(Ottawa) The Union des artistes (UDA) joined its voice on Tuesday to other players in the cultural scene to demand the establishment of a guaranteed minimum income for artists.
Posted at 5:54 p.m.
The working time spent in the shadows, whether hours of guitar practice or text memorization, is not recognized, explained in an interview the president of the UDA, Sophie Prégent, on the sidelines of the Summit. on Culture in Ottawa.
“While you think we’re doing nothing, we’re working, we’re writing. That’s the principle, she said. In our society, there is no such recognition. […] However, if we don’t do that, we are not able to perform in front of you afterwards. »
Government pandemic programs, including the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit, the famous “PCU”, – which can be compared to a guaranteed minimum income – have more or less enabled artists to “survive”, he added. she said during a panel she moderated at the National Arts Center.
Although the government has “paid dearly” for the PCU as it has had “bad press”, the program has been “beneficial” for the artists, she insisted in an interview with The Canadian Press. According to Mme Prégent, we now have to convince the government to put in place a “slightly more targeted” measure.
The group demanded a guaranteed minimum income for artists before the pandemic, “but no one was listening to us,” she said, noting that the tide had turned and saying she saw “a form of openness”.
” The time has come ”
The idea of a guaranteed minimum income for artists was raised several times during the National Culture Summit which is due to end on Wednesday.
The “contribution to this country” of artists coming out of school should be “recognized in a form of basic income”, estimated Gideon Arthurs, the director general of the National Theater School of Canada, before being applauded.
They should also, according to him, have had “the promise” of it when they begin their studies.
Mr. Arthurs was responding to a question about how the Government of Canada can help people start and maintain “viable careers” in culture.
For the executive director of the Canadian Actors Equity Association, Arden Ryshpan, the pandemic has demonstrated the flaws in the social safety net.
“The time has really come to talk about income averaging for artists, to include the self-employed and freelancers in a new expanded employment insurance program and to provide a guaranteed basic income not only to artists , but to all citizens of this country,” she said.
Work to be done
The Department of Canadian Heritage “has probably never been busier than this,” said Minister Pablo Rodriguez in an interview given before the subject of guaranteed minimum income was raised during the summit.
It was not possible to obtain his opinion on the subject before publishing.
Two bills by Mr. Rodriguez are currently before the House of Commons. One aims to regulate streaming services and video-sharing platforms while the other would force social networks to compensate the media.
A third bill to counter harmful content online, such as hate content and child pornography, is in the cards.
“Heritage is not traditionally a department of bills,” said Mr. Rodriguez. And so having three all of a sudden puts a lot of pressure on the team, but the team is completely dedicated. »