Friday, December 20, 2013

Dues Referendum 2014

As I write this, the final layout for the winter issue of EQ is on it’s way to the printers, and you should be seeing it in your inboxes and mailboxes (where those continue to exist) within a few weeks.

We’ve been talking about the upcoming dues referendum for a while now, and this issue of EQ will feature a special wraparound supplement on the topic. Even if your habit is (as is mine) that the magazine goes onto the breakfast table for reading in the next week or three, Council strongly encourages you to have a look at the referendum section as soon as you get it. We want you to be able to make an informed decision, which means we also want you to be able to read the material, ponder it, and still have the time to ask questions if you need more details.

To assist in getting you the info you need, Council will be holding a series of in-person meetings across the country in January and February, with the last of them being webcast, so that people can participate from wherever they are. We may also add some online forum sessions as needed, closer to the vote deadline.

All life and regular members in good standing will be receiving a voter kit early in the new year, and online and phone voting will open on February 3. Members not currently in good standing have until February 13 to rectify that, in order to be able to participate. Voting closes on February 20. You can find the whole timeline of voting and member meetings on the back of the EQ supplement.

I gotta tell you something – Council absolutely hates having to ask the members for a dues increase. But, after 14 years without one, we don’t have a choice.

You, however, do. When you exercise it, we hope that you choose to say “yes”, so that Equity can continue to work on your behalf, and to improve what we are able to do for you. It’s your association – please support Equity, so Equity can support you.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Equity RRSPs - a comparison

A few weeks back, I was buttonholed by a friend who wanted to know why her Equity RRSP returns were so "lousy" compared to another industry RRSP she held. The question took me by surprise, since our RRSP committee reviews fund performance every year against similar funds on the market, and then reports their findings to Council. I can only remember one occasion when the committee had anything bad to say, and that only about a single fund some time ago. (The fund has long since been replaced.)

Anyhow, the whole discussion got me thinking. How do our RRSP funds stack up against those on offer by our sister organisations? Quite nicely, as it turns out. Time for another chart.


Funds comparison, 3rd quarter, 2013
These results are from the most recent quarter, as provided in member reports. Note that some funds have not been around for 10 years, hence the missing grey bars on the right.

Looking at our slate of conservative, moderate, balanced, advanced and aggressive funds, it's interesting to see that they perform exactly as one might expect. Conservative and moderate (medium red, green) have some variation over time, but pretty much chug along year after year with fairly consistent results: low volatility, with decent (if modest) returns.

The balanced fund (purple) has a little bit more swing to it over time, but comes out well in the long term. This is our default fund, and accounts for about 82% of all retirement assets, with 75% of participants holding this fund.

The advanced, aggressive and global equity funds (light blue, orange, medium blue) certainly do very well when they do well, but they are also higher risk investments and have much more volatility. The chart above doesn't show annual data, but the down years for these funds tend to be just as pronounced as their up years. As a result, they still end up in the same ballpark as all the others over the long term. Depending on when you buy in, a member could do pretty well. Or not. If only one could know in advance when these were going to skyrocket and dip…

Ethics (deep red) also bounces around a bit, but has still performed well over time. The lowly money market fund (short, dark blue) is not really an investment fund as such, and is only included here for completeness. It can be useful in circumstances when stability is critical.

All told, we have 8 different funds so that members at various ages and stages of their career can put together the investment mix best suited to them. Members contribute from every pay cheque, and have the ability to make additional contributions as well.

RRSP season is all year round for Equity members, so if you have questions about where your money is being held, and whether it is the right mix for you, your "retirement" horizon (I use the word loosely) and your risk tolerance, give Great West Life a call and talk to an investment advisor. They can, well, advise you. If you already did that some years ago, don't forget to do it periodically to keep up to date. Maybe do it now before the February RRSP crunch hits.

And of course, the all-important disclaimer: past performance is no guarantee of future results, etc.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Did you know? - how we came to be known as "Equity"?

I was reading through Performance of the Century, by Robert Simonson, about the first 100 years of American Equity, and found the following, describing the genesis of AEA.


In desperation, a few actors decided to give the organization another chance. On January 13, 1913 – less than a month after the death of the Actors' Society of America, which had tried unsuccessfully for sixteen years to negotiate with the producers – William Harcourt, Charles D. Coburn, Arthur Byron, Milton Sills and Frank Gillmore gathered […] to decide "upon a uniform form of contract that would be alike acceptable to the fair-minded engager and the fair-minded actor."
And from a subsequent meeting on February 4…


William Courtleigh, a Canadian-born actor […] deserves a place in [the union's] history for suggesting "Equity" as a name. The motion was unanimously carried.
Well, whaddaya know?! 

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Preliminary results on CTA Level 1 / Level 2 review

At the Ontario RAGM on September 9, Executive Director Arden R. Ryshpan presented figures on her staff review of how the new two-level contract system is working so far.

Because the new two-level provisions in the CTA only took effect at the beginning of this calendar year, we have only six months of data to go on. Also, a good portion of recent contracts were offered under the old scheme. So, the results are preliminary, but they are positive. Staff will revise the report early in the new year, once a full 12-month cycle of contracts has concluded.

Arden has posted the results, along with an update on the two new independent theatre agreements, in her online journal.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Did you know? - Input into negotiations

Equity manages a wide range of scale agreements and engagement policies on behalf of its members. In order to ensure that the terms of engagement continue to reflect current realities in the business, each of these is reviewed on a cyclical basis, typically a three year term. In most cases, the review is done through negotiation with an engager, or a group of engagers (such as PACT). For the remainder, the review is done internally.

In all cases, the review is done with member input.


