[YOUR ADDRESS]
[DATE]
Dear [insert MP’s name],
My name is [NAME] and I am a Canadian actor. As one of ACTRA’s 23,000 members, I wanted to take the opportunity this week to write to you about three of the key issues performers are currently facing in our film and television industry.
First, as a Canadian, I like to see Canadian stories on our screens. And as an artist, it is these stories that create job opportunities for me, my fellow performers and the other hundreds of thousands of creators who are employed in our film and television industry. A key part of the system that has helped to build Canadian success are production funds from money specifically set aside to ensure genuinely Canadian productions have access to financing. Some are arguing that we need to water down the definition of “Canadian” to make it easier for productions using these funds to import U.S. talent and supposedly gain greater access to foreign markets. The CRTC recently moved in that direction bywatering down the minimum points required to access funding from Canadian Independent Production Funds. This is a bad idea. Canada has seen great international success using Canadian creative talent. We should be celebrating and promoting Canadian talent, not telling us we’re not good enough.
Second, our industry depends on the funding systems that have been created tofuel Canadian production. Each dollar that gets put into a production fund helps get a story told and create a job in Canada. However, the funding system needs to adapt with technology. Traditional broadcasters are required to contribute to production funds but unregulated Internet broadcasters like Netflix are exempted. As more and more people change their viewing habits, this puts the financial foundations of Canadian film and television production at risk. The government needs to ensure all broadcasters play by the same rules and require Internet broadcasters to contribute to funding Canadian production.
Finally, as an artist, I currently have no economic or moral statutory protections for the use of my work in Canada or abroad. By extending the same moral and economic rights to audiovisual performers that are currently enjoyed by audio performers under Canada’s Copyright Act, you can ensure my image cannot be used in a way that is harmful to my reputation and that I can be compensated fairly for my work.Once the Copyright Act is under review next year, I would ask you to support amendments that would extend the moral and economic rights already in the Act for audio recordings to audiovisual works so I and my fellow performers are protected internationally regardless of where our work is used.
I hope I have provided some useful insight into some of the concerns I have as a resident in your riding. I’ve also included some further background information on Canadian content regulation, production funding and copyright reform in case you are interested in learning more about these issues.
Sincerely,
[NAME]