Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Honoured with
Canadian Award of Distinction

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was awarded the Canadian Award of Distinction at the Banff World Media Festival, held from June 9 to 12 in Banff, Alberta. Lee, known for his roles in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Star Wars series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, received this honour for his exceptional contributions to the industry. Previous recipients of this award include Colm Feore, Eric McCormack, Will Arnett, and his Kim’s Convenience co-star Simu Liu. Tom Green received the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award. Allana Harkin and Jasmeet Raina hosted the Rockies Gala Awards and Rockie Awards International Program Competition, respectively.

Canadian Women of Power in Entertainment

Photos: George Pimentel Photography

Devery Jacobs, an award-winning performer, writer, director, and producer, received the Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Canada’s Impact Award at the inaugural event in Toronto on May 30. Jacobs, from the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, advocates for Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ rights. The Impact Award, presented in partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office, honours Canadian trailblazers who drive better representation and opportunities in media and entertainment.

ACTRA National President Eleanor Noble was featured in The Hollywood Reporter’s list of “Canadian Women of Power in Entertainment in Canada,” which highlights 42 top female industry leaders. UBCP/ACTRA sponsored the panel on gender parity in the Canadian entertainment industry.

Martin Cochingco and Johnson Phan win Outstanding
Stunt Performance Emmy Awards for Shōgun

Hiroo Minami, Nobuyuki Obikane, Martin Cochingco, Johnson Phan. Photo credit: The Television Academy

ACTRA members Martin Cochingco and Johnson Phan have won Outstanding Stunt Performance Emmy Awards for their work on Shōgun. The British Columbia-shot series won Outstanding Drama Series and set a new Emmy record with 18 award wins in one season.

Cochingco and Phan won the award alongside stunt performers Hiroo Minami and Nobuyuki Obikane. For more than three days the group trained for the winning scene. Filmed on a freezing cold day in Langley, it took 13 takes to make it perfect.

The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was hosted by ACTRA members Eugene and Dan Levy on September 15. Link here to the full winners list.

2024 ACTRA Awards in the Maritimes

The 2024 ACTRA Maritimes Awards were presented at the Screen Nova Scotia Awards Gala on May 11, held at Casino Nova Scotia’s Bruce Guthro Theatre before a sold-out audience. The event featured the presentation of four gender-neutral Outstanding Performance Awards and the inaugural Series Ensemble Award.

Locally filmed TV series proved to be a showcase, with Kirstin Howell (Moonshine) and Shelley Thompson (Sullivan’s Crossing) both taking home ACTRA Maritimes Awards for Outstanding Performances. Britt Loder also won an Outstanding Performance Award for her role in the Hallmark movie Christmas Island, while David Rossetti won for his performance in the short film Remnants, which was made in the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative’s Film5 program.

Jonathan Torrens, Mary Austin, Brian George, and James Faulkner took home the inaugural ACTRA Maritimes Series Ensemble Award. The cast of the Bell Fibe TV1 series Vollies were recognized for their role in the fresh, funny comedy that follows the Essex-West-Essex Fire Department, a small-town volunteer fire department that never has any actual fires to fight. Link here to the full winners list.

Winners of the 2024 ACTRA Awards in Toronto

Front row: Members’ Choice Series Ensemble winner, Sort Of (Ali Hassan, Varun Saranga, Supinder Wraich, Raoul Bhaneja). Back row: accepting on behalf of Outstanding Performance (Gender Non-Conforming) GNC-F winner Elizabeth Saunders is Cliff Saunders; Award of Excellence recipient Maria del Mar; Outstanding Performance GNC-M winner Salvatore Antonio; Outstanding Performance GNC-M Voice winner Cory Doran; Stunt Award recipient Tom Farr. Missing from the photo is Outstanding Performance GNC-F Voice winner Maria Nash. Photo: George Pimentel Photography

The 22^nd ACTRA Awards in Toronto took place at the Palais Royale on April 22. Maria Nash won the Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Female Voice Award for the role of Pinecone in Pinecone & Pony, “The Sturdy Stone” (First Generation Films, in association with DreamWorks Animation and Apple TV +). This year the award was presented in honour of Samantha Weinstein. Samantha was an ACTRA member and in 2006, at 10 years old, became the youngest winner of an ACTRA Award. The Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Male Voice was presented to Cory Doran as Balloonicus in Super Wish, “The Ballooniverse Pageant” (Discovery Kids Latin America, Nelvana, Corus, Redknot). The Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Female Award was presented to Elizabeth Saunders as Sue in smokeBreak (Benchmark Pictures) and the Outstanding Performance – Gender Non-Conforming or Male to Salvatore Antonio as Salomé in Slasher, “Everybody’s Darling” (Shaftesbury, Shudder, Hollywood Suite).