MEMBER:              How do I get involved in that?

COUNCILLOR:       Like this. (music of revelation)

There are several ways to have input into both negotiation and agreement review. 


The first is by far the easiest: make your Deputy do it. At the end of every engagement, the Deputy submits a release acknowledging that all artists have been paid, and everything is a "go" for release of the security bond. On the back of that form is space for notes for upcoming negotiation or review. So, when you are in the middle of an engagement and something arises that you think would be a good idea for future change or improvement, speak to your Deputy and ask him or her to add it to the notes. Staff gets quite a few of these each year, but they would be thrilled to get more; the more they get, the more complete Equity's understanding of member needs.


The second is just as easy: ask your SM to do it. He or she also has a notes form. Same basic idea as the Deputy form.


The third is a bit more work, but barely. Write to us, or call us. Anytime. We want to hear from you – it's how we know what the members are looking for in their contracts. It can be in relation to a specific engagement, or just a general observation or request. Questions and suggestions regarding the review and negotiation of any agreement or revision of any engagement policy may be sent to agreements@caea.com, or call us at 1-800-387-1856 (416-867-9165 in Toronto).



MEMBER:              What if I forget?
COUNCILLOR:       We'll remind you.

Equity provides advance notice of all upcoming negotiations and agreement reviews, with information on how to provide input. These go out on a regular basis by EquiFlash, and are also listed on the back page of the EQ magazine. We'll take your input any old time, but these reminders will let you know when important deadlines are approaching. In addition, the review cycle is listed on each agreement and policy itself, so check there, too.


It's your association; help us help you.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Advisory Committee Update #4

At its most recent meeting, Council struck a Diversity Committee (Kimberley Rampersad, liaison), responsible for making recommendations to Council (based on member input) on how Equity can better serve/represent its members from diverse communities. As with the other advisories, members who expressed an interest in participating in this committee will be contacted regarding involvement. 

Info for all the Council advisories is available at EQUITYONLINE.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Advisory Committee Update #3

At the May meeting, Council added an Atlantic Advisory (Robert Seale, liaison), responsible for linking up with the Atlantic membership. Mandate development for a Diversity Committee is underway, and will be complete for June. I'll post details here when that is done, and info for all the advisories is available at EQUITYONLINEMembers who expressed an interest in participating in the new advisories will be contacted regarding involvement. 

In addition, Council made some determinations on the following suggestions:

Senior Artists – Equity took part in the Senior Artist Research Project, concluding in 2010, and Council will be reviewing those results to determine how to best put them to use at the committee level. We'll be coming back to this in June.

CTA Level 2 Monitoring - Staff will be preparing a comprehensive engagement report at the end of the summer, incorporating contract data and patterns observed to that point. Council has deferred decision on a committee until that report comes in and we have more information.

At this point, Council has completed most of its work on the advisory committees for the term. As previously noted, there are a couple to be finalized in the next month or so, and some proposals are slated to come forward again in October for review. Of the remaining topics, all represented less than 1% of the submissions, and will be addressed as discussion topics throughout the term, rather than as committees.


We received over 600 submissions, on a huge range of topics, and all were very illuminating. Even those that did not result in a committee will be used to inform Council's discussions going forward, and quite a few will be of use to staff in determining topics for upcoming negotiations, and improving service. 

Council's job is to act as an informed agent of the membership, and thanks to your input, we are able to do the job that much better.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Did you know? - Concessions

If you have been a member of Equity for any appreciable period of time, you have probably heard mention of the term "concession" in relation to a contract. You may even have been consulted by staff on whether or not a concession should be granted for a particular project. However, few members understand the concession process as a whole – how it operates outside the scope of an individual production.

It all starts with negotiation…

Equity and member representatives sits down with an engager (or engager group, such as PACT) and negotiate terms for the hiring of Equity members, based on member input. What results are a set of terms that are mutually agreed-upon. That is important to understand, because it means that both parties have a binding agreement that the terms represent a workable and fair approach to engagement. Promulgated (non-negotiated) agreements are then derived from these negotiated agreements, again in consultation with the membership, and tailored to specific types and scales of theatrical production.

So, if engagement terms have already been agreed to, why are concessions even necessary? Good question.

The reality is, of course, that live performance is not something that fits within neat boxes in every conceivable circumstance. The agreement terms have been constructed so that the vast majority do, however we know that unusual situations will occur from time to time. Concessions are intended to deal gracefully with those circumstances when the agreed-upon terms fail to do so. Each year, almost exactly 10% of productions receive a concession on some aspect of the contract.

For example, it may be something peculiar to a show (such as the need to engage a large number of non-professional performers), something peculiar to a tour (a limited flight or ferry schedule), something peculiar to a venue (a small, local company resident in an overlarge theatre), etc. In some of these cases, it might be completely impossible to fully comply with a scale agreement. In others, strict compliance might turn out to be an undue financial burden on the theatre. 

It is for these and similar situations that concessions are intended – they allow the engager and Equity to come to a one-time arrangement to alter an agreement to suit the circumstances. In the case of negotiated agreements, the standard of "special circumstances" is quite high, as the engager is expected to live up to the terms it agreed to in negotiation. Concessions are not meant to allow deviation from standard terms just because an engager would rather not stick to their agreement.

Although staff is responsible for reviewing and approving applications for concessions, Council has established firm rules governing how this is done. These may be found in EL-11 of our policy document, but in summary they are: 
  • Staff cannot grant a concession that would be inconsistent with the long-term Ends of Equity. 
  • Staff cannot grant a concession without ensuring that a majority of the affected members (where known) are in agreement with the change. Where the affected members are not yet confirmed by contract, they must be informed of the concession in a rider at the time of contracting. 
  • Staff cannot grant a concession except where it would alleviate a legitimate financial hardship to the engager, or where the engager offers at least an equal benefit ("quid pro quo") in exchange. 
  • Staff cannot grant concessions that would compromise the health and safety of members. 
  • In making a determination to grant a concession, staff must consult with knowledgeable members in the discipline or region affected. 
So… If you are already contracted on a production that has become the subject of a concession request, you will be consulted. Member input is not the only thing that decides the matter, but agreement by the affected artists is mandatory. Where no one has yet been engaged, or where staff believe that the matter would benefit from some bigger picture input as well, staff will also consult with a small panel of knowledgeable members from the affected region or discipline. Sometimes, the nature of the concession is such that it can only be properly decided by the artists who will be under contract; in these cases, staff will ask the engager to wait until hiring is complete before submitting the request.

Most concessions are approved upon initial review and consultation with the engager, the financial hardship or benefit quid pro quo being clearly evident. In some cases, staff will go back to the engager and request an alternative arrangement that is more tenable, and the concession will be approved on that basis. All in all, roughly 90% of concessions requests are granted. The remainder are denied because the request has not met one or more of Council's policy criteria, or because the affected members were not in majority agreement.

So, that is the concession process in a (rather large) nutshell. Along with the strength of written terms of engagement comes the challenge of making them work for an infinite variety of theatrical endeavours. By permitting reasonable accommodation in our agreements, we are able to incorporate important flexibility while preserving the benefits and protections members have asked us to put in place.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Honours Schedule Change

Since 1975, Council has regularly solicited nominations from members across the country for deserving honourees in (now) four categories. The nominations and support material are reviewed by a Council committee, and the final candidate list is presented to Council for approval. The awards themselves are presented at a honours evening to which the general membership is invited.

Going forward, Council will be changing the honours schedule from an annual to a biennial activity, and will be combining the presentation event with the national AGM. This change is intended to save money, since the expense of holding the event is not inconsiderable, and neither is the cost of bringing honourees in from across the country. The new schedule will maintain Equity's ongoing commitment to peer recognition, while recognising the financial situation in which the association currently finds itself. 


The first presentation under the new schedule will take place in February 2014. Nominations already received in 2013, as well as any held over from previous years, will be considered for presentation at that time.

The upside of this change, however, is that if you have been considering nominating a colleague for one of the honours, you now have a bit more time in which to do it. If you catch yourself thinking "people really ought to know how special that person is", head to the nearest computer, or give the office a call, and submit a nomination. That is exactly the kind of person the honours exist to celebrate.


                                                                                       

Life Membership is awarded to members who have made an outstanding contribution to the performing arts within the jurisdiction of Equity. It recognises not only an extraordinary career, but also colleagues who have gone "above and beyond" in other ways that contribute to the benefit of either Equity or its members.

Honorary Membership is awarded to an individual who is not an Equity member, but who has made an outstanding contribution to Equity and/or its members, or to the performing arts within the jurisdiction of Equity.

The Larry McCance Award is awarded to a member or to a former staff member, who has made an outstanding contribution to the Association and its members, through elected representation, notable service on staff, or other exemplary action and advocacy.

The CAEA Award of Distinction may be given to any organisation, individual, or group of individuals, excluding current staff, in recognition of significant contribution within the realm of live performance benefitting the membership of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.


Full details on the honours categories, as well as a nomination form and instructions, can be found here. Nominations are accepted all year, and will automatically be considered for the next available round of honours, depending on the submission date.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Dancers at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens join Equity

Welcome! Bienvenue!





Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Did you know? - Learning more about Council

Ok, I'll concede right off the top that attending a board meeting may not be most people's idea of a fun way to spend an hour or seven, but it's good to know you can if you would like to. All regular meetings of Council are open to members in good standing.

If you would like to attend a future meeting, drop us at note at president@caea.com in advance, and we'll set it up. Generally, meetings are on the 4th Monday of January, March, April, May, August, September and November, and the 4th Sunday/Monday in February, June and October. Exact dates are posted in the Calendar section of the Equity website.

There is other stuff available to you, too…

You have elected Council to govern the organisation on your behalf, and we are committed to being transparent about how we do that. Members have ongoing access to agendas, minutes and the recent monitoring reports on all aspects of Equity; these can be found in the Members Only section of the website. Our policy document (the Big Book of Board Rules) can be found here.

If you would like to know even more about Council, and how it operates, you can find a series of articles throughout this blog.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Advisory Committee Update #2

At yesterday's meeting, work on the next two advisory mandates were completed. There is now an Ontario Caucus (Mark Brownell, liaison), responsible for linking up with the full breadth of the Ontario membership, and an Opera Advisory (Wade Nott, liaison), responsible for connection with all disciplines working in opera across the country. As with the others, members who expressed an interest in participating in these will be contacted regarding involvement.

In addition, Council made some determinations on the following suggestions:

Insurance – the majority of the submissions in this area centred around the desire to strike a committee to review our insurance plan and propose improvements. However, the plan has just completed a major overhaul and was relaunched only three weeks ago. Council would still like to consider striking this committee as a feedback mechanism on the new plan, but will table the idea for 6 months and review it again at that point. This will allow more time for members to have experience with the plan.

Auditions and Engagement Opportunities – Council needs more information on the possible mandate for these two committees, and I will be contacting those who expressed an interest in participating to see if we can flesh that out a bit.

Member Education – this has a lot of overlap with our new Communications and Education Committee (Aaron Willis, liaison). We will be reviewing this to see if there is a specific branch of the proposal that would be a good mandate for a separate committee in this area, or if the committees are best combined entirely.

Diversity – mandate development for this committee is underway. As a side note, this is also a hot topic in general for Council, and will likely dovetail with that work.

Agreement Ratification – this topic is already on the Council agenda for debate. Council will table this suggestion until that discussion is underway, so that if a committee is needed to complete that work, a mandate can be developed to suit.

New Members – Council is about 80% done on reviewing our approach for welcoming new members into the association. We will table this suggestion for 6 months until that work is complete, and a committee mandate can be created in keeping with the update.

Working Conditions – no committee will be struck for this topic, since working conditions vary widely across the different agreements and policies, and ample input opportunity is already available as part of the negotiation and review cycles for each.

Rehearsal Models – The Directors, Choreographers and Fight Directors Committee (Vinetta Strombergs, liaison) has agreed to take this on.

Regional/local Support Committees – mandate development is underway for one to support the Atlantic Region.

Review work will continue on the remaining suggestions.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Advisory Committee Update #1

The first four of the new Advisory Committees were formally struck at today's Council Meeting, and they are:
  • Equity Independent and Small-Scale Theatre Resource Committee - Mark Brownell, committee liaison 
  • Member Communications and Education Committee - Aaron Willis, committee liaison 
  • Directors, Choreographers, and Fight Directors Committee - Vinetta Strombergs, committee liaison 
  • Stage Management Committee - Allan Teichman, committee liaison 
The contact info for members who expressed an interest in participating in these committees has been passed on to the liaison for consideration. Because each committee has a requirement for representative composition, it will be up to the liaison to put together a group meeting that standard.

In April, Council will begin work on the next set of committees, so stay tuned...

Monday, March 18, 2013

Did you know? - Venue health and safety

Each of Equity's agreements and engagement policies includes language about providing a safe and sanitary place of work. I wrote about this in some detail a few years back.

Upon being told about these rules, the most common question members then ask is: what about the midsize theatre, the name of which I will not mention, but which is close to [location] in the city of [name], where the actors have to share dressing room space with [name of vermin], and the [name of plumbing fixture] in dressing room [x] has not worked properly since [year]? 

The answer to this is invariably: we didn't know, or we'd have done something about it.

What most members don't realise is that we don't have a stealth squad of health inspectors roaming the theatres of the country. However, we will deal with issues promptly if you tell us about them. That's right - you have to let us know that there is problem, and, please, not two years later as part of a random conversation.

If you are experiencing a health and safety issue, either with the work environment or the work you are being asked to do, speak up about it. First, talk to your deputy and/or stage manager, so that they aware that there is a problem. The fact that [name of vermin] are raising a family in your makeup tray will not spontaneously come to their attention. 

And please, don't do it as an offhand comment at the bar - make a formal complaint and ask for something to be done about it. Engagers have both a legal responsibility under workplace safety legislation, and a contractual responsibility to Equity, to take action on workplace health and safety issues.

And if nothing is done, please get on the phone to staff promptly, and they will see to it. It's what you pay them for.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

2013 NAGM

Another National AGM has come and gone. Well, not entirely gone... 

If you were not in the Toronto area on February 25, or couldn't make it to the meeting, videos of the main presentations are posted at www.caea.com, along with information on Equity's new insurance plan and the most recent audited financial statement. Swing on over and have a look. It's your association, and we want you know what's going on.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Did you know? - Fee security

Did you know that Council requires Equity staff to ensure secured payment of a portion of most contracts? The principal exceptions to this rule are fringe and certain independent/small-scale productions, where no security is held. This security is variously managed by having the engager place a deposit with Equity, equivalent to the fees and benefits for part of the contract, or by prepayment of fees to the artist and the applicable benefits to Equity. 

As of the end of the 2011-2012 fiscal year, Equity held a total of $7.5M in security for your fees. The vast majority of that is in the form of letters of credit and similar pledges, with only about 25% being actual money held on deposit. Still, that is a lot of production money tied up, and has understandably been a matter of some contention with engagers over the years.

So, why do we do that?

The need to hold security is not a theoretical one. Over the same fiscal year, Equity used those funds to distribute $46,205 in unpaid fees, and a further $101,376 in benefits deducted from artist paycheques, but not sent in to Equity. That's close to $150,000 of your money, for one year alone, that we otherwise would have little chance of collecting, or would be able to collect only at significant expense and trouble.

That's why.

In the grand scheme of all engagers and all productions the need is thankfully rare, but it is unquestionably a chronic one. There are more than a few members out there this past year, and every year, who are grateful that security was held. Speaking from experience, I count myself among them.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Details on recent bylaw changes

Here is an article-by-article breakdown of the recent changes to the bylaws covering the Standards of Conduct and the Disciplinary ProcessThese amendments have been in the works for a while now, and are intended to address some longstanding omissions (such as having no privacy policy, nor any requirement for a respondent to actually respond!) and various process problems. Overall, they incorporate greater structure, a defined timeline, more specifics regarding mediation and appeals, and new administrative penalties. The changes also lay the groundwork for future amendments specifically geared toward improving response to workplace harassment and abuse.

My apologies if any formatting oddities arise in the conversion to a blog post – hopefully it will all show up clearly in most browsers.

As always, we're happy to answer any questions you may have, so post them in the comments.

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND the DISCIPLINARY PROCESS
26.    The Association recognizes that the members of Equity, as professional artists, aspire to the highest standards in the practice of their craft. In the context of this endeavour, the Disciplinary Process is intended to address the needs of the members while maintaining and enhancing professional working relationships. The goal is resolution.
Unchanged.
COMPLAINTS
27.    Any person, or the Association, may file a complaint against any member of the Association who:
The Association has long had the ability to file a complaint, but this was never clearly stated. This update fixes that.
(i)     fails to pay any monies owing to the Association; or
Unchanged.
(ii)   acts in an unprofessional manner; or
Unchanged.
(iii)  engages in workplace violence or workplace harassment; or
This new wording limits the scope of these complaints to the workplace, and was proposed by our legal counsel. Prior wording was very open and suggested that Equity had the authority to address these and similar behaviours in any context, which we do not.
(iv)  refuses to fulfil a contract without reasonable cause; or
Verb changed to be more inclusive – was “perform a contract”. Otherwise unchanged.
(v)    is in conflict of interest to the detriment of another member of the Association; or
Unchanged.
(vi)  violates any of the Association's agreements; or
Updated - the original only specified negotiated agreements. That language predated many of our newer agreements and engagement policies, and had not been updated over time.
(vii) acts in a manner detrimental to the objects of the Association.
Unchanged.
27.1. In Articles 28 to 47.3, use of the singular “complainant”, “respondent”, “appellant” or “member” shall be understood to equally apply in the plural where such is the case.
This language was added to avoid tedious repetition of “complainant(s)” and other conditional plurals.
FILING AND FILING DEADLINES
28.    Complaints against a member shall be made in writing, signed by the complainant, and delivered to the Executive Director.
Unchanged. See note re: 29.
29.    The Association will provide a filing template and resource document for guidance. The complainant need not use the filing template, but he or she must include all the information required by the template form.
Previously, this bylaw was a partial list of example details, however complaints habitually arrived without all the necessary information. Using a filing template will mean far fewer back-and-forth conversations needed to ensure the complaint is complete when filed. The requirement for signing was also in here, but has been shifted to 28. 
30.    Administrative complaints (e.g. refusal to perform a contract) shall be made within three (3) months of the date on which the complainant became aware of the incident(s) giving rise to the complaint. Other complaints shall be made within twelve (12) months of the date of the incident(s) giving rise to the complaint. No complaint shall be considered where the matter complained of was known or ought to have been known to the complainant for any longer period.
Administrative complaints now have a much shorter deadline than before – previously, it was a year. If either an engager or the Association wishes to file an administrative complaint, they must do so within a reasonable timeframe. The rest is unchanged.
VERIFIABLE COMMUNICATION
30.1. Except where otherwise stated, all filings, applications, requests, reports and notices required under Articles 27 to 47 shall be communicated in writing, through a service that provides for verification of receipt (e.g. registered mail, courier service requiring a signature, personal service.) Use of an unverified delivery service (e.g. regular mail, email, fax) is acceptable only when agreed to in advance by the recipient.
This new inclusion replaces multiple instances of “by registered mail or personal service” and similar language.
PRELIMINARY REVIEW AND RESOLUTION PROCESS
30.2. The Executive Director will review the complaint and direct it as follows:
This section now more specifically sets out the process by which complaints are reviewed and submitted to Council, so that members and others know what to expect.
(a)    If the matter is a contractual or membership issue properly dealt with by staff, or if the complaint has been brought by the Association under the terms of Articles 27(i), (iv) or (vi), the complaint need not be placed before Council. In such cases:
(i)     if the facts of the matter are not in dispute; and
(ii)   if the member has been given notice of the infraction and an opportunity to respond or resolve the matter; and
(iii)  if the matter has not been otherwise resolved; and
(iv)  if the applicable agreement or engagement policy does not already provide for penalties appropriate to the infraction,
(v)    the Executive Director may enact only such financial penalties and for such causes as are set out in Article 47.3 and the applicable engagement document. Council will be informed of the complaint and the outcome at its next meeting.
This section is new. Purely administrative complaints in the realm of contractual or membership obligations no longer need to go through the whole complaint process, providing that certain conditions are met. The Executive Director is limited in the penalties that may be set, and cannot impose penalties on top of any that may be specified in the relevant engagement document.
(b)  For all other matters, the Executive Director will review the complaint against the grounds for complaint set out in Article 27. Where the complaint is thereby covered:
For all other items, the language has been updated to spell out existing practice…
(i)     The Executive Director will confirm that the complainant has attempted to address the matter with the member in question, or taken all other reasonable steps to address the matter prior to launching a formal complaint proceeding, and deliver the complaint submission to Council.
(ii)   Where the complainant has not attempted to address the matter with the member in question, or taken all other reasonable steps to address the matter prior to launching a formal complaint proceeding, the Executive Director will offer staff assistance to attempt a proactive resolution to the matter.
The Executive Director is required to confirm that the complainant has taken reasonable steps to resolve the matter, and assist, if possible.
(iii)  Where this offer is not acceptable to the complainant or where it may not be a reasonable expectation in the circumstances, or it does not result in resolution, the Executive Director will deliver the complaint submission to Council.
Where the complainant declines the assistance, the efforts are unsuccessful, or a direct engagement may not be appropriate, the matter is referred to Council.
(c)  Where it is determined that the complaint is not covered under Article 27, the Executive Director will so inform the complainant and, where appropriate, offer other staff assistance in resolving the matter.
This addition offers reasonable staff assistance to resolve other complaints that do not fall under the scope of the complaint process.
(d)  Where it is determined that the nature of the complaint is such that outside authorities, such as the police, must be notified, the Executive Director will so inform the complainant. The Executive Director may hold further action on the complaint in abeyance pending completion of any other process, except that Council will be informed of the complaint and any action taken at its next meeting.
On the advice of legal counsel, this exclusion was added, so matters that properly belong in other hands are placed there. In such a case, the Executive Director may either hold the complaint in abeyance or proceed. Either way, Council will be kept up to speed.
30.3  Complaint submissions to Council arising out of Articles 30.2(b)(i) or (iii) shall be put before Council at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Unchanged, just in a different location in the bylaws.
PRIVACY
30.4  (a)  During the preliminary review, and in submitting the complaint to Council, the Executive Director will take all reasonable steps to preserve the privacy of both the complainant and respondent.
(b)  For complaints to be submitted to Council, the Executive Director will not inform the respondent of the complaint unless Council accepts the complaint for further action.
(c)  The written complaint will submitted to Council with identifying information removed. If Council accepts the complaint for further action, identifying information will be provided thereafter as necessary.
(d)  Council will treat the complaint and the identities of those involved as confidential information.
These are all new privacy provisions - there were none before. The goal is to ensure that Council process decisions are made without bias, and with due regard to the privacy of all parties.
TIMELINE FOR COMPLETION
30.5  Completion of a complaints proceeding, including complaints handled under Article 30.2(a), is a priority activity for the Association. The Association will attempt to conclude administrative complaints within six (6) months of filing, where the pertinent facts are not in dispute. The Association will attempt to conclude all other complaints within twelve (12) months of filing.
This is a new requirement for Equity to act promptly and expeditiously on complaints. There was no overall timeline before, and proceedings typically trickled on for years.
30.6  Should extraordinary circumstances necessitate an extension on the completion deadline of proceedings beyond the conclusion date set out in Article 30.5, either party, or the Executive Director, shall apply to Council for permission to extend, which permission will not be unreasonably withheld.
This new language allows limited deadline exemptions to be made, so that conclusion of proceedings is not jeopardised because of extraordinary circumstances. Such a situation might include the respondent being away on tour, etc. It would not include deliberate delay.
REVIEW BY COUNCIL
31.    Upon receipt of a complaint, Council may:
This section now provides much more structure for the preliminary Council review, so that members and others understand the process.
(i)     dismiss the complaint, where the complainant has failed to demonstrate a prima facie case under existing bylaws;
Previous wording allowed Council to simply dismiss the complaint out of hand, without due process. Council may now only dismiss complaints that do not fall under existing bylaws, or that do not clearly demonstrate that there is a case to be heard.
(ii)   direct the Executive Director to retain the services of a mediator, who shall attempt to settle any dispute or problem between the parties; or
Unchanged.
(iii)  direct the Executive Director to establish a Hearing Committee.
Unchanged.
32.    The Executive Director shall give notice of Council’s decision under Article 31 to the complainant within two (2) weeks of the decision.
The timeline was shortened for expediency. Previously it was 30 days.
32.1  Upon direction to engage a mediator or establish a Hearing Committee, the Executive Director shall also give notice of the complaint proceeding to the respondent within two (2) weeks of the decision. Such notice must include:
The timeline was shortened for expediency. Previously it was 30 days.
(i)     a copy of the complaint;
Unchanged.
(ii)   notice of expectation of a written response from the respondent;
(iii)  explicit mention of the response requirements in Article 32.2, including a specific (calendar date) deadline;
(iv)  explicit mention of failure to appear or respond requirements and outcomes under Articles 32.3 and 37.1(c); and
(v)    a summary of the general process requirements, including verifiable communication requirements in Article 30.1.
(ii) to (v) are new requirements for information to be provided to the respondent. Only (i) was specified before. These terms are based on common tribunal rules.
32.2  The response under Article 32.1(ii) must:
(i)     be received by the Executive Director within thirty-five (35) days of notice being given to the respondent;
(ii)   respond to each allegation in the complaint; and
(iii)  include any additional facts, allegations, and information on which the respondent intends to rely in his or her response.
This is all new. Previously, there were no requirements for a response, and so respondents tended to ignore complaints as long as possible. These terms are based on common tribunal rules.
32.3  No respondent is compelled to provide a response to the initial complaint. However where a respondent:
(i)     fails to provide a response, the Hearing Committee or mediator may deem the respondent to have accepted all the allegations in the complaint, deem the respondent to have waived all rights with respect to further notice or participation in the proceeding, proceed to deal with the matter without further notice to the respondent, and decide the matter based only on material otherwise provided or available to it; or
(ii)   files a response that is incomplete, the Hearing Committee or mediator is not  obliged to admit or consider evidence or submissions with respect to a fact or issue that was not raised in the written response.
This is all new. We cannot force people to provide a response, but neither can we reasonably allow lack of a proper or full response to stop or  stall the process indefinitely. As noted, failure to respond has been a regular problem in the past. These options are discretionary on a case by case basis, not obligatory, and are based on common tribunal rules.
32.4  Upon receipt, the Executive Director shall provide a copy of the response to the applicant within one (1) week.
This is all new. Previously, there was no requirement to inform the complainant.
33.    Moved to Article 40.3.
Unchanged, but moved.
34.    Moved to Article 32.1
Moved, and changed as noted.
HEARING COMMITTEE
35.    The Hearing Committee shall be comprised of no fewer than three (3) members in good standing of the Association not involved in the complaint, one of whom must be on Council.
Unchanged.
36.    Article 35 notwithstanding, if a vacancy develops on the Hearing Committee, the Executive Director may use his or her best judgment as to whether or not a replacement need be found, and the best manner for bringing the replacement up to date on the proceedings.
This is all new. Previously, there was no instruction on filling vacancies.
HEARING AND MEDIATION TIMELINES
36.1. The Hearing Committee or Mediator will be informed of the timeline provisions of Articles 30.5 and 30.6. The Hearing Committee or Mediator will set reasonable timelines for exchange of information, hearings and other necessary activities, and will not permit parties to unnecessarily delay proceedings.
This is all new. No timelines were previously specified.
36.2. Where a complaint proceeding is not concluded within the established completion deadline or extension, the Hearing Committee or Mediator may either declare the complaint abandoned, or proceed to decide the matter on the basis of available information.
