association,

  • (iii) an organization constitutes an association of producers, an artists’ association, or a federation of artists’ associations,

  • (iv) a group of artists constitutes a sector suitable for bargaining,

  • (v) a scale agreement has been entered into or is in force, and the dates that it comes into force and expires, and

  • (vi) any person or organization is a party to or is bound by a scale agreement.

Criteria for Application

Marginal note:Criteria for application by Board

18 The Board shall take into account

• (a) in deciding any question under this Part, the applicable principles of labour law; and

• (b) in determining whether an independent contractor is a professional for the purposes of paragraph 6(2)(b), whether the independent contractor

  • (i) is paid for the display or presentation of that independent contractor’s work before an audience, and is recognized to be an artist by other artists,

  • (ii) is in the process of becoming an artist according to the practice of the artistic community, or

  • (iii) is a member of an artists’ association.

Proceedings

Marginal note:Informal proceedings

• 19 (1) In any proceeding before it under this Part, the Board

  • (a) shall proceed as informally and expeditiously as the circumstances and considerations of fairness permit;

  • (b) is not bound by legal or technical rules of evidence; and

  • (c) may receive and decide on any evidence adduced that the Board believes to be credible.

• Marginal note:Consultation

  (2) In order to ensure that the purpose of this Part is achieved, the members of the Board may, in respect of any matter before it, consult with other members or with employees of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada.

• Marginal note:Right to appear

  (3) Any interested person may intervene in a proceeding before the Board with its permission, and anyone appearing before the Board may be represented by counsel or an agent or mandatary.

• Marginal note:Notice of facts

  (4) The Board may take notice of facts that may be judicially noticed and, subject to subsection (5), of any other generally recognized facts and any information that is within its specialized knowledge.

• Marginal note:Notification of intention

  (5) The Board shall notify the parties and any intervenor in the proceeding before it of its intention to take notice of any facts or information, other than facts that may be judicially noticed, and afford them an opportunity to make representations in that regard.

• Marginal note:Report on evidence

  (6) The Chairperson of the Board may direct any member to receive evidence relating to a matter before the Board, to make a report on it to the Board, and to provide a copy of the report to all parties and any intervenor in the proceeding.

• Marginal note:Conclusions

  (7) After granting all parties and intervenors an opportunity to make representations on any report made under subsection (6), the Board may make a determination on the basis of the report or hold any further hearings that it considers necessary in the circumstances.

Marginal note:Review of determination or order

• 20 (1) The Board may uphold, rescind or amend any determination or order made by it under this Part, and may rehear any application before making a decision.

• Marginal note:Interim decision

  (2) When it is necessary to decide one or more issues in order to dispose finally of an application or complaint the Board may, if it is satisfied that it can do so without prejudice to the rights of any party or intervenor in the proceeding, decide or make an order respecting one or more of those issues, and reserve its jurisdiction to decide the remaining issues.

Review and Enforcement of Determinations and Orders

Marginal note:Determination or order — no review by court

• 21 (1) Subject to this Part, every determination or order of the Board is final and shall not be questioned or reviewed in any court, except in accordance with the Federal Courts Act on the grounds referred to in paragraph 18.1(4)(a), (b) or (e) of that Act.

• Marginal note:No review by certiorari, etc.

  (2) Except as permitted by subsection (1), no determination, order or proceeding made or carried on, or purporting to be made or carried on, by the Board under this Part shall be questioned, reviewed, prohibited or restrained on any ground, including the ground that the Board did not have jurisdiction or exceeded or lost its jurisdiction, or be made the subject of any proceeding in or any process of any court on any such ground, whether by way of injunction, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, revision, evocation or otherwise.

Marginal note:Filing in Federal Court

• 22 (1) On application in writing by any party or of its own motion, the Board shall file a copy of a determination or order, exclusive of the reasons for it, in the Federal Court unless, in the Board’s opinion, there is no indication of failure or likelihood of failure to comply with it, or there is no useful purpose to be served by filing it.

• Marginal note:Registration

  (2) If the Board specifies in writing that it is filing a copy of a determination or order under subsection (1), the Federal Court shall accept it for filing and shall register it without further application or other proceeding.

• Marginal note:Effect of registration

  (3) After registration under subsection (2), a determination or order has the force and effect of a judgment of the Federal Court, and any person or organization may take proceedings on it as if it were a judgment obtained in that Court.

Certification of Artists’ Associations

Prerequisites for Certification

Marginal note:By-laws required

• 23 (1) No artists’ association may be certified unless it adopts by-laws that

  • (a) establish membership requirements for artists;

  • (b) give its regular members the right to take part and vote in the meetings of the association and to participate in a ratification vote on any scale agreement that affects them; and

  • (c) provide its members with the right of access to a copy of a financial statement of the affairs of the association to the end of the previous fiscal year, certified to be a true copy by the authorized officer of the association.

• Marginal note:Prohibited by-laws

  (2) No by-laws of the association may have the effect of discriminating unfairly against an artist so as to prevent the artist from becoming or continuing as a member of the association.

Associations of Producers

Marginal note:Formation

• 24 (1) Producers may form an association for the purpose of bargaining and entering into scale agreements under this Act.

• Marginal note:Filing membership list

  (2) In addition to any other information that the Board may require, an association of producers shall file its membership list with the Board, keep the list up to date and send a copy of it to every certified artists’ association to which it has issued, or from which it has received, a notice to bargain under section 31.

• Marginal note:Effect of filing membership list

  (3) After filing its membership list, an association of producers has the exclusive right to bargain on behalf of its members for the purpose of entering into or amending a scale agreement.

Certification Procedure

Marginal note:Application

• 25 (1) An artists’ association may, if duly authorized by its members, apply to the Board in writing for certification in respect of one or more sectors

  • (a) at any time, in respect of a sector for which no artists’ association is certified and no other application for certification is pending before the Board;

  • (b) in the three months immediately before the date that the certification or a renewed certification is to expire, if at least one scale agreement is in force in respect of the sector; or

  • (c) after one year, or any shorter period that the Board fixes on application, after the date of the certification or of a renewed certification, if no scale agreement is in force in respect of the sector.

• Marginal note:Accompanying documents

  (2) An application for certification must include the membership list of the artists’ association, a certified copy of its by-laws and any other information required by the Board.

• Marginal note:Public notice of application

  (3) The Board shall give public notice of any application for certification in respect of any sector without delay, indicating any period in which another application may be made by any other artists’ association, despite subsection (1), for certification in respect of that sector or any part of it.

• Marginal note:When application may not be made

  (4) No application for certification in respect of a sector may be made, except with the Board’s consent, after the expiry of the period indicated in any public notice given under subsection (3).

Determination of Sector and Representativeness of an Association

Marginal note:Determination of sector

• 26 (1) After the application period referred to in subsection 25(3) has expired, the Board shall determine the sector or sectors that are suitable for bargaining, taking into account

  • (a) the common interests of the artists in respect of whom the application was made;

  • (b) the history of professional relations among those artists, their associations and producers concerning bargaining, scale agreements and any other agreements respecting the terms of engagement of artists; and

  • (c) any geographic and linguistic criteria that the Board considers relevant.

• Marginal note:Right to intervene

  (2) Despite subsection 19(3), only the artists in respect of whom the application was made, artists’ associations and producers may intervene as of right on the issue of determining the sector that is suitable for bargaining.

• Marginal note:Notice of determination

  (3) The Board shall give the artists’ association concerned and any intervenors notice of its determination under subsection (1) without delay, and that determination is deemed to be interlocutory, despite section 21.

Marginal note:Association’s representativity

• 27 (1) After determining the sector under subsection 26(1), the Board shall determine the representativity of the artists’ association, as of the date of filing of the application for certification or as of any other date that the Board considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Right to intervene

  (2) Despite subsection 19(3), only artists in respect of whom the application was made and artists’ associations may intervene as of right on the issue of determining the representativity of an artists’ association.

Certification

Marginal note:Certification

• 28 (1) If the Board is satisfied that an artists’ association that has applied for certification in respect of a sector is the most representative of artists in that sector, the Board shall certify the association.

• Marginal note:Certification period

  (2) Certification is valid for a period of three years after the date that the Board issues the certificate and, subject to subsection (3), is automatically renewed for additional three year periods.

• Marginal note:Extension of period of certification

  (3) Where, in the three months immediately before the date that the certification or renewed certification of an artists’ association is to expire, an application for certification in respect of the same or substantially the same sector, or an application for revocation of certification, is filed, the period of validity of the association’s certification is extended until the date that the application is accepted or rejected and, where it is rejected, renewal of the association’s certification takes effect from that date.

• Marginal note:Register

  (4) The Board shall keep a register of all issued certificates and of their dates of issue.