ACTRA Toronto’s 2024 Award of Excellence was presented to Maria del Mar by Maurice Dean Wint with a special introduction by Gil Bellows. The 2024 ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award was presented to Tom Farr by Jamie Jones. Sort Of (Sphere Media, CBC, Max) won the Members’ Choice Series Ensemble Award. The Marsh King’s Daughter (Black Bear Pictures, Anonymous Content) won the 2024 Stunt Ensemble Award. Link below to the online edition of the awards presentation.

Link here to the online edition of the awards presentation.

Tina Keeper appointed to Order of Canada

Photo: George Pimentel Photography

ACTRA member Tina Keeper has been named Member of the Order of Canada. Well-known for her award-winning role as RCMP officer Michelle Kenidi on CBC’s North of 60, Keeper was named ACTRA National Woman of the Year in 2017. One of the first Cree members of Parliament, from 2006 to 2008 Keeper was the elected Member of Parliament for Manitoba’s Churchill riding under the Liberal Party of Canada and went on to serve as the Official Opposition’s Critic for Public Health and Canadian Heritage. As co-founder of Kistikan Pictures, Keeper continues to focus on Indigenous rights, reconciliation, and gender-based violence through her work.

The Order of Canada, established in 1967, recognises Canadians whose contributions have significantly shaped and impacted society.

Congratulations to the
2024 Canadian Screen Award Winners

Crave/APTN’s Little Bird, created by Jennifer Podemski and Hannah Moscovitch, led television honours winning 13 awards including: Best Drama Series; Best Ensemble Performance, Drama; Best Lead Performer, Drama Series, presented by the Canada Media Fund, for Darla Contois; and Best Supporting Performer, Drama for Braeden Clarke.

CTV’s Children Ruin Everything was honoured with awards for Best Lead Performer, Comedy for Meaghan Rath and Best Supporting Performer, Comedy for Ennis Esmer, while Crave’s Letterkenny received Best Ensemble Performance, Comedy. The award for Best Stunt Coordination was presented to Sean Skene, Dan Skene, and Cam Fergus for Crave’s Shoresy.

Film honours were led by Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry which received a record 14 Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture; Best Performance in a Leading Role, Comedy for Jay Baruchel; and Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Comedy for Glenn Howerton. The Queen Of My Dreams secured the win for Performance in a Leading Role, Drama for Amrit Kaur, while Performance in a Supporting Role, Drama was presented to Chantal Thuy for Ru.

The 2024 Canadian Screen Awards broadcast aired on May 31 and was hosted by Mae Martin. You can view the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards on CBC Gem and the additional shows and full list of winners can be viewed at CanadianScreenAwards.ca. ACTRA is a proud sponsor of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Top Photo, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee received the 2024 Canadian Award of Distinction at the BANFF World Media Festival. Photo: Kristian Bogner

By Staff

Chief Dan George, steadfast in his refusal to accept roles that demeaned Indigenous peoples, was a pivotal figure in advancing their rights in North America. Widely regarded as the first well-known Indigenous screen performer in North America, his activism profoundly reshaped the narrative of Indigenous people on and off screen.

Born in 1899 to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver, George (born Geswanouth Slahoot) served as chief of the Tell-lall-watt tribe of the Coast Salish Nation from 1951 to 1963. He was also an honorary chief of the Squamish and Shuswap bands.

Before embarking on a career in film and television, George worked as a dockworker, musician, and poet. His acting career began serendipitously when CBC Vancouver invited him to audition for their new Western series, Cariboo Country, while he was touring British Columbia as a musician in the late 1950s. His starring role in this series marked the beginning of his celebrated acting career.

Cariboo Country was notable for challenging many stereotypes of the Western genre, portraying guns as tools for hunting rather than instruments of violence. The series also broke new ground by casting Indigenous actors in Indigenous roles.