This is all new, and prevents deliberate delay from thwarting completion of the process. Note that 30.6 allows for an extension if needed for extraordinary circumstances.
HEARING PROCESS
37.    (a)  The Hearing Committee shall provide to the complainant and respondent at least thirty (30) days' notice of the time and place of hearing. The Hearing Committee may hold the hearing in person or by teleconference or videoconference.
Unchanged.
(b)  The Hearing Committee shall select one of its members as chairperson and shall determine its own practice and procedure.
Unchanged.
(c)  The Hearing Committee shall not be required to follow the rules of evidence applicable in judicial proceedings, but shall not consider, request or admit evidence not clearly relevant to the complaint.
Unchanged, except that it has been rewritten for clarity.
(d)  The Hearing Committee shall have the right to question any witnesses and may inquire about the facts in the manner it deems acceptable and appropriate.
Unchanged.
37.1  (a)  The complainant and respondent may attend and give evidence orally, may bring witnesses, and may present affidavit(s) or other written evidence, provided all such evidence is clearly relevant to the.
Unchanged.
(b)  Parties to the complaint may elect to be represented by another person of their choice. Any such other representative shall participate at the parties' own expense.
Unchanged.
(c)  No respondent is compelled to appear at, have representation at, or provide a submission to the hearing. However, where no response is put forward by a respondent, any allegations made in respect of that respondent may be deemed to have been accepted, and the Hearing Committee or mediator may proceed to decide the matter on the basis of available information.
This is new, and follows on the earlier material dealing with lack of response. Not showing up for the hearing has also been a problem in the past. These options are discretionary on a case by case basis, not obligatory, and are based on common tribunal rules.
37.2  The complainants’ case shall be presented first, followed by that of the respondent, and the reply, if any, of the complainant.
Originally, this only specified that the complainant presented first. The additional wording was added on advice from our counsel.
37.3  The complainant and the respondent, or his or her representative, shall have the right to question witnesses presented by the opposite party.
A section that prohibited “cross-examination” was removed on advice from our counsel.
38.    The Hearing Committee may dismiss the complaint, or impose one or more of the following penalties, taking guidance from historic response to similar complaints:
(i)     reprimand;
(ii)   suspension, for a period not to exceed two (2) years;
(iii)  a fine payable to the Association, in an amount not to exceed $5,000.00, with terms for payment;
(iv)  expulsion from membership in the Association.
Unchanged.
38.1  In making a determination on a penalty under Article 38, the Hearing Committee may take into consideration previous rulings concerning the respondent.
This is new. It allows consideration of previous rulings.
38.2  Additionally, the Hearing Committee may make such recommendations as the Committee considers reasonable and appropriate to the offence. Such recommendations may be made in addition to, or as an alternative to, any penalty already imposed by the Hearing Committee under Article 38.
This is new. Council recognised that Equity only has the purview to impose certain penalties, but wanted to provide a Hearing Committee with the option to recommend other actions or alternative actions outside of those.
38.3  Where the Hearing Committee determines that the complaint was solely frivolous or vexatious in its intent or made in bad faith, and the complaint is dismissed, the Hearing Committee may impose one or more of the penalties from Articles 38(i) to (iii) on the complainant.
This is new. While frivolous complaints have not historically been a big issue, Council thought it prudent to provide for a response to them. Our counsel provided the wording.
39.    The Hearing Committee shall make a report in writing within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the hearing, which report shall include brief reasons for its decision, and shall deliver a copy of its report to the complainant and respondent and to Council.
A timeline was added. See also 47.2.
40.    The decision of the Hearing Committee shall be immediately enforceable, until and unless reversed by the Appeals Process.
Unchanged.
MEDIATION PROCESS
40.1. The Mediator shall determine his or her own reasonable practice and procedures to assist both parties to resolve the matter, except that the Mediator may not permit any amendment or setting aside of Association Bylaws or Council Policy.
40.2. The Mediator shall make a report in writing within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the mediation, which report shall include a summary of all points of agreement, signed by the affected parties, and shall deliver a copy of its report to the complainant, to the respondent and to Council.
40.3. Where an agreement is reached resulting in resolution, the results of the mediation shall be enforceable upon the terms set out in the signed agreement.
40.4. Where the complaint is not resolved, the complaint will again be put before Council at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Council may:
(i)     Dismiss the complaint, where there is no prima facie case for complaint under existing bylaws; or
(ii)   Direct the Executive Director to establish a Hearing Committee.
40.5. The Executive Director shall give notice of Council’s decision under Article 40.4 to the complainant and respondent within two (2) weeks of the decision.
This is all new. Previously, the process simply mentioned mediation as an option, and then said nothing further about it.
APPEALS PROCESS
41.    Where the complainant or the respondent is dissatisfied with the decision of the Hearing Committee, the complainant or the respondent may appeal to Council by submitting a Request for Appeal to the Executive Director within thirty (30) days after receiving the report.
Unchanged.
42.    The Request for Appeal shall include a copy of the Hearing Committee’s report that is the subject of the request for appeal, and a short summary of the reasons for the request for appeal, which must be based upon at least one of the following grounds:
Unchanged.
(i)     the Hearing Committee did not provide an impartial hearing or a reasonable opportunity for the presentation of the appellant’s complaint or defence; or
Unchanged.
(ii)   the Hearing Committee based its decision on facts that were not in evidence, did not follow the procedures provided for in the bylaws, or otherwise materially erred in its procedure; or
Added “materially” to guard against appeals for trivially technical reasons. Otherwise unchanged.
(iii)  there is new evidence available at the time of filing the appeal, that was not available or could not reasonably have been obtained at the time of the hearing; or
Unchanged.
(iv)  the penalty imposed was either insufficient or excessive.
Unchanged.
43.    Where Council receives a Request for Appeal, Council shall, at its next regular meeting, consider the grounds for the appeal, and may, in its sole discretion, dismiss the request or appoint an Appeal Committee comprised of no fewer than three (3) members of Council. No member of Council with previous involvement in the complaint process shall be appointed.
The size of the appeal committee was lowered from 5. Otherwise unchanged.
                           