• Marginal note:Effects of certification

  (5) After certification of an artists’ association in respect of a sector,

  • (a) the association has exclusive authority to bargain on behalf of artists in the sector;

  • (b) the certification of any association that previously represented artists in the sector is revoked in so far as it relates to them; and

  • (c) the association is substituted as a party to any scale agreement that affects artists in the sector, to the extent that it relates to them, in place of the association named in the scale agreement or its successor.

Revocation of Certification

Marginal note:Application for revocation

• 29 (1) An artist in a sector may apply to the Board for an order revoking an association’s certification in respect of that sector

  • (a) on the ground that the association’s by-laws contravene the requirements of subsection 23(2), at any time; and

  • (b) on the ground that that association is no longer the most representative of artists in the sector, or has failed to make reasonable efforts to conclude a scale agreement,

    • (i) in the three months immediately before the date that the association’s certification or a renewed certification is to expire, if at least one scale agreement is in force in respect of the sector, or

    • (ii) after one year, or any shorter period that the Board fixes on application, after the date of the certification or of a renewed certification of the association, if no scale agreement is in force.

• Marginal note:Stay of proceedings

  (2) The Board may stay any proceedings for revocation of the certification of an artists’ association under paragraph (1)(a) if the association adopts by-laws that meet the requirements of subsection 23(2) within any period that the Board may specify.

• Marginal note:Date of revocation

  (3) Revocation of certification is effective as of the date of the Board’s determination to revoke it or, if an association fails to adopt by-laws within a period specified by the Board under subsection (2), on the expiry of that period.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation

  (4) Any scale agreement for a sector in respect of which the certification of an artists’ association has been revoked ceases to have effect as of the date of revocation or as of any later date that the Board may specify.

Successor Rights and Obligations

Marginal note:Mergers, etc., of associations

• 30 (1) An artists’ association that succeeds a certified artists’ association as a result of a merger, amalgamation or transfer of jurisdiction among associations acquires the rights, privileges and duties of that certified association under this Part, whether under a scale agreement or otherwise.

• Marginal note:Board to determine questions

  (2) On application by an artists’ association affected by a merger, amalgamation or transfer of jurisdiction, the Board shall determine the rights, privileges and duties that the association has acquired under this Part or under a scale agreement as a result of the transaction.

Bargaining and Scale Agreements

Notice to Bargain

Marginal note:Notice to bargain to enter into a scale agreement

• 31 (1) Where an artists’ association is certified in respect of a sector, the association or a producer may issue a notice requiring the other party to begin bargaining for the purpose of entering into a scale agreement.

• Marginal note:Notice to bargain to renew or revise a scale agreement or enter into a new scale agreement

  (2) Where a scale agreement is in force, either party may, in the three months immediately preceding the date that the agreement expires or within any longer period stipulated in the agreement, issue a notice to the other party to begin bargaining in order to renew or revise it or to enter into a new scale agreement.

• Marginal note:Notice to bargain

  (3) An association substituted as a party to a scale agreement pursuant to paragraph 28(5)(c) may, within six months after the date of its certification, issue a notice requiring the producer that is a party to the agreement to begin bargaining for the purpose of renewing or revising it or entering into a new scale agreement.

• Marginal note:Revision during term

  (4) Where a scale agreement provides for revision during its term, a party entitled to do so by the agreement may give notice to the other party to begin bargaining in order to revise any provision of the agreement.

• Marginal note:Notice to Minister

  (5) Any party that issues a notice to the other party to begin bargaining shall send a copy of the notice to the Minister without delay.

Marginal note:Duty to bargain and not to change terms and conditions

32 Where a notice to begin bargaining has been issued under section 31,

• (a) the artists’ association and the producer shall without delay, but in any case within twenty days after the notice was issued, unless they otherwise agree,

  • (i) meet, or send authorized representatives to meet, and begin to bargain in good faith, and

  • (ii) make every reasonable effort to enter into a scale agreement; and

• (b) the producer shall not alter, without the consent of the artists’ association, any term or condition of engagement, including the rates of remuneration, or any right or privilege of an artist or the association, that is contained in the scale agreement, until such time as pressure tactics are permitted under section 46.

Duration and Effect of Scale Agreements

Marginal note:Effect of scale agreements

• 33 (1) For the term set out in it, a scale agreement binds the parties to it and every artist in the sector engaged by the producer, and neither party may terminate the agreement without the Board’s approval, except when a notice to bargain is issued under subsection 31(3).

• Marginal note:Scale agreement to be filed

  (2) The parties to a scale agreement shall file a copy of the agreement with the Minister without delay.

