News

January 18, 2021 - Today Equity launched a survey of Stage Manager members to gather SM contract compliance experiences in the areas of overtime, penalties and appropriate compensation. This information will help Equity Council and staff to better support Stage Manager members.

The survey link has gone out directly via email to members in good standing with a permanent address in Canada who have had an SM contract since 2016.

If you meet these criteria, and did not receive a link to the survey, please contact communications@caea.com.

January 11, 2020 - Proposed changes for the negotiated 2021-2024 Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA) negotiated between Equity and the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) has now been ratified by the eligible PACT membership.

The Equity membership previously ratified the Proposed changes to the Agreement in a vote which concluded on Thursday, December 17, 2020.

The 2021-2024 Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA) comes into effect today, January 11, 2021 and the Agreement will expire on June 28, 2024.

The CTA consists of the CTA Material Terms Booklet (agreed changes) and the CTA Fee Booklet. These newly-ratified documents should be used in combination with the 2015-2018 CTA until a final 2021-2024 Agreement is available. As of January 2021, the COVID-19 Addendum to the CTA is also in effect indefinitely.

Equity and PACT have agreed to a three-and-a-half-year agreement, with financial increases of 1% in 2021, 1.75% for year-2 starting on June 28, 2021, 2% for year-3 starting on June 27, 2022, and 2% for year-4 starting on June 26, 2023 applying to all minimum fees and other monetary amounts.

Equity is happy to announce that our next online member meeting will be with Siobhan Richardson, Amanda Liz Cutting and Megan Gilron.

National Society of Intimacy Professionals (NSIP)
Scenