WINTER 2009 The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists ACTRA’s TV drama campaign Fighting for a happy ending Pages 4 and 7 60290-1 ACTRA.indd 1 1/26/09 10:31:09 AM message from the president No giving up now Alice laughed, “There’s no use trying,” she said, “one can’t believe impossible things.” The Queen replied, “I daresay you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” From Through The Looking-Glass: And What Alice Found There, by Lewis Carroll One “impossible” hundreds of millions of dollars worth of thing I believe in is U.S. programming, they are glossing over a real Canadian film and their other bad investments in buying up television industry that can smaller entities and are looking for more Artists from all disciplines protested grow to be one that our concessions from the public. Harper’s cuts to the arts. At the Toronto government, the regula- These reviews are going to touch rally opera singer John Mac Master and tors, the bureaucrats and almost every aspect of Canada’s broadcast- ACTRA’s National President Richard Hardacre the broadcasting and distribution entities ing regulations and the CRTC now has reminded Canadians that since the work of encourage and promote. a number of very new Commissioners. Canada’s professional artists has bizarrely We got one step toward that goal with We will be briefing them on the critical come under attack, it’s essential to make our successful negotiation of the National role the CRTC must play in supporting our votes count for culture. Commercial Agreement, with terms Canadian drama over the airwaves and designed to encourage greater commercial in new media. production, especially production designed And then we turn to the political front. our economy and our cultural wealth if our for new media. We applaud the determina- In an economy struggling to climb out of government opens their collective mind tion and creativity of the NCA Committee recession (admitted to or not) there is much to a more nuanced understanding that and the confidence that our members coast to be said for incentives that lead to thou- “the arts” represent everything we live and to coast gave to our negotiating team. This sands of jobs and working days in Canadian breathe: the television and films we watch, union builds on that confidence. production for performers, writers, produ- the books we read, the theatre, dance Regulatory hearings at the CRTC for cers, technicians and directors. and opera we might attend, the music we production distributed on new media are We learned from experience during play and listen to. A healthy recovery of scheduled to begin in late February. ACTRA the fall federal election that the govern- our economy and a nurturing environ- has made a solidly researched submission. ment then was gleeful to skewer programs ment for Canada’s cultural industries are Our key position is that the CRTC must that were outside the Conservative Party’s interdependent. regulate broadcasting in new media to set ideological box. The lesson is there that A vibrant Canadian culture, with our minimum content for Canadian stories and administering while wearing blinkers of industry as a stable and growing component to ensure that consumers have access to ideology solves no problems. Our protests is one goal of which we, this union of per- Canadian choices. And we are defending over the ill-conceived $45 million in arts formers, must never lose sight… or hope. the proposal that a modest levy has to flow funding cuts joined with many others to It is the start of a new year, a time for from the Internet service providers to create deny the Conservatives a majority govern- optimism and determination. I wish you a fund to stimulate Canadian production ment. We then openly offered ourselves as all a happy and successful one. In the in new media, similar to the Canadian a focus group to provide feedback for any meanwhile, along with the Red Queen and Television Fund seed money for conven- future steps that government might envis- maybe Alice herself, we will continue to tional television. The profits from Internet age in our industry. Maybe we’ve missed the believe impossible things. distribution of audio-visual works will grow phone calls. exponentially, and rapidly. They must not This is an industry that must be In solidarity and unity, remain exempt. This is truly the future. encouraged. As it grows, the dramatic Licence renewal hearings for conven- and comedic stories of Canadians find tional broadcasters are expected in the audiences within and outside our borders. late spring or early summer. Predictably, It can be an industry that exists with a the broadcasters are already crying healthy level of co-production that locates Richard Hardacre poor. As they fill Canadian airwaves with to Canada. Without question it benefits ACTRA National President 2 InterACTRA WINTER 2009 60290-1 ACTRA.indd 2 1/22/09 2:32:54 PM letters to the editor WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR UNION MAGAZINE... Dear Editor, InterACTRA: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 2 PAGE 19 by Richard Hardacre Congrats on your admirable cover story ACTRA’s drama campaign 4 on Passchendaele. What Paul Gross has enters its third act accomplished is of considerable import- by Joanne Deer ance on a number of levels. He has made TV Drama: Why performers 7 an amazing feature film about us; telling need to act our own story, in our own language – by Heather Allin a real, Canadian film! He has aroused in Canadians underutilized emotions of Tajja Isen & Andrea Menard 8 pride, gratitude and wonder at the impos- swap stories on-line by Joanna Bennett sible deeds our compatriots have been called upon to perform when others could Change begins with participation 12 not, and the stubborn determination, bred by Raoul Bhaneja from our soil, with which they succeeded. FEDERAL ELECTION ACTION 12 He somehow convinced many people to coast-to-coast participation invest, and he has wrapped the whole ACCIDENTS ON SET 16 thing in a moving, emotional story of love, Actra Fraternal’s new program duty and determination that, while the by Bob Underwood film may satisfactorily appeal to others on that level alone, is particularly demonstra- Work Histories On-Line: Q&A 17 e tive of how we like to think of ourselves BRANCH NEWS 18 in Canada. The surreptitious daubing of PAGE 21 Updates from Alberta, eyes and shy, shared smiles of recogni- Ottawa and UBCP tion from patrons exiting the theatre are UBCP’s resolution to 19 experiences for which I thank Paul Gross the B.C. Federation and his whole gang. by Alvin Sanders Finally – and on a personal level – Saving for our working kids’ futures 20 Paul’s film has taught me a little more about ACTRA PRS Minors’ Trust my own father who was one of the 16,000 by Theresa Tova casualties at Passchendaele. The very few stories he told me were about other things. APPLAUSE 21 I know why now. I thank Paul for that too. Sandra Oh receives LA Award, Peter Keleghan to recieve ACTRA PAGE 23 Dan MacDonald Toronto’s Award of Excellence, Canadian Comedy Awards for Michael Cera, Gavin Crawford and Ellen Page, Geminie award winners, INTERACTRA Winter 2009, Volume 15, Issue 3 Sandi Ross honoured by WIFT InterACTRA is the official publication of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), a Canadian union of performers affiliated to the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and the International FAREWELL 23 Federation of Actors (FIA). InterACTRA is free of charge to all ACTRA members. Frederick M. Diehl EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Heather Allin, Joanne Deer, Ferne Downey, Brian Gromoff, Richard Women of Steel inspire 24 Hardacre, Carol Taverner and Stephen Waddell. Women of ACTRA CONTRIBUTORS: Tina Alford, Heather Allin, DJ Anderson, Wendy Anderson, Charlotte Arnold, Joanna Bennett, Raoul Bhaneja, Chris Cornish, Joanne Deer, Bruce Dinsmore, Ferne Downey, Chris Faulkner, Raymond BARGAINING UPDATE 26 Guardia, Richard Hadley, Richard Hardacre, Tajja Isen, Brad Keenan, Judy Land, Duval Lang, Ruth Lawrence, by Marit Stiles Maureen MacDonald, Mary Malone, Claire Martel, Patricia McCutcheon, Andrea Menard, Steve Mumford, Dan O’Brien, Alvin Sanders, Gary Saxe, Alison Stewart, Marit Stiles, Howard Storey, Ben Switzer, Theresa Tova, Bob Contract Q&A 27 Underwood, Stephen Waddell and Christine Webber. In Business For Performers 28 COVER PHOTOS: Eric Peterson (large photo) and Robb Wells (top inset) at the 2007 Ottawa CAB demo, photos by Chris Faulkner; Sonja Smits (middle inset) confronting then Liberal Finance Minister John Manley Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union at 2003 Toronto protest of $25 million cut to CTF, photo by Thom Tapley; Tabby Johnson (bottom inset) at by Stephen Waddell the October 2008 Toronto election rally beside the CBC, photo by Peter Baker. Member Discounts 29 LAYOUT: Joss Maclennan Design www.joss.to Printed in Canada by union labour at Thistle Printing. All contents are copyright ©2009 ACTRA. All rights are reserved and contents, in whole or in part, may not Faces you’d love to slap 30 be reprinted without permission. The points of view expressed do not necessarily represent those of ACTRA. My TAC.tv adventure Please return any undelivered mail to: ACTRA, 300 – 625 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2G1 by Bruce Dinsmore PHONE 1-800-387-3516 or (416)489-1311 FAX (416)489-8076 EMAIL [email protected] WEB www.actra.ca BACK COVER 32 Publications Mail Agreement #40069134 ISSN 1705-9496 Air Farce wraps it up 10% WINTER 2009 Inter ACTRA 3 60290-1 ACTRA.indd 3 1/22/09 2:33:01 PM policy issues ACTRA’S DRAMA CAMPAIGN ENTERS ITS THIRD ACT It’s time to fight for that happy ending by Joanne Deer, Director of Public Policy and Communications For those of you who have been let’s quickly review what’s happened in the and entertainment magazine TV shows.