• Marginal note:Association of producers

  (3) A scale agreement entered into by an association of producers binds, even in the event that the association is dissolved, each producer that

  • (a) is a member of the association at the time the agreement is signed and did not give the parties notice of withdrawal before the agreement was signed;

  • (b) not being a party to any other scale agreement in respect of the same sector, subsequently becomes a member of that association; or

  • (c) withdraws from membership in the association.

• Marginal note:Saving more favourable benefits

  (4) A scale agreement applies notwithstanding any inconsistency with a contract between an artist and a producer, but it shall not be applied so as to deprive an artist of a right or benefit under the contract that is more favourable to the artist than is provided for under the agreement.

• Marginal note:Application

  (5) The Board shall assess what is more favourable to the artist under subsection (4) in relation to each right or benefit and shall compare the elements of each right or benefit under the scale agreement with the elements of each under the contract.

Marginal note:Board may change termination date

34 On the joint application of the parties, the Board may change the termination date of a scale agreement in order to establish a common termination date for two or more scale agreements that bind the producer or the artists’ association.

Marginal note:Duty of fair representation

35 An artists’ association that is certified in respect of a sector, or a representative thereof, shall not act in a manner that is arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith in the representation of any of the artists in the sector in relation to their rights under the scale agreement that is applicable to them.

Content and Interpretation of Scale Agreements

Marginal note:Provision for settlement without pressure tactics

• 36 (1) Every scale agreement must contain a provision for final settlement without pressure tactics, by arbitration or otherwise, of all differences between the parties or among artists bound by the agreement, concerning its interpretation, application, administration or alleged contravention.

• Marginal note:Where arbitrator to be appointed

  (2) Notwithstanding anything in the scale agreement, a difference between the parties to an agreement that does not contain the provision for final settlement required by subsection (1) shall be submitted for final settlement

  • (a) to an arbitrator selected by the parties; or

  • (b) where the parties are unable to agree on an arbitrator and either party makes a written request to the Minister to appoint one, to the arbitrator appointed by the Minister after any inquiry that the Minister considers necessary.

• Marginal note:Submission of difference to arbitration

  (3) Notwithstanding anything in the scale agreement, a difference between the parties to an agreement that contains a provision for final settlement by an arbitration board shall, if either party fails to name its nominee to the board, be submitted for final settlement to an arbitrator in accordance with subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Request to Minister to appoint arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson

  (4) Where a scale agreement contains a provision for final settlement without pressure tactics of differences described in subsection (1) by an arbitrator or arbitration board and the parties cannot agree on the selection of the arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson, either party or its nominee may, notwithstanding anything in the agreement, make a written request to the Minister to appoint the arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson, as the case may be.

• Marginal note:Appointment by Minister

  (5) On receipt of a request made under subsection (4), the Minister shall appoint an arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson, after any inquiry that the Minister considers necessary.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (6) An arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson appointed pursuant to subsection (2), (3) or (5) is deemed to be appointed in accordance with the scale agreement.

Marginal note:Determinations not to be reviewed by court

• 37 (1) Every determination of an arbitrator or arbitration board is final and shall not be questioned or reviewed in any court.

• Marginal note:No review by certiorari, etc.

  (2) No order shall be made or proceeding taken in any court, by way of injunction, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, revision, evocation or otherwise, to question, review, prohibit or restrain an arbitrator or arbitration board in any proceedings under this Part.

• Marginal note:Status of arbitrator or arbitration board

  (3) For the purposes of the Federal Courts Act, an arbitrator or an arbitration board appointed pursuant to a scale agreement or this Part is not a federal board, commission or other tribunal within the meaning of that Act.

Marginal note:Copy to be filed with Minister

38 A copy of every determination of an arbitrator or arbitration board shall be sent to the parties, filed with the Minister and, in the circumstances prescribed by regulation, made available to the public.

Marginal note:Powers of arbitrator and arbitration board

• 39 (1) An arbitrator or arbitration board has, in relation to any proceeding before the arbitrator or the board, the powers conferred on the Board under paragraphs 17(a) to (c) and the power to determine whether any matter referred to the arbitrator or the board is arbitrable.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Where an artist’s services have been terminated or an artist has been disciplined by a producer for cause pursuant to the scale agreement and there is no specific penalty in either the agreement or the contract between the artist and the producer, the arbitrator or arbitration board has the power to substitute for the termination of services or the discipline any other penalty that seems to the arbitrator or the board to be just and reasonable in the circumstances.

Marginal note:Procedure

• 40 (1) The arbitrator or arbitration board shall decide the procedure for hearings, and the parties shall be given the opportunity to present evidence and make submissions and may be represented by counsel or an agent or mandatary.

• Marginal note:Determination of arbitration board

  (2) Where a difference described in subsection 36(1) is submitted to an arbitration board, the majority of the board shall determine the issue, but if the majority cannot agree, the chairperson’s decision is the determination of the board.

• Marginal note:Arbitration costs, fees and expenses

  (3) Where the parties submit a difference described in subsection 36(1) to an arbitrator or an arbitration board, unless otherwise provided in the scale agreement or agreed by the parties, each party shall pay

  • (a) its own costs and the fees and expenses of any member of an arbitration board that it nominates; and

  • (b) an equal portion of the fees and expenses of the arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson, whether selected by the parties or their nominees or appointed by the Minister under this Part.

Marginal note:Questions may be referred to Board

• 41 (1) An arbitrator or arbitration board shall refer to the Board for hearing and determination any question that arises in a matter before it as to the existence of a scale agreement, the identification of the parties to it or the application of the agreement to a particular sector or artist.

• Marginal note:Arbitration proceeding not suspended

  (2) Referral of a question to the Board under subsection (1) does not suspend the proceeding before the arbitrator or arbitration board, unless the Board so orders or the arbitrator or arbitration board decides that the nature of the question warrants suspension of the proceeding.

Marginal note:Filing of determination in Federal Court

• 42 (1) Any person or association affected by a determination of an arbitrator or arbitration board may file a copy of the determination, exclusive of the reasons therefor, in the Federal Court.

• Marginal note:Registration

  (2) The Federal Court shall register the copy of any determination of an arbitrator or arbitration board filed pursuant to subsection (1), and after registration the determination has the same force and effect, and all proceedings may be taken thereon, as if it were a judgment obtained in that Court.

Marginal note:Provision for settlement continues in force

• 43 (1) Notwithstanding anything in a scale agreement, the provision for final settlement required by subsection 36(1) remains in force after termination of the agreement and until such time as pressure tactics are permitted under section 46.

• Marginal note:Power of arbitrator where agreement terminates

  (2) Where a difference described in subsection 36(1) arises during the period beginning on the date of termination of the agreement and ending on the date that a period described in section 46 begins, an arbitrator or arbitration board may hear and determine the difference, and sections 36 to 42 apply.

Compulsory Check-off

Marginal note:Association dues to be deducted

44 At the request of an artists’ association, a scale agreement shall include a provision requiring the producer to deduct and remit to the association without delay from the remuneration of each artist subject to the scale agreement, whether or not the artist is a member of the association, the amount of the dues regularly paid by a member of the association in accordance with its by-laws.

Settlement of Labour Disputes

Marginal note:Mediation

45 The Minister may, on request or of the Minister’s own motion, name a mediator to confer with parties who are unable to reach agreement and to assist them to enter into a scale agreement.

Prohibitions and Remedies

Pressure Tactics

Marginal note:When pressure tactics are permitted

46 No artist, artists’ association or producer shall participate in, authorize or apply pressure tactics except during the period

• (a) beginning thirty days after a scale agreement binding the producer and the artists’ association expires and ending on the day that a new agreement is entered into in respect of that sector; or

• (b) beginning six months after the date of certification of an artists’ association and ending on the day that a scale agreement is entered into, where there is no scale agreement binding the producer and the artists’ association in respect of that sector.

Declarations respecting Pressure Tactics

Marginal note:Declaration — association’s pressure tactics unlawful

• 47 (1) If a producer alleges that an artists’ association has authorized or applied pressure tactics, or that artists have participated, are participating or are likely to participate in pressure tactics, as a result of which an artist was, is or would be in contravention of this Part, the producer may apply to the Board for a declaration that the pressure tactics are unlawful.

• Marginal note:Declaration and prohibition of pressure tactics

  (2) If an application is made under subsection (1), the Board may, after affording the artists and the artists’ association an opportunity to be heard, declare the pressure tactics to be unlawful and, if the producer so requests, make an order

  • (a) requiring the association to cease or revoke its authorization of the pressure tactics;

  • (b) enjoining artists from participating in those pressure tactics and requiring them, where applicable, to resume the work for which they were engaged; or

  • (c) requiring an artists’ association or any officer or representative of an association of which any artist subject to an order made under paragraph (b) is a member, to give notice of the order to all artists in the sector who are members of the association.

