Winners of the 2021 ACTRA Awards in Toronto

The 19th annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented virtually on February 21 on ACTRA Toronto’s YouTube channel. Bahia Watson won Outstanding Performance – Female Voice for Total Dramarama and Cory Doran won Outstanding Performance – Male Voice for Doomsday Brothers. Tamara Podemski won Outstanding Performance – Female for Coroner and Jesse LaVercombe won Outstanding Performance – Male for Violation. For the third consecutive year, the Members’ Choice Series Ensemble Award went to the Schitt’s Creek cast. Tara Sky presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2021 Award of Excellence to her mother, multi-disciplinary artist Jani Lauzon. Said ACTRA Toronto President David Gale, “Building a star system in Canada has been a little bit of a thing of mine for a while. We will build our strength as a union by raising the profile of our award-winning and rising stars.” actratoronto.com

Winners of the 2021 ACTRA Awards in Manitoba

ACTRA Manitoba’s 5^th awards ceremony was streamed live on May 15 on ACTRA Manitoba’s YouTube channel. Seven performance awards and two special industry recognition awards were presented. Lisa Ball and Paul Essiembre each picked up an award for Outstanding Performance in a Feature Film for their work in Fractured. Stephanie Sy and Dave Brown each picked up an award for Outstanding Performance in a Series Episode. Stephanie for her work in Nikola Tesla and the End of the World and Dave for his work in season one of Burden of Truth. In the Outstanding Performance in a Short category, Nancy Sorel picked up an award for her work in Platypus while Aaron Merke won an award for his work in Lughead. Kristen Sawatzky picked up the Outstanding Stunt Performance Award for her work in We Summon the Darkness.

ACTRA Manitoba honoured On Screen Manitoba with the Wayne Nicklas Award for its outstanding achievement and commitment in support of the film and television industry. Eagle Vision was honoured with an ACTRA Award for exceptional commitment to Manitoba performers for its series Burden of Truth.

Schitt’s Creek wins SAG Awards, Canadian Screen Awards, GLAAD Media Award & more!

Canadian comedy series Schitt’s Creek has continued its hot streak this awards season starting in February with two Golden Globe Award wins: Best Television TV Musical or Comedy and the Best Actress in a TV Musical or Comedy award for Catherine O’Hara. Catherine earned more accolades for her role as Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award in April for Best Female Actor in a Comedy as well as the SAG Award for Best Comedy Ensemble for the entire cast. The show also picked up its second consecutive win for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards in April. The GLAAD Awards recognize what the media advocacy organization calls “fair, accurate, and inclusive” depictions of LGBTQ people and issues. Also in April, the Writers Guild of Canada’s annual Canadian Screenwriting Awards honoured Schitt’s Creek with Dan Levy taking home the Comedy Series award for the series finale episode, “Happy Ending.” Most recently Schitt’s Creek won eight Canadian Screen Awards including Best Comedy Series, Best Lead Actress, Comedy for Catherine O’Hara, Best Writing, Comedy for Dan Levy and Best Supporting Actress, Comedy for Emily Hampshire. Dan Levy was also recognized for winning the Radius Award, recognizing his special contributions to Canadian culture.

Congratulations to our 2021 Canadian Screen Award winners

Schitt’s Creek picked up eight Canadian Screen Awards this year, including Best Comedy Series; Best Lead Actress, Comedy for Catherine O’Hara; Best Supporting Actress, Comedy for Emily Hampshire; Best Writing for Dan Levy; and Best Direction, Comedy for Dan Levy and Andrew Cividino. Actor Hamza Haq won Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Transplant (the show also won for Best Drama Series) and the Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series CSA was won by Crystle Lightning for Trickster. The Indigenous zombie thriller Blood Quantum won seven awards, including Michael Greyeyes for Best Performance for an Actor in a Leading Role and both Jean Frenette and Jean-François Lachapelle for Best Stunt Coordination. Colm Feore took home the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role award for Sugar Daddy and Mary Walsh the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for Happy Place. The late Christopher Plummer was named Best Supporting Actor for his role in Departure, a suspense drama about a flight that disappears over the Atlantic Ocean, and the Best Supporting Actress award went to Tamara Podemski for Coroner. For their work in Kim’s Convenience, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee won Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and Andrew Phung Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The Baroness Von Sketch Show picked up four awards, including Best Performance Ensemble and Best Sketch Comedy. Jayne Eastwood won the Best Lead Performance in a Web Series award for HEY LADY! and Tricia Black won Best Supporting Performance in a Web Series for Band Ladies. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to David Suzuki, the Earle Grey Award to Tina Keeper, the Radius Award to Dan Levy and the Academy Icon Award to the late Alex Trebek. ACTRA is a proud sponsor of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Canadian Screen Awards. Link here to watch the virtual presentations. academy.ca

