Sophie Prégent will leave the presidency of the Union des artistes (UDA) at the beginning of the spring, at the end of a reign which will have proved to be more than eventful. Over the past 10 years, platforms have undermined the television industry, the artistic community has been splashed with revelations of sexual misconduct and a pandemic has plunged many artists even further into precariousness. At the height of the health crisis, the actress confides that she seriously feared for the future of the union. But she will leave with the feeling of accomplishment, convinced to leave a house in order.
“When I arrived in office, in 2013, my predecessor [Raymond Legault] told me that I was going to manage the decline. But that’s not what happened at all. He is signing more contracts than ever in the audiovisual sector. Today, the UDA is in much better financial health than ten years ago,” says Sophie Prégent from behind her vast office, from where she has an impressive panorama of eastern Montreal.
Whoever sits in this chair will probably never face a crisis as big as the one she had to manage for more than two years. At the start of the pandemic, when most members found themselves out of work overnight, the UDA’s revenue from dues plummeted. “Everything went through my head at that time,” recalls Sophie Prégent, who describes this period as the most difficult of her presidency.
Thank God, the audiovisual sector was able to resume its activities quickly, and the contributions thus started to rise again. The performing arts community has suffered much more from the pandemic, but the situation has finally returned to normal almost three years later, even if the imminent end of ticketing aid is a cause for concern.
Still work to do
If the UDA finds itself in a more enviable situation than ten years ago, it cannot be claimed that the working conditions of the union’s 8,500 active members have improved in the last decade. Some will say that they have even regressed. Admittedly, there have never been so many productions, and therefore artists working. But the pace of filming has accelerated considerably, and conditions have often suffered.
“Before, there were just three TV sets. Now everything is broken. The problem is that there is no more money. The pie remained the same, it is just divided into more wedges. There are artists who rejoice in it, because they work when before, they had difficulty. But those who were already working complain that conditions have deteriorated on the sets and that they can no longer negotiate their salary as much. Would it be better to turn less to offer better conditions? Or is it better for everyone to work? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t have an answer to this question, ”recognizes the outgoing president of the UDA almost candidly.
The actress once considered seeking a third term. But, at 58, she feels it’s time to pass the torch, ideally to someone from another generation, to “be able to speak to younger members”. Currently, only comedian Pierre-Luc Brillant has publicly announced his intention to stand in the March 27 election. Sophie Prégent does not want to play the mothers-in-law, but she lets it be known that it would be the expression of a healthy union democracy if several members are candidates.
Regardless, the challenges awaiting the next president are numerous. Starting with the regulation of listening platforms. Before her departure, Sophie Prégent also hopes that the federal Parliament will adopt Bill C-11, which seeks to subject the giants of the Web to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
“C-11 is a foundation on which our culture will be able to build, but it must be just the beginning of the fight. We need to make even tougher laws, quotas, for our culture to survive. The CRTC must be able to put on its pants in front of platforms that do not respect their obligations, ”she thunders, launching into a vibrant plea, which sounds like advice for the next president.
Victories and some critics
During her reign, Sophie Prégent made it a point of honor to defend Quebec culture in front of the giants of the Web, which did not prevent her from actively campaigning for better representation on screen of artists from minorities. , visible or otherwise. The progress made in recent years in terms of diversity are among his greatest sources of pride at the end of his presidency. “It’s day and night between my entry and my exit. My God what happened, things about inclusion! I think that, in a few years, these will be battles that will have been won. Is everything perfect? No. But that has nothing to do with what it was. We really shook the columns of the temple, ”she rejoices.
The adoption by Quebec of the reform of the status of the artist, after several years of waiting, also counts unquestionably among its legacy. In ten years, his leadership has never wavered, except perhaps at the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017. When the behavior of director Sylvain Archambault was denounced in an article by The PressSophie Prégent explained on the radio that she had no problem with him on the set of the series Horse-Snake, in which she held one of the leading roles. Prominent artists had criticized her for having responded as a simple actress, and not as the president of a union. We went so far as to question the fact that she could continue to practice her acting profession while she occupied the highest office at the UDA.
Sophie Prégent refuses to return to this episode. The outgoing president braces herself when asked if her successor should be a more withdrawn member of the industry, so as not to find herself in an apparent conflict of interest. “You wouldn’t ask a nurse or a firefighter that question. I find it hard to believe that someone who is completely outside the community has the legitimacy to defend his peers, ”she replies.
The star actress, who we will soon be able to see in the third season ofAlerts at TVA, will have even more time, after March 27, to devote to her job, which still fascinates her just as much. She nevertheless wishes to seek a mandate as administrator within the UDA, in order to ensure a smooth transition. Always driven by the desire to improve the lot of artists, Sophie Prégent rejects for the moment the idea of embarking on active politics.