Marginal note:Declaration — producer’s pressure tactics unlawful

48 If an artists’ association applies to the Board alleging that a producer has authorized or applied pressure tactics in contravention of this Part, or is about to do so, the Board may, after affording the producer an opportunity to be heard, declare the pressure tactics to be unlawful and, if the association so requests, make an order

• (a) requiring the producer or any person acting on behalf of the producer to renounce or to discontinue those pressure tactics and to permit the artists to resume their work, where applicable; or

• (b) requiring the producer to communicate the contents of an order made under paragraph (a) without delay to all artists in the sector engaged by the producer at the time the order is made.

Marginal note:Order’s terms and duration

• 49 (1) An order that is made under section 47 or 48 shall be on any terms that the Board considers necessary and sufficient to meet the circumstances of the case and, subject to subsection (2), shall have effect for the period indicated in the order.

• Marginal note:Application for supplementary order

  (2) If anyone affected by an order made under section 47 or 48 applies to the Board and gives notice of the application to the parties named in the order, the Board may, by supplementary order, continue or modify the order for any period that is indicated in the supplementary order, or may revoke the order.

Unfair Practices

Marginal note:Prohibitions relating to producers

50 No producer or person acting on behalf of a producer shall

• (a) refuse to engage an artist or to honour an artist’s contract, or discriminate against an artist with respect to engagement, remuneration or any other term or condition of engagement, or intimidate, threaten or discipline an artist, because the artist

  • (i) is or proposes to become, or seeks to induce any other person to become, a member, officer or representative of an artists’ association, or participates in the promotion, formation or administration of an artists’ association,

  • (ii) has testified or participated in a proceeding under this Part, or may do so,

  • (iii) has made or is about to make a disclosure that may be required in a proceeding under this Part,

  • (iv) has made an application or filed a complaint under this Part,

  • (v) has exercised any right under this Part or participated in pressure tactics that are not prohibited by it, or

  • (vi) has been expelled or suspended from membership in an artists’ association for a reason other than a failure to pay the periodic dues, assessments and initiation fees uniformly required to be paid by all members of the association as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership;

• (b) impose any condition in a contract of engagement that prevents or has the effect of preventing an artist from exercising rights under this Part;

• (c) terminate an artist’s contract, or impose a financial or other penalty or take disciplinary action against an artist, because the artist refuses to perform any of the duties of another artist who is participating in or is subject to pressure tactics that are not prohibited by this Part;

• (d) seek by intimidation, threat of termination of a contract, imposition of a financial or other penalty, or by any other means, to compel a person to refrain from becoming or to cease to be a member, officer or representative of an artists’ association, or to refrain from

  • (i) testifying or participating in a proceeding under this Part,

  • (ii) making a disclosure that may be required in a proceeding under this Part, or

  • (iii) making an application or filing a complaint under this Part;

• (e) terminate the contract of, or impose any financial or other penalty on, an artist engaged by the producer, or take any disciplinary action because of the artist’s refusal to perform an act that is prohibited by this Part; or

• (f) bargain for the purpose of entering into a scale agreement, or enter into a scale agreement, with an artists’ association in respect of a sector, if the producer knows or, in the Board’s opinion, ought to know that another artists’ association is certified in respect of that sector.

Marginal note:Prohibitions relating to artists’ associations

51 No certified artists’ association or person acting on behalf of such an association shall

• (a) bargain for the purpose of entering into a scale agreement, or enter into a scale agreement with a producer in respect of a sector, if the association or person knows or, in the Board’s opinion, ought to know that another artists’ association is certified in respect of that sector;

• (b) bargain for the purposes of entering into a scale agreement, or enter into a scale agreement in respect of a sector, with a producer that the association knows or, in the Board’s opinion, ought to know is represented by an association of producers that has filed its membership list under subsection 24(2);

• (c) require a producer to terminate the contract of an artist engaged by the producer because the artist has been expelled or suspended from membership in the association for a reason other than a failure to pay the periodic dues, assessments and initiation fees uniformly required to be paid by all members of the association as a condition of acquiring or retaining membership;

• (d) take disciplinary action against or impose any form of penalty on an artist by applying the standards of discipline of the association to that artist in a discriminatory manner;

• (e) expel or suspend an artist from membership in the association, or take disciplinary action or impose any penalty against the artist, for refusal to perform an act that is contrary to this Part;

• (f) discriminate unfairly against an artist with respect to becoming or continuing as a member of the association or being expelled from it, if the parties have included in a scale agreement a provision that requires membership in a specified artists’ association as a condition of engagement, or that grants a preference in engagement to such members; or

• (g) intimidate, coerce or impose a financial or other penalty on an artist, because the artist

  • (i) has testified or participated in a proceeding under this Part, or may do so,

  • (ii) has made or is about to make a disclosure that may be required in a proceeding under this Part, or

  • (iii) has made an application or filed a complaint under this Part.