George’s talent caught the attention of Hollywood. In the 1960s and 1970s, he appeared in several notable films and television shows. His role as Old Lodge Skins in Little Big Man (1970) alongside Dustin Hoffman earned him an Academy Award nomination, making him the first Indigenous actor to receive such recognition. He also received accolades from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle for this performance.

In 1971, George was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest honours. He was also inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame and Playback’s Hall of Fame. His film credits include Harry and Tonto (1974) and The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), where he starred alongside Clint Eastwood. His many television roles include Bonanza, Kung Fu, and McCloud. He had a recurring role of Chief Moses Charlie in the Canadian comedy-drama series The Beachcombers.

Jackson Davies, who played RCMP Constable John Constable on The Beachcombers, recalls his experience working with George: “It was like being around royalty. Dan had a quiet elegance, and his voice was hauntingly beautiful. He was funny, loved to laugh, and enjoyed telling jokes. He was also thrilled to act alongside his granddaughter Charlene Aleck, who played Sara on the show. We were truly blessed.”

Davies also remembers George’s impactful activism. In 1967, to mark Canada Day, George delivered his poignant Lament for Confederation speech at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Davies describes the speech as a powerful introduction to Indigenous political activism.

In his speech, George addressed a dark chapter of Canada’s history: “When I fought to protect my land and my home, I was called a savage. When I neither understood nor welcomed his way of life, I was called lazy. When I tried to rule my people, I was stripped of my authority.”

Chief Dan George concluded with his hopeful vision for the future: “I shall see our young braves and our chiefs sitting in the houses of law and government, ruling and being ruled by the knowledge and freedoms of our great land. So shall we shatter the barriers of our isolation. So shall the next hundred years be the greatest in the proud history of our tribes and nations.”

Chief Dan George and Jackson Davies (left) and Bruno Gerussi (right) in the comedy drama CBC series The Beachcombers. Photos courtesy of Jackson Davies.

Top photo, Chief Dan George. Photo: Bettmann / Getty Images

Digital media platforms have not only revolutionized how viewers consume content, but they’ve also brought forward new challenges in the way performers’ residual compensation is tracked and calculated.

More and more consumers have been cutting the conventional cord and embracing the digital era of on-demand consumption. New Media, particularly streaming platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ are growing at an unprecedented rate.

According to estimates in Convergence Research’s most recent Couch Potato report, only 58 per cent of Canadian households still subscribed to a conventional cable, satellite, or telecommunications TV provider at the end of last year — a number expected to drop to 50 per cent by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, more than 80 per cent of households now subscribe to at least one streaming service.

Streamers are competing amongst themselves for subscribers and viewership. And their selling propositions are their catalogs including productions that are “exclusive” to their platforms. In addition to acquiring movies and series from third-party producers and distributors, they are also producing their own content. According to Ampere Analysis, an estimated $26.5 billion U.S. was invested by streamers globally in 2023 in original programming.

It has also redrawn the boundaries of content sales. Traditionally, producers and distributors would sell to broadcasters a license to air their shows on television channels for a set number of years in a specific territory. But this is a brave new world.

“The Internet has opened the floodgates,” says economist Hugh Mackenzie, a principal at Hugh Mackenzie and Associates. “Conventional barriers to entry do not apply to the streaming platforms and they reach wider audiences globally. Content can be delivered to anybody, anywhere in the world at any time. Consumption patterns have also changed with the introduction of streaming platforms.

Conventionally, broadcasters managed when and what to schedule for viewing. However, streaming platforms removed these conventional viewing restrictions by making content available 24/7 for consumers. Consequently, consumption trends have transitioned from availability-based to on-demand.”

Streaming giants, in competition for viewership and subscribers, are often seeking longer terms of license as well as exclusivity.

“They also look for exclusive rights in the global market,” Mackenzie adds. “They may plan to distribute exclusively on their streaming platforms, but they also look to block out all other rights. This limits additional sales opportunities, which translates to less residuals for performers.”

The terms by which performers in English-language Canadian productions are to be compensated for Use fees are outlined in ACTRA’s Independent Production Agreement (IPA) with the Canadian Media Producers Association and Association Québécoise de la Production Médiatique. (B.C. is an exception, operating under a collective agreement negotiated by UBCP/ACTRA.)

The current IPA expires at the end of 2024, and ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society (ACTRA PRS) is focused on preparing for bargaining in the months ahead, says Marie Kelly, ACTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator.