Sandi Ross Awards in Toronto

Tokens creator-director Winnifred Jong and Working the Scene in Colour co-creators Jessica Meya and Louis Taylor were honoured at the Sandi Ross Awards on March 21, 2021. The Sandi Ross Awards, traditionally presented annually in September, were postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic. The recipients were celebrated during a one-hour roundtable discussion about diversity and inclusion in the film and television industry, hosted by ACTRA Toronto’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee co-chairs Lisa Michelle Cornelius and Samora Smallwood. The Sandi Ross Awards celebrate one individual and one company/organization each year whose work demonstrates a commitment to inclusion on screen. The awards were conceived by the ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee under past co-chairs Sedina Fiati and Farah Merani as the #SharetheScreen Awards and were renamed in honour of ACTRA Toronto past president Sandi Ross, who passed away just before the inaugural presentation in 2016. Sandi Ross was the first woman and Person of Colour to be president of ACTRA Toronto.

Andrea Menard: ACTRA National 2021 Woman of the Year

Andrea Menard is a distinguished performer, singer and writer. This year, Canadian performers are shining a spotlight by naming her our 2021 ACTRA National Woman of the Year.

You have played some ground-breaking characters. What makes them so unique?

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was building a career of “firsts.” Moccasin Flats, which was produced by Big Soul Productions, was the first all-Indigenous TV series about Indigenous youth – written, acted, crewed and produced by an all-Indigenous team.  The character I played in Moccasin Flats, Constable Amanda Strongeagle, was the first lead female Two-Spirit character in Canadian television. In The Velvet Devil, which is the made-for-TV movie based on my one-woman musical, I was the first to write and portray a glamorous 1940s Métis star who broke the stereotype of historically “vulgar Métis women.” The Switch, produced by Trembling Void Pictures, was the first transgender sitcom that was not only written, directed, produced and acted by an all-LGBTTQTS team (I think I was one of three exceptions), but it was also the first to have an Indigenous transgender lead actor, Nyla Rose. I was only able to play these ground-breaking roles because the project themselves were revolutionary. When our industry funding bodies champion talented creators, and get behind projects that break the mould, it shows we are maturing as an industry. When the projects on Canadian screens break down stereotypes, unravel racism, and open-up our minds and hearts to the beauty of marginalized communities, then Canada will finally emerge as a leading storytelling nation.

Have you been able to play the parts you’ve wanted to play?

Yes and no. As a younger actor, I came on to the acting scene at a time of significant Indigenous artistic expansion. The first Indigenous broadcaster, APTN, was born and, for the first time, our stories were being told in a dramatically and culturally accurate way. Indigenous writers, actors, directors, stunt workers, crew members and producers finally had a chance to hone their skills and build capacity so we could be competitive in the mainstream. I was extremely fortunate to be playing strong, leading Indigenous characters developed by Big Soul Productions, Red Cloud Studios, Angel Entertainment, and Prairie Dog Film & TV. These characters were dream roles. I played cops, lesbians, chiefs, bitches and divas. They were not just strong and resilient, but vulnerable and tender as well – reflective of all the incredible Indigenous women I knew! It doesn’t hurt that I wrote my own dream role in The Velvet Devil and had talented friends write juicy roles for me as well.

As I outgrew the ingenue roles, I saw a dramatic decrease in parts. The juicy, well-rounded characters I was used to playing diminished before my eyes. We all know roles for women over 45 are scarce in our industry, but Indigenous roles for women over 45 are practically non-existent. As I enter the wildest, sexiest, most grounded time of my life, I haven’t seen too many roles to reflect this new me, but I can’t wait for word to get around!

You are deeply committed to the growth and development of Indigenous representation in Canada’s arts industries. How did this come about?