44.    The Appeal Committee shall provide prompt notice of their intent to address the appeal to the appellant and the affected complainant or respondent from the original complaint. The notice shall outline the timeline for receipt of the written submissions.
44.1. Both the appellant and the respondent shall be offered an opportunity to provide written submissions addressing the criteria enumerated in Article 42.
44.2. The Appeal Committee shall determine the appeal based on written submissions addressing the criteria enumerated in Article 42. This process shall be conducted in advance of the next scheduled meeting of Council following the deadline for submissions.
Split into separate articles, but otherwise unchanged.
                           
45.    The Appeal Committee may:
(i)     uphold the decision of the Hearing Committee and dismiss the appeal; or
(ii)   request that Council appoint a new Hearing Committee in accordance with Articles 35-40; or
(iii)  alter the penalty imposed by the Hearing Committee in accordance with Article 38.
Unchanged.
46.    The Appeal Committee shall report its decision to Council and to the parties.
Unchanged.
47.    The decision of the Appeal Committee is final and binding
Previously, the bylaw indicated that the decision of the appeal committee could not be reviewed or questioned in any Court. On the advice of our counsel, it was removed (given that it was completely unenforceable.)
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION IN PROCESS
47.1. For complaints brought under Article 27(iii), Council and/or the Executive Director may make such reasonable accommodations in the process, timelines and deadlines of Articles 28-47 as he or she deems advisable in the circumstances, provided such accommodations do not compromise the integrity of the process as a whole.
This is new, and is a temporary stand-in for any future changes related to workplace harassment, etc. See the preamble notes.
NOTICE TO MEMBERSHIP
47.2. Following conclusion of the Appeals Process, or expiry of the deadline for launching an appeal, Council will publish a brief notice to the membership, providing basic information on the complaint and its disposition.
Moved from 39. Previously, Council could determine on a case by case basis whether or not it would publish, and what it would publish. There were no guidelines, and therefore no consistency in reporting. Council has decided that, if a member had been sanctioned under the Disciplinary Process, the membership deserves notice, although it will be kept brief. A basic template has been developed for a single paragraph announcement.
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES
47.3  The Executive Director may impose the following financial penalties under Article 30.2(a).
(a)  For working while on withdrawal, suspension or when fines are outstanding:
(i)     1st  offense: payment of all outstanding amounts plus a fine of $100  
(ii)   2nd offense: payment of all outstanding amounts plus a fine of $200
(iii)  3rd offense: payment of all outstanding amounts plus a fine of $300 and a mandatory meeting with the Executive Director for membership education.
(b)  For working without an appropriate Equity contract; for working for less than the applicable minimum fees or those fees as modified by concession by the Association; for working for an engager who has been declared unfair; for failure to respect a reciprocal agreement between Equity and another association:
(i)     1st offense: a fine of no less than $200, and no more than $500;
(ii)   2nd offense: a fine of no less than $300, and no more than $750;
(iii)  3rd offense: a fine of no less than $400, and no more than $1000.
(c)  For failure to fulfil the terms of an engagement without reasonable cause, including lateness to rehearsals or performances:
(i)     1st offense: a fine of up to $250;
(ii)   2nd offense: a fine of up to $500;
(iii)  3rd offense: a fine of up to $750.
(d)  For refusal to fulfil a contract without reasonable cause, or failure to appear for a performance:
(i)     1st offense: a fine of up to one week’s fee as stated on the contract, or a calculated equivalent where there is no guaranteed fee;
(ii)   2nd offense: a fine of up to two week’s fees as stated on the contract, or a calculated equivalent where there is no guaranteed fee.
This is all new. It gives the Executive Director the ability to impose a limited range of fines, within the constraints of 30.2(a), for a specific set of contract or membership related infractions, without having to go through the who complaint process. Infractions exceeding these must still go before Council.
APPEAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES
47.4  Any member subject to a penalty under Article 47.3 may appeal to Council by submitting a Request for Appeal to the Executive Director within thirty (30) days after receiving the notice of the penalty.
47.5  The Request for Appeal shall include a short summary of the reasons for the request for appeal, which must be based upon at least one of the following grounds:
(i)     that the penalty was inappropriately applied; or
(ii)   the penalty imposed was excessive.
47.6  Where Council receives a Request for Appeal, Council shall, at its next regular meeting, decide the matter. Council may:
(i)     uphold the decision of the Executive Director; or
(ii)   alter the penalty imposed by the Executive Director, within the bounds of Article 47.3; or
(iii)  set aside the penalty.
47.7  Council shall report its decision to the Executive Director and to the appellant.
47.8  The decision of Council is final and binding.
This is all new, and provides the respondent with access to an appeal process before the entire Council in the case of administrative penalties.