“The film and TV industry has been adapting to the rapidly advancing technologies and is always looking for opportunities to exploit the productions,” offers Kelly. “Our challenge is keeping pace, evaluating how those actually apply within the scope of the IPA and the impact they have on the residuals for performers.”

A key stumbling block is the streamers’ lack of transparency with their programming data, which producers have likewise complained about.

The sought-after information, Kelly says, primarily includes “total subscription base and/or viewership, and the total viewership of each production — in the domestic and foreign territories. This is the information we need to assess fair compensation.”

When a streamer acquires exploitation rights to a production, performers are compensated based on the license fee paid to the producer. For new productions, the producer (which could also be a streamer) has a couple of options for pre-paying Use fees. 

The Advance option sees the producer pay a percentage of the performer’s Net fees in addition to their daily fee. This non-refundable Advance paid at the time of production grants the producer unlimited worldwide use until the Advance is recouped from sales. Consequently, all sales must be reported to ACTRA PRS, and revenue is tracked against the Advance payments.

After the value of the Advance payment is recouped, the producer must pay performers a percentage of the revenue earned from the exploitation of the production, known as the distributor’s gross revenue (DGR) — at the prescribed percentage is tied to the Advance option elected.

Meanwhile, the Prepayment option has producers pay an additional 105 per cent to 135 per cent of the performer’s Net fees depending on whether it is a feature or TV production, with or without New Media use.

In this scenario, producers are granted four years of unlimited use. After that, they are obligated to pay 3.6 per cent of DGR, and those funds are then distributed to performers.

“But if they are not reporting to us on any activities, we can’t translate that into a Use fee payment for the performer,” Kelly says. This issue will only become more apparent as innovative technologies make further inroads, enabling more options for users to watch content that is readily available.

While Kelly says ACTRA PRS is continuing to pursue reporting and compensation from digital platforms, there was a positive sign stateside last November, when the streamers agreed to release ratings information to SAG-AFTRA.

Last year ACTRA PRS distributed more than $20 million to performers.

Mark Dillon is a film and TV journalist covering the screen industries across Canada and in Hollywood.

Top photo, ACTRA stunt performer Jodi Stecyk (driving the bike) with Tory Dorchester in Christmas in Wonderland.

If I have learned anything from serving in leadership, it is that if you want to get something done, particularly if it involves government, it will take longer than you think. Even if a regulation meant to protect the earnings of a minor are doing the opposite. Such has been the saga in trying to get a change in the B.C. Provincial Employment Standards Regulation to amend the option for a minor performer’s income held by law to be deposited into the ACTRA Performers Rights Society Minors’ Trust (ACTRA PRS) rather than with the Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia (PGT).   

In British Columbia, 25 per cent of the income over $2,000 of a performer under the age of 16 has been required to be held in trust by the PGT until said minor reaches the age of majority.  A good thing you might say, as it protects the minor’s interest. However, the challenge with the PGT has been, and is, the significant fees they charge for managing that trust, as well as the lack of transparency and reporting. 

Consequently, a minor performer in B.C. generally finds the total amount coming to them, when they turn 19, is less than what they have deposited. For example, one performer who had approximately $10,000 held for 10 years netted out at $8,600. Whilst there is no regulation requiring the PGT to make up the difference, I believe the practice (not the requirement) is to top up to the original amount deposited. Still, this does not allow for this money to earn any interest over the years. Hardly seems right.

In contrast, the ACTRA PRS Minors’ Trust prioritizes the preservation of contributions. Established in 1999, it currently administers over 1,400 accounts with the current annual rate of return of 4.15 per cent.

So back to the saga. Our effort to address this issue began in 2016 when parents and guardians of minor members first brought this to the attention of UBCP/ACTRA. Countless hours were spent making calls and attending meetings with the various parties. Ultimately the only way forward was to lobby the government to amend the Employment Standards Regulation. Executive Board Members, management and staff, parents and guardians, as well as producers lobbied and held ongoing discussions with many provincial government officials to secure the option to choose where a child’s money is held. We met with the Minister of Labour on three separate occasions and held several follow up meetings with his staff. Finally, just when we sensed we were close, COVID-19 hit, which obviously drew everyone’s attention elsewhere.

