(Quebec) Artists will have to be patient before knowing whether or not their working conditions will be improved in the short term thanks to Bill 35 tabled Wednesday in the National Assembly.
Posted at 10:33 a.m.
The Legault government having waited until the very end of its mandate to respect its commitment to propose a long-awaited update of the laws governing the professional status of artists, the chances of seeing the bill adopted before the adjournment of parliamentary proceedings, the June 10, are correspondingly diminished.
A few weeks before the deadline, the bet seems risky.
Things are complicated by the fact that this legislation will have to be studied by the Committee on Culture and Education, already overwhelmed by Bill 9 on the Student Ombudsman, the process of which is however very advanced, and Bill 32, which has just been tabled, and which deals with academic freedom. His study has not yet started. Guaranteed traffic jam risk.
Eventually, parliamentarians from different parties could agree to refer the bill to another committee to expedite its study.
The Minister of Culture, Nathalie Roy, will therefore have taken four years to draw up her legislative document which will update the two laws on the status of the artist adopted in 1987 and 1988, considered dilapidated and full of holes by cultural circles.
This late initiative nevertheless constitutes his last chance to intervene in this file, at least in the present mandate, which will end in October.
Updating the laws governing the professional status of artists, a demand from the cultural community that dates back ten years, was an election promise of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) in 2018.
The goal is to provide artists with minimum working conditions in their workplaces, based on agreements negotiated in all contracts entered into.
The bill therefore aims to plug several existing breaches in the laws of the 1980s, which governed a sector that has evolved considerably since then. The 1987 law targeted conditions for performing, recording, and film artists, while the 1988 law expanded the scope of the law to artists in the visual arts, crafts, and literature.
It will further protect artists against any form of psychological or sexual harassment and any manifestation of intimidation in the performance of their duties.
The bill tabled on Wednesday follows a consultation held in two stages, in the winter of 2020, then in the winter of 2021. In addition, around fifty briefs had been sent to the minister.
Initially, two former Ministers of Culture, Liza Frulla and Louise Beaudoin, were to join in the process of consultation and revision of these laws, but they had to withdraw, being no longer available due to the vagaries of the calendar.