We have a long way to go in advancing Indigenous representation on our screens. Yes, some writers and producers are beginning to include more Indigenous characters in their scripts. And yes, some Indigenous content is making it into mainstream television. But until the Canadian screen sector takes a good hard look at the foundational racism that perpetually broadcasts the white, Eurocentric person as the quintessential Canadian, we won’t see Indigenous people populate our screens in a way that reflects reality. From where I’m sitting, Indigenous people occupy positions of influence in every sector of society, from medicine, law, pharmacy, education, music, theatre, dance, art, military, government, NGOs, construction, policy, research, health, landscaping, technology, and even the fossil fuel industry. Indigenous people are everywhere. Especially Indigenous women. We bring enormous value to society; yet if you were to believe what you see or don’t see on television or in our media, you would think we are invisible. This narrative is false and very destructive. If we want to bring real change to the film/tv industry, then our producers, casting directors, broadcasters, and, most especially, the heads of our funding bodies must all shift their mindset to imagine that any or every single character in a script could be Indigenous.

What’s changed within your professional life since the global COVID-19 pandemic started?

This pandemic has turned my life upside down. Just coming off a great theatre gig at the Grand Theatre, I came into 2020 believing myself to be one thing, and then here I am on the other end hardly recognizing my life. The performer in me has shifted gears. I am no longer acting or singing to get something or somewhere in my career. It’s not about me anymore. I have surrendered my old path to be more of service to my communities. And who knew my way of service would turn out to be translating for these times! I’ve been speaking more. I’ve been singing in weird digital spaces. I’ve been teaching. And even my acting has levelled up. So many people are struggling emotionally and spiritually with various changes and I want to help in any way I can. If that means the singer is needed, I’ll sing. If that means the storyteller is needed, I’ll act. Being of service means I’m open to whatever comes.

What piece of advice would you like to share with your fellow performers?

I believe performers have a lot more power than we think. We hope and dream and audition for the perfect role (or any role!) and, when it doesn’t come to fruition, we can doubt ourselves and fall into some self-destructive thought patterns. Even though the system sets us up to be the victims of circumstance in our industry, we are not victims. We have a lot of clout in choosing which roles to audition for, which roles don’t match our values, or are just too offensive to be seen on screen. We can say no.

Artists play a sacred role in society. And whether we believe it or not, we always have a say in which stories should be told. If you want to see a change on your screens that reflects humanity in a new way, then use your power to change it. Use your voice to say no to false narratives that harm others. Rally for more equal representation. Speak up for your fellow humans. Because that is our real job. To reflect the best of humanity.

Andrea Menard is a member of the Métis Nation of Canada and currently lives in Vancouver. Her stirring performance in her self-penned film, The Velvet Devil, earned her three Saskatchewan Showcase Awards, a Gemini nomination and an American Indian Film Festival Best Actress Award. In 2010, Andrea won an American Indian Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in A Windigo Tale. She has received three Best Performance Gemini Award nominations for her work in Moccasin Flats (2006), Rabbit Fall (2009) and Sparkle (2011) as well as the 2008 Best Ensemble Performance in an Animated Series Award for her work in Wapos Bay. In 2014, Andrea received a Best Supporting Performance Leo Award nomination for her role in Blackstone. Andrea’s other television credits include: The Switch, Hard Rock Medical, Arctic Air and Supernatural.

Kalyn Bomback

Women of a Certain Age

I was inspired by the words of Catherine O’Hara upon accepting her 2020 Emmy Award: “I will forever be grateful… for the opportunity to play a woman of a certain age, my age, who gets to fully be herself.”

As I approach middle age, I am a woman facing a time of reckoning. My world is changing. My entire existence and sense of self is shifting. It is all happening very fast; I struggle to embrace a new identity entirely foreign to me.

To help me navigate this new identity, I decided to reach out to nine ACTRA members from across Canada and ask them to share their stories, wisdom and experience with us. To inspire and tell us what it means to them to be a woman of a certain age.

Collaborating with these nine women has been an incredible experience. I consider myself fortunate and blessed to have connected with them on such a personal level.

My deepest thanks to Nancy Sorel, Arlene Duncan, Wendi Smallwood, Carol Gay Bell, Shelley Thompson, BJ Harrison, Kate Hurman, Tina Lameman and Ranee Leefor sharing what it means to them to be a woman of a certain age. 

Carol Gay Bell

This Regina-born Order of Canada recipient has enjoyed an interesting and successful career in the media and the arts. Carol Gay Bell has been a producer, director, announcer, actor, commentator, reporter and was the first female and first Saskatchewan director of Musical Variety for CBC Television in Saskatchewan as well as the first jazz DJ in Canada. Carol joined ACTRA in the 1960s and is one of ACTRA Saskatchewan’s first 50 members.

Being a woman of “any age” has its challenges. Back in the days when I was in the media, some of the things I heard were: “Who wants to listen to a woman on the air?” and “We’ve never had a girl in the newsroom.”  