As soon as we could, we resumed our lobbying efforts. We raised the issue with anyone who would listen, Ministers, MLAs and senior bureaucrats, all of whom saw the logic in the proposed amendment of the regulation. However, the bureaucracy’s tendency to maintain the status quo made progress difficult.

So, with a “never give up” and “go to the person in charge” attitude in mind, I attended a fundraiser where the Premier was expected, showed up early, and managed to speak with him directly. Fortunately, the Premier was also early. He and I were virtually the first to arrive, so I was able to spend some solid one-on-one time with him, provide background, and explain our goals. Once he understood, the Premier directed me to the Parliamentary Secretary for Arts and Culture, who promised to keep him apprised of the progress of the matter. 

We followed up with the Parliamentary Secretary, who was clearly on side.  Nonetheless, we continued to push for progress wherever and whenever possible. Months later, during Creative Industries Week in Victoria, we met with the Premier and the Minister of Labour to discuss the matter yet again. 

On July 8, 2024, we received the welcome news the regulation had been changed to allow minors to choose the ACTRA PRS Minors’ Trust. However, nothing is simple and there was a wrinkle — the new regulation required that our collective agreements explicitly state it as an option. Currently, only the British Columbia Animation Agreement allows for that. We immediately reached out to the negotiating producers and are now working to incorporate this language into the British Columbia Master Production Agreement (BCMPA) and will collaborate with ACTRA National to amend the National Commercial Agreement (NCA).

For more information on working with minor performers and the PGT there is excellent information on the Minors page on the UBCP/ACTRA website. Also, check out the About ACTRA PRS Minors’ Trust page on the ACTRA National website.

I extend my gratitude to our staff, particularly the Industrial Relations team, the members of our Guardians of Minors Committee, and to the parents and guardians who encouraged us to persist seeking these regulatory changes. Although most of their children have aged out, and will not benefit directly, I am sure they are gratified to know that future minor performers will get a fairer shake.

Frankly, I believe we would not have achieved this without the relentless determination of our Director of Contracts and Lead Negotiator, Lesley Brady. I believe she spoke for all of us when she said, “I admit I was a bit emotional when the news of the change came — it was a long eight years of continuing to fight on behalf of our most vulnerable members. Everyone knew the change made sense, it was just so incredibly frustrating that it took so long to achieve.”

Michael Cheevers; Tracey Friesen (CMPA-BC); Keith Martin Gordey; Minister Lana Popham, Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport – Government of British Columbia; Minister Harry Bains, Labour – Government of British Columbia and Lesley Brady.

Keith Martin Gordey is the Vice President of ACTRA National, President of UBCP/ACTRA, and Board Liaison to the UBCP/ACTRA Guardians of Minors Committee. His extensive film and television career includes roles on Stargate SG-1, Cold Squad, The Watchmen, Supernatural and The Order.

Top photo, front row: Tracy Ho; Lesley Brady; Premier David Eby, Government of British Columbia; Minister Harry Bains, Labour – Government of British Columbia; Aliza Vellani; Shawn Macdonald. Back row: Karla Laird; Fred Ewanuick; Keith Martin Gordey; Lexa Doig; Angela Liu; Anisha Cheema; Michael Cheevers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been at the forefront of entertainment industry news over the last couple of years. Opinions and attitudes around AI range from excitement for its possibilities to fear that the sky is falling. The reality likely lies somewhere in the middle, but particularly for actors and other creators, the potential threats must be taken seriously, and reasonable guardrails must be erected.

Most AI technology, including in our industry, goes unnoticed. If you subscribe to a streaming service, for example, an AI program provides the personalized recommendations you might receive. If you use a voice assistant on your phone or in your home, it is powered by a form of AI technology called natural language processing (NLP) that helps it to understand and interpret what you are asking and then respond. Online shopping, search engines, even autocorrect — these are all AI-powered functions that we encounter daily.

When used by workers to enhance and enable their work, AI can be a powerful tool. There are AI applications that are helping in medical research and diagnostics, such as in cancer diagnosis. AI tools are helping scientists combat climate change and aid wildlife conservation. The common denominator here is that the tool is being used to enhance the work of humans, not to replace them.

Newer forms of AI pose risks to actors and other creators because they can replace them. Some might argue that they are simply used to enhance the work of humans, but they do so by potentially replacing other humans. It is this use that has come to the forefront in the entertainment industry and that has become a central issue in industry labour negotiations. This is particularly true of generative AI (GAI).