Marginal note:Intimidation or coercion prohibited

52 No person shall seek by intimidation or coercion to compel any person or association to become or refrain from becoming or to cease to be a member of an artists’ association or an association of producers.

Marginal note:Complaints to Board

• 53 (1) Any person or organization may make a complaint in writing to the Board that

  • (a) a producer, a person acting on behalf of a producer, an artists’ association, a person acting on behalf of an artists’ association, or an artist has contravened or failed to comply with section 32, 35, 50 or 51; or

  • (b) a person has failed to comply with section 52.

• Marginal note:Time for making complaint

  (2) The complaint shall be made to the Board within six months after the day on which the complainant knew or, in the Board’s opinion, ought to have known of the action or circumstances giving rise to the complaint.

• Marginal note:Inadmissible complaints

  (3) The Board shall hear the complaint unless the Board is of the opinion that it

  • (a) is moot, or is frivolous, vexatious or in bad faith; or

  • (b) is not within the Board’s jurisdiction, or could be referred by the complainant to an arbitrator or arbitration board, under a scale agreement.

• Marginal note:Board’s duty and power

  (4) If the Board is of the opinion that the complaint must be heard, it may appoint a member who was never seized of the matter, or an employee of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, to assist the parties to settle it and, if the matter is not settled within a period that the Board considers reasonable in the circumstances, or if the Board decides not to appoint a person to assist the parties to settle it, the Board shall hear and determine the complaint.

• Marginal note:Burden of proof

  (5) A written complaint that a producer or any person acting on behalf of a producer failed to comply with section 50 is itself evidence that the failure actually occurred and, if any party to the complaint proceeding alleges that the failure did not occur, the burden of proof thereof is on that party.

Marginal note:Board may make orders

• 54 (1) If the Board determines that a party to a complaint failed to comply with section 32, 35, 50, 51 or 52, the Board may order the party to comply with or to cease contravening that section and may

  • (a) in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph 32(b), order a producer to pay the artist compensation not exceeding the amount of remuneration that would, but for that failure, have been paid to the artist, in the Board’s opinion, under the scale agreement or the artist’s contract;

  • (b) in respect of a failure to comply with section 35, require an artists’ association to pursue the rights and remedies of any artist affected by that failure, or to assist the artist to pursue any rights and remedies that, in the Board’s opinion, it was the duty of the association to pursue;

  • (c) in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph 50(a), (c) or (e), order a producer

    • (i) to engage or to continue to engage, if possible, an artist who has been dealt with in a manner prohibited by that paragraph,

    • (ii) to pay to any artist affected by that failure compensation not exceeding the amount of remuneration that would, but for that failure, have been paid to that artist, in the Board’s opinion, under the scale agreement or the contract, and

    • (iii) to rescind any disciplinary action taken against any artist affected by that failure, and pay the artist compensation not exceeding the amount, in the Board’s opinion, of any financial or other penalty provided for in the scale agreement or the contract and imposed on the artist by the producer;

  • (d) in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph 50(d), order a producer to rescind any action taken against any artist affected by that failure, and pay the artist compensation not exceeding the amount, in the Board’s opinion, of any financial or other penalty provided for in the scale agreement or the contract and imposed on the artist by the producer;

  • (e) in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph 51(d), order an artists’ association to reinstate or admit the artist as a member; and

  • (f) in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph 51(d), (e), (f) or (g), order an artists’ association to rescind any disciplinary action taken against any artist affected by that failure, and pay the artist compensation not exceeding the amount, in the Board’s opinion, of the artist’s actual loss or of any financial or other penalty.

• Marginal note:Other orders

  (2) In order to ensure that the purpose of this Part is achieved, the Board may, in addition to or in lieu of any other order authorized under subsection (1), order a producer or an artists’ association to do or refrain from doing anything that it is equitable to require of them, so as to counteract or remedy the contravention of or non-compliance with a provision referred to in that subsection.

Co-production Agreements

Marginal note:Co-production agreement

• 55 (1) Where a producer enters into a co-production agreement, the producer shall ensure that the agreement designates the person who will actually engage the artists for the co-production.

• Marginal note:Application of Part to co-production

  (2) This Part does not apply in respect of a co-production unless the person designated pursuant to subsection (1) is a producer within the meaning of this Part.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

56 On the Minister’s recommendation after consultation with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing anything that may be prescribed under any provision of this Part, and any other regulations that the Governor in Council considers necessary to carry out the provisions of this Part, other than regulations that may be made by the Board under section 16.

Offences and Punishment

Marginal note:Offence and penalty

• 57 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Part other than sections 32, 50 and 51 is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) Every artist, artists’ association or producer that contravenes section 46 is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine

  • (a) not exceeding two thousand dollars, in the case of an artist;

  • (b) not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, in the case of an officer, employee, director, agent or advisor of a certified artists’ association or director, agent or advisor of a producer; or

  • (c) not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, in the case of a producer or a certified artists’ association.

• Marginal note:Further offences

  (3) Every person who

  • (a) being required to attend to give evidence pursuant to paragraph 17(a), fails to attend accordingly,

  • (b) being compelled to produce, pursuant to paragraph 17(a), any document or thing in the person’s possession or under the person’s control, fails to produce the document or thing,

  • (c) refuses to be sworn or to affirm, as the case may be, after being required to be sworn or affirmed pursuant to paragraph 17(a), or

  • (d) refuses to answer any proper question put to them under paragraph 17(a) by the Board or one of its members or by an arbitrator or an arbitration board

  is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding four hundred dollars.

Marginal note:Prosecutions

• 58 (1) A prosecution for an offence under this Part may be brought against and in the name of an association of producers or an artists’ association.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (2) For the purpose of a prosecution under subsection (1),

  • (a) an artists’ association or an association of producers is deemed to be a person; and

  • (b) any act or thing done or omitted to be done by an officer or agent of an artists’ association or an association of producers within the scope of the officer or agent’s authority is deemed to be an act or thing done or omitted to be done by the association.

• Marginal note:Imprisonment precluded

  (3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Part, no imprisonment may be imposed as punishment for default of payment of any fine imposed as punishment.

Marginal note:Board’s consent before prosecution

59 No prosecution may be instituted in respect of an offence under this Part without the consent in writing of the Board.

Evidence

Marginal note:Documents as evidence

• 60 (1) Any document purporting to contain or to be a copy of a determination of the Board and to be signed by one of its members is admissible in evidence in any court without proof of the signature or official character of the member or any further proof.

• Marginal note:Certificate of Minister is evidence

  (2) A certificate, purporting to be signed by the Minister or an official of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, stating that any document referred to in this Part was or was not received or given by the Minister pursuant to this Part and, if received or given, stating the date that it was received or given, is admissible in evidence in any court without proof of the signature or official character of the Minister or official, or any further proof.

61 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 562]

Miscellaneous

Marginal note:Defect in form or irregularity

62 No proceeding under this Part is invalid by reason only of a defect in form or a technical irregularity.

Marginal note:Remuneration and expenses

63 Every person not employed in the federal public administration who, at the request of the Minister, performs functions under this Part in any capacity, other than as an arbitrator or arbitration board chairperson, shall be paid the remuneration and expenses prescribed by regulation.

Marginal note:Witness fees and expenses

64 A person who is summoned by the Board and attends as a witness in any proceeding taken under this Part is entitled to be paid the allowance for expenses and the witness fees that are in force with respect to witnesses in civil suits in the superior court of the province in which the proceeding is taken.

Marginal note:Persons not required to give evidence

• 65 (1) No member of the Board or person appointed by the Board or the Minister under this Part is required to give evidence in any civil action, suit or other proceeding, respecting information obtained in the discharge of their duties under this Part.

• Marginal note:Chief Administrator and employees not required to give evidence

  (2) Neither the Chief Administrator nor an employee of the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada shall be required to give evidence in any civil action, suit or other proceeding respecting information obtained in the discharge of their duties in providing services to the Board.

66 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 563]

67 [Repealed, 2012, c. 19, s. 563]

Consequential Amendments

68 to 70 [Amendments]

Coming into Force

Marginal note:Coming into force

Footnote ^*71 This Act or any provision thereof shall come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.

• Return to footnote ^*[Note: Section 1 and Part I in force May 14, 1993, see SI/93-75; sections 10 to 13, 15 and 16 in force June 11, 1993, see SI/93-92; sections 5 to 9, 14 and 17 to 70 in force May 9, 1995, see SI/95-61.]