For many, being a woman “of a certain age” equates to being “over the hill.”  We cringe at the first grey hair, the first lines in our face, the age spots that suddenly appear.  We wonder “who wants to look at this old face on screen?”

My wise mother always said If I wanted to succeed in a man’s world, I would have to be twice as smart, work twice as hard and be twice as good at my job…which I have always tried to do!

Be grateful for people who have great expectations of you. You will reach for the stars.

Photo: Mark Greschner.

Arlene Duncan

Arlene Duncan is a singer and award-winning stage, screen and voice actor. Notable credits include roles in Degrassi: Next Generation, Franklin the Turtle, Little Mosque on the Prairie and, most recently, Diggstown. 

The industry often fails to see “women of a certain age” as whole and valuable persons with a wide range of emotions and experiences. There are similar challenges to being BIPOC: being confined to a particular look or limited to certain stories or stereotypes.

I am fortunate my career has helped me grow as an artist and increase visibility for people who look like me, creating a place for them and their stories on stage and screen. 

Believe in yourself and your talent. Surround yourself with people who uplift you, know your personal limitations and continuously upgrade your skills. Never give up. When I started in this industry, there were obvious limits to how far the careers of women of colour could go. Over the years, those limits have lessened but there is still a long way to go.

Photo: Yuri Koller

Kalyn Bomback has been acting in the film industry for 25 years and has been a member of ACTRA for just about as long. She sits on the Executive of ACTRA Manitoba, chairs the ACTRA Manitoba Women’s Committee and is a member of the ACTRA National Women’s Committee.

Olunike Adeliyi

Auditioning with a six-year-old is probably the hardest thing I have ever encountered. I have no time for self-care or to get my work done. We try to make it a family thing, but it is hard with school and everything else you’ve got to deal with to make time for self-tapes. I request extra time to audition all the time. I need the maximum amount of time to do what I do. I comb through every word because I want to do the character justice. I’m that person.

It doesn’t scare me to be in rooms or on Zooms. Of course, you get those little nerves, but if you’re practiced and ready to go, the nerves just become something that supports you. I also try to remember there are no rules. Unless you’re told not to, do what you want. Chances are, when you do what you want, you are way more grounded.

I love the work, but I’m not interested in this crazy cattle call race anymore. We are actors and actors need agency. You’ve got to have the ability to say no. I can walk away at any time and be satisfied I gave it a shot. Because there are other aspirations I want in my life, I am not living for the industry and I can tell you, for me, it took away the stress of having to book. I practice prayer meditation, journaling and reading. I allow myself to drop into a mood of calm. Whether learning lines or doing character development, I’m calming the soul and getting aligned.

Going into a Zoom callback, I use my calm app. I burn my sage and just sit, breathe and wait. That way I am calm enough to say, “I’ve got this to give you. This is me today.” You end up owning your space because they’re not looking for how perfect you say the words, they’re looking for you. I also connect with the reader. I thank them for being opposite me and for giving this moment to me. The only person who matters is the person you’re acting with. No one else in the room matters.

Joanne Vannicola

I can’t say the name of the show yet, but it’s been around for a few seasons and has a massive fan base. The first audition was with a casting director and reader on Zoom.  I had just had a death in my family and honestly didn’t know how I was supposed to deal with death, COVID and other life pressures. The sides were mammoth, with very difficult dialogue that felt like another language. And then I was told to do an accent on top of it. This was not going to work out well. Then I find out the part is non-binary and I just had to try. I worked through a lot of grief and turmoil to memorize this very technical script. The audition went well until they said, “now do it with the accent.” I had done everything I could within the timeframe I was given and said, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t do that right now.” Then I was told they weren’t going to submit me, and I felt defeated, like I had been beaten up. A few days later, I got a note saying if I would put myself on tape with the accent, they would send it forward.

I had to go for it. My new self-tape audition was submitted and I ended up getting a third audition via Zoom with the director and creatives in L.A. It was nerve-wracking because they were 50 minutes late, but when they finally appeared, they were lovely. I will also add that I outed myself in every audition, saying I was non-binary, Queer, and what my pronouns were. I made that part of the process, which was new for me.  It is important to be a part of that forward-thinking movement. And yes, I was really excited when I got the part. You have to take risks sometimes.   

Alison Woolridge

My mother passed away three years ago. Because of COVID, it was finally time to go out to Corner Brook and clean out her big house. In the middle of this, my casting director friend, Didi, called to tell me I got a callback for an American production filming here in St. John’s.  I did the initial run of auditions. They liked me but I didn’t book. This time the audition was for a role that had the potential to become recurring. The day of the callback, I was knee-deep in my mother’s papers when I learned the house had inexplicably been sold. I was so rattled by the chaos, I poured myself a stiff gin. Let’s just say my mind was elsewhere. And now I had to concentrate on a callback!  I had to scramble to dial up Zoom from a new network. Didi was in her car, out on the isthmus, trying to find strong enough bandwidth to connect to Zoom with both the U.S. director and me.  Add to this, the Internet is coming and going because of a thundering lightning storm. I find myself sitting on the floor in my mother’s bedroom with my gin, crying in my dead mother’s possessions and thinking, do I even remember the lines? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! I poured myself another gin.  What do I have to lose? I do the audition. You could plainly see I was surrounded by boxes. I swear up a storm and basically say to the director, “as soon as this Zoom is over, I’m going to my dead mother’s wine cabinet and drinking everything in it.” It could have gone either way, but the director starts to laugh. And I think, oh my god, what did you just do?

The next day, Didi called to say, “you booked it” and “this is a lesson for both of us Allison, maybe we’re taking our auditions too seriously, maybe the looseness helps?”  I asked the director why he cast me. He said he didn’t care about the sides or the scene. He was just looking for that energy in an actor that he wants to capture when he’s filming.  

Russell Yuen

Normally, I would have three different versions in my pocket when I walk into the audition room. When you get direction, you have a better understanding of the style of the project and what they want. A difficulty with self-tape auditions is that now I need to combine parts of three different versions to make it work. I also do a lot more research than I did before, looking into the production, producer, showrunner and director.

I auditioned for this new kid’s show. I wasn’t sure of the style because the show hadn’t been filmed yet. So, I gave them two very different versions of the same scene. I was cast but I’m still not sure which version they want me to do.

When the pandemic hit, I was already set up for self-tapes but still had to invest in more equipment. I got a second ring light, a better microphone, and upgraded my editing software. I don’t want production quality, but I do want my self-tapes to be pleasurable to watch. I never correct an audition I have already taped. I put it together, look at it, see the mistakes… but if the acting is good, I let the mistakes go. Hopefully casting and production are doing what they should be doing. Not looking for perfection but looking for a good actor who understands the character.

The biggest challenge is putting everything together within the time limitations, especially when scenes are 12-15 pages long. If you receive it on a Wednesday, and it’s due Friday, you have to start studying, book your reader for the next day, edit it together, and send it out by Friday morning. Sometimes that is impossible.

Callbacks are hard to do on Zoom. You can’t read the room and there is the problem with audio delay. It is hard to get the timing right or find the chemistry, especially for comedy.

Systemic, ingrained racism is also something many actors have to deal with. I can’t tell you how many times people tell me to speak with my natural voice. I tell them I am and then I realize they want an accent that sounds Asian enough to make them happy but that doesn’t actually exist anywhere.

Theresa Tova is ACTRA National Treasurer and the Past President of ACTRA Toronto. She is the chair of the Entertainment Industry Coalition, which recently developed an improved code of ethics for talent agents. Her most important contributions to safety in the entertainment industry include proving to be an effective spokesperson about ACTRA’s zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment in the industry and her tireless efforts to protect child performers. An award-winning actor, writer and singer, Theresa is recognized as a Dora Award Winner and Gemini- and Governor General-nominated artist.

Malia Baker

When I received the call that I would be heading to L.A. for a chemistry read for The Baby-Sitters Club, everyone prepared me for the worst experience possible (after we celebrated of course). I was told to anticipate having no one talk to me and no support. Essentially a Mean Girls experience because, at the end of the day, we were all going to be in competition with each other and this is just business. I feel like this is how I have always been taught to perceive the things I want in life: it’s a competition, you’re in it alone, and to just keep your eye on the prize as you grin and bear it.

However, my experience from the start of The Baby-Sitters Club has been anything but that, as has my experience becoming part of a community of actors here in Canada and, most specifically, as a Black, multi-racial female in our industry.

When I arrived at Netflix headquarters, armed and ready for the worst, I was greeted by nothing but hugs and smiles from casting directors and all the girls who were also there vying for their own spot in this highly anticipated club. We worked on lines together, kept each other relaxed with games and laughter, cheered each other on, shared audition clothes, and hugged out nerves and wiped away tears together. Yes, we essentially embodied a real-life Baby-Sitters Club.

To date, there is no greater feeling I have experienced than being told I got the part of Mary Anne Spier in The Baby-Sitters Club and then looking around the room to see the group of predominantly women who helped make this happen. A group of women who were simply rooting for our collective success (thank you, Michael De Luca, for being the lone man who wept alongside the rest of us in our shared excitement!).

From that point on, I have really felt like I was part of a club, and not just The Baby-Sitters Club. I felt like I was a part of a group of people, of women, who were here to be my colleagues, my cheerleaders and my mentors. Through the show, I have had the chance to work with some amazing local talent, like Momona Tamada (a.k.a. the iconic Claudia Kishi), Karin Konoval, Diana Bang, Aya Furukawa, Kalyn Miles, Beatrice Kitsos, Daphne Hoskins, Heather Feeney (and so many more), who have all continued to be so incredibly supportive beyond just this show.

Since the show’s release, my circle of colleagues has expanded as I have been able to connect with more talent online, such as Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Mika Mitchell, as we each recognize being a Canadian actor in this very big pond is something we can support each other in and cheer each other through. More specifically, it is these types of connections that have led me to feel supported and embraced by an incredible circle of women of colour in our Canadian industry.

Until recently, we were either overlooked entirely or called upon to be representative of either an “ethnically ambiguous” or simply an “ethnic” character. For one, this idea of being a token and ambiguous character was difficult enough to swallow, but the idea that I was competing against all these other girls of colour, because for some reason we were all lumped together, was very challenging to my confidence. I remember always worrying, wondering how in the world I could possibly compete, and feeling, like in any other competition, we must go through this alone. However, I can now say with great gratitude what I have come to discover is quite the opposite.

I know after a year of living our lives online, it can feel cumbersome to invest so much more of ourselves in a digital space. But the truth is, that is where I feel most connected to these women and colleagues. When I post something on social media that strikes up a conversation or simply brings on some fist pump emojis, and I see people like Momona, Mika, Maitreyi, Kalyn and the wonderful women who have played my TV moms (Catherine Lough Haggquist and Miranda Edwards) cheering me on, I feel supported, I feel pride, I feel gratitude and I feel at ease. I feel like I am part of a community when I am embraced so beautifully by these fellow women of colour. We are not competitors; we are colleagues and each other’s greatest fans. Thankfully, the industry has also begun to open up to expand our possibilities and I know, as that increases, so too will our support for one another.

Malia Baker stars as Mary Anne Spier in the Netflix series, The Baby-Sitter’s Club, based on the nostalgic and beloved book series of the same name. Born in Botswana, Malia moved as a young girl to Vancouver, B.C., with her family. After visiting her father while he was working on set, she became enamored by the filmmaking process. She was inspired to pursue acting and has not looked back since. When Malia is not busy filming, she is spending time with her family, and painting and dancing. Malia’s global perspective has been shaped by her experiences as a child in Botswana, which provided her with a full understanding of the need for humanity and compassion. Malia is proud to use her social platforms to inspire and empower young girls to use their voices for change and equality. Instagram: @maliabakermsb | Twitter: @maliabakermsb

Marie Kelly
ACTRA National Executive Director

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to shine a spotlight on the many inequities that exist in our communities and industry. While it was great to see strict health and safety protocols quickly adopted on sets across Canada, it also showed how vulnerable Canadian performers are compared to other members of a production. Crew and production staff are protected by wearing masks on set, but ACTRA members are required to be mask-less when on camera. This only reinforces how imperative it is for all members of a production to strictly adhere to health and safety protocols to keep everyone safe. It also requires an element of trust from everyone knowing that your individual actions could result in a production either partially or completely shutting down.

As we move through the pandemic recovery period we are finding new and better ways to protect our members and advance our union to create a more equitable screen industry. Aspects of the craft have changed too – as highlighted in Theresa Tova’s Auditioning during COVID story in which she asks a few of members to share stories about how they’re handling new online challenges when auditioning.

Looking forward, engaging with members about ACTRA’s work and the issues affecting our industry will continue to be one of the key ways we help strengthen our union.

This year, we are maintaining a strong focus on bargaining with many of our major agreements either recently renewed or up for renewal. I want to congratulate our UBCP/ACTRA members for ratifying their British Columbia Master Production Agreement (BCMPA) this past April. I am proud of gains we achieved at the bargaining table for our UBCP/ACTRA members, specifically in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. I would also like to congratulate our members for ratifying ACTRA’s video game agreement with Game On Creative, Inc. this past March. I am proud of the strong cooperative and mutually respectful relationship ACTRA has developed with the Game On team and equally proud of the admiration Game On has for you and the professionalism you bring to your work.