GAI is a type of AI model that learns from training data, such as a studio’s library of content. It then can generate output in response to prompts it is given, creating new content that is similar — sometimes troublingly so — to the original work it was trained on. ChatGPT, for instance, is an application based on a form of GAI. Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) is the type of NLP model that powers the ChatGPT application.

The underlying technologies are not new, with some of them dating back to the mid-20th century. But advances in computer processing power and data storage have prompted rapid development and growth of the technology. This has allowed the development of extremely powerful algorithms that generate more complex content like images, videos, and music, and to do it faster and more effectively than ever before.

Today’s GAI programs have developed to the point that they can generate voices, and even likenesses, that are nearly indistinguishable from a real person. This technology is growing too rapidly and is too open to abuse to sit idly by and wait for the worst-case scenario to occur. It is therefore critical we act now to ensure protections are put in place.

In many ways, the issues that have come to the forefront with GAI are not new – they are just cast in a new light. The march of technology has transformed our industry at many points in history, changing how creators are hired and paid, the nature of the work, how work is found and exploited, and so much more. What differs now is the speed with which technology is developing and advancing. Many have compared the recent advancements in AI, GAI in particular, to the invention of the printing press or the internet — paradigm-shifting revolutionary change, both to our screen industry and the world.

Few understand the impact of, and the risks posed, by GAI quite as well as creators and artists like our members and those of our sibling unions. Many of you walked the picket lines or rallied in solidarity with our U.S. union siblings as they fought to put fences around industry employers’ use of AI before it could run roughshod over the entire industry. Their fight was just the start, of a battle we are all entwined in.

Unfettered and unregulated, GAI can pose an existential threat to many categories of workers, both in our industry and beyond. It poses risks to democratic institutions and reputations when it can be used to manufacture disinformation and present it as truth. For ACTRA members and countless others whose likenesses, voices, and performances are central to their careers, misuse can destroy reputations, livelihoods, and even lives.

Still, no matter how strictly a union regulates GAI in its contracts, its jurisdiction can be limited.

ACTRA members’ images and voices are the cornerstones of their careers. We must, and we do, approach the regulation of GAI on multiple fronts. Beyond bargaining, we continue to engage in efforts to ensure AI-related legislation protects ACTRA members.

We work with our sibling unions domestically and in the U.S., as well as those around the world, to share knowledge, information and best practices. And we engage in efforts to educate our members and the broader community on the issues.

Our work as a union is just one part of this fight.

As performing artists, it is important that you and your representatives also understand the technology and risks and that you do your due diligence before signing any contract or clicking to accept the terms of use. This is particularly true when you come across AI-driven apps that invite you to upload content, no matter how exciting they might seem. As we have seen with social media, when you are getting the service at no or low cost, you are probably the product. Understanding the technology and the rights you are granting is critical to making an informed decision.

Our employers must recognize the need for strong, fair protections in our collectively bargained agreements, and the government must do its part to protect all Canadians from abusive uses of these technologies. Chief among these protections, particularly for actors, are the “3 Cs” that have been the cornerstone of recent negotiations and legislative advocacy, not just for ACTRA but also for our sibling unions: consent — performers should have the right to consent to, and be credited for, the use of their name, image, likeness, and voice in AI-generated content; compensation — performers must be compensated when AI is used to replicate them, particularly when used in a manner for which they would otherwise be paid for their work; and control — performers must have the right to demand mechanisms be in place to protect the data they provide, ensuring their work cannot be copied, scraped or stolen.

These “3 Cs” are all critical to any bargained contract. They also should be enshrined in the law, with the rights of consent and control set forth as protections for all Canadians. No one should be made to speak words they did not speak or be depicted performing acts they did not perform simply because the technology exists to do so. It goes against the core rights and freedoms we hold dear as Canadians.

The reality is that GAI is not going anywhere, no matter how much some might like to see its advance halted. To the contrary, the number and capabilities of AI programs are growing exponentially, and experts predict this growth will not slow anytime soon. We must all remain vigilant as we fight for protections now and into the future. ACTRA stands ready for the fight.

Marie Kelly is ACTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator. Marie’s mission is to improve the working lives of performers by setting high standards for collective bargaining.

Top photo: iStock