At the heart of our bargaining success for these and the many other agreements ACTRA negotiates and enforces are two key factors: a strategic and dedicated bargaining team to renegotiate the agreement and engagement by ACTRA’s members to ratify the agreement. Your vote really matters. It is not only an opportunity to engage with your union, but your vote will influence your working life for years to come. Producers engage our performers because of your professionalism, dedication and excellence. Solidarity among our members is how we set precedents within our industry and win strong collective agreements.

We have two of our largest agreements up for renewal this year – our National Commercial Agreement (NCA) and our Independent Production Agreement (IPA). As I write this, we are in the middle of negotiations with the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and the Institute of Communication Agencies (ICA) to renew our NCA, which is set to expire on June 30. Our NCA bargaining team appreciates your support during this important round of negotiations. Please keep an eye on your inbox for updates and information in the weeks to come.

Our bargaining team will begin negotiations later this year with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) and the Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) to renew our IPA. Again, these negotiations will require a show of strength from ACTRA members.

One thing that will be key to our union’s future success in bargaining, public policy work, and diversity and inclusion efforts will be to learn more about the composition of the ACTRA membership on a national level. To achieve this, ACTRA has engaged Ipsos, a third-party market research company, to create the first-ever national ACTRA Membership Census. Ipsos will ensure your data and privacy are protected and will keep all information you provide in the census strictly confidential. We will be asking ALL ACTRA members to participate in this census – we want to hear from members from every region, membership category, race, ability, age, gender and sexual identity. I cannot stress enough how important your participation in this census is as it will have an impact on the strategic decisions made by our union for years to come. Please keep an eye on your inbox in the weeks ahead to learn more about how you can participate in our census.

While the census will play a role in planning our union’s future, it is Bill C-10, an Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, that will have a significant impact on the future of our industry and Canadian storytellers. Our National President David Sparrow does a great job in his ACTRA Magazine story, Sovereign nations tell their own stories, talking about ACTRA’s history advocating for a modernized broadcasting system and what’s at stake for our industry and Canadian creators if we don’t get the Act right.

In his article, David also announces his decision to step down as our National President this June. He will continue to be part of our National Council and serve as Past President. I want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to David for his leadership and mentorship. For the past two years, he has generously shared with me his in-depth knowledge of our union, screen industry and the life of a professional performer. David has spent the last four years as our National President setting our union and industry up for success. This includes his work with our elected officials in getting new broadcasting legislation passed. This work continues and we will be seeking your support on this file as it unfolds. I look forward to continuing all of David’s good work alongside our new National President.

We will continue to share more news in the weeks and months ahead about the exciting work your union continues to do to improve the working lives of performers. Please remember, your engagement on the ratification of our collective agreements, membership census and public policy work is essential for our union’s success. I hope we can count on your support.

In solidarity,

Marie Kelly

David Sparrow
ACTRA National President

As a country of creators, we have shared the stories and history of our people with the world, showcasing our unique regional distinctions and the wide diversity of Canadians while building a lasting legacy for generations to come. It is what sovereign nations do. They tell their own story. They don’t sell their culture away to the highest bidder; they protect it, celebrate it, and ensure it is both supported and accessible.

Through Canada’s Broadcasting Act, we have worked to protect our cultural identity by ensuring broadcasters that wished to access Canadian audiences and eyeballs, whether via Canada’s airwaves, cable or satellite, paid for this privilege and played by the same set of rules. However, when the Internet became the latest disruptor, some chose to see it as a wholly different medium and not in need of regulation. Fast-forward a couple of decades and our failure to regulate this media platform has us ready to hand Canadian audiences over to foreign multi-national corporations.

ACTRA has been advocating for a modernized broadcasting system for the better part of a decade and, specifically over the last five years, has participated in countless government consultations and roundtable discussions calling for our outdated legislation to reflect the digital world. It is this 10+ years of work that has led us to this moment.  

Right now, proposed legislation in Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act, is being debated in Ottawa by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. ACTRA appeared before this Committee to call on them to ensure any changes made to the Broadcasting Act prioritize Canadian creators and culture. We have also asked the Canadian Heritage minister and, by extension, the prime minister, to ensure any Policy Direction provided to the CRTC regarding the implementation of Bill C-10 strengthens content and accessibility rules.

The tools and goals of our broadcasting system remain just as important and relevant today as they were when the Act was first established almost 100 years ago: to maintain Canada’s cultural fabric by supporting the country’s creative industries and ensuring the availability and accessibility of Canadian music and stories. Much of achieving this depends on ensuring our broadcasting system is majority-owned and directed by Canadians, who recognize their important role in supporting Canadian culture.

“Regulation” has become the hot-button word in the press during Heritage Committee debates, with some suggesting every individual posting on social media or making a few cents through YouTube will need to register with the CRTC and pay fees to do so. This is not what the legislation intends to or will do. Instead, it calls on large, multi-national content broadcasters and streamers to pay their fair share. So, Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, Facebook and other multi-billion-dollar foreign streaming companies would be regulated by our Broadcasting Act when broadcasting to Canadians. Similar legislation is in place or being considered by countries all over the world, and Netflix, as an example, is already paying taxes and meeting domestic content and accessibility requirements in many of those countries.

So, while the legislation would create a level playing field between foreign and domestic broadcasters, some want to make that field easier to play on by ignoring the success of Canadian content. They would do this by diluting the definition of what makes a product Canadian. We can’t let that happen.

How should Canadian content be defined? Canadian writers, performers, directors, musicians and producers working together in television, film, radio, music and other media in Canada to create a wide diversity of content and then broadcasting it across multiple platforms, including the Internet, to our country and the world: that is Canadian content.

Who will own the Canadian system? Some want to change ownership rules. We can’t let that happen either. Does it seem reasonable that Canadian broadcasters could be majority-owned by U.S. conglomerates? Would there be any shelf space left for Canadian content? We have already watched as Canadian broadcasters in the late ‘90s were trusted to self-regulate their Canadian programming. We saw some drop to zero Canadian programs during primetime, opting instead to program the cheaper rebroadcast of American series – series already available to Canadians on U.S. networks.

We can’t make that mistake again when it comes to online broadcasters.

Some will say we’re living in a global marketplace and audiences should be left to decide what content succeeds, but that is a false premise. Audiences have and will continue to decide the success or failure of content based on whether they like it, but only if it is actually made, promoted and accessible. The U.S. has been very good at telling, publicizing and broadcasting their stories. Canadian production has often been challenged in this regard, especially when it comes to money for publicity. It’s now more important than ever our Broadcasting Act prioritizes Canadian storytelling and ensures a wide diversity of our own creators have an opportunity to imagine and share the Canadian perspective.

Some have pointed out certain streaming services are already buying and streaming Canadian content. That’s true, but what large, unregulated broadcasters do out of their own largess, they do because it is profitable, and should the scales tip, they will stop. It is only through regulation that we can ensure their continued support of Canadian culture. And remember, these few asks are more than a fair exchange for the billions of dollars they pull out of Canada each year in subscription fees.

So, what are the chances we get the Act we want? In truth, there are a number of obstacles ahead. First, there are folks who wrap their arguments in great soundbites about free-markets, free-speech and free-choice. They ignore the fact the Internet is not a free-for-all. There are already laws governing child-exploitation, fraud, slander, hate speech and more. As a sovereign country, we have the freedom and responsibility to regulate our media.

Then there’s the threat of an election. If the Heritage Committee and then the House of Commons and then the Senate don’t get moving on this before an election is called, Bill C-10 will die on the Order Paper. It would then have to be reintroduced under a new government, assuming they saw it as a priority.

I have spent much of the last four years as our union’s National President, speaking up on behalf of Canadian performers for a modernized Broadcasting Act, a more equitable union and screen industry, and better health, safety and financial protections for precarious workers. I am proud of the work we have done and of the many members who have added their voices to these efforts. In June, after 17 years of service to my fellow ACTRA members, I will be stepping down as National President and will pass the “torch” on to our next National President who will continue our fight to achieve a fair and equitable union, industry and broadcasting system. I look forward to continuing to support our great union in the role of Past President and know our National Executive Director Marie Kelly will be there to support us through this transition. Please be sure to read Marie’s article about the exciting things on the horizon for our union.

In the meantime, when it comes to Bill C-10, I must emphasize that time is of the essence. We must ensure changes to Bill C-10 prioritize Canadian creators and culture, and protect Canadian content with strong requirements around creation, accessibility and ownership rules. The changes made today will impact Canadian storytelling and storytellers for years if not decades to come.

If we don’t act now, our cultural expression WILL become something else – just not Canadian.

In solidarity,
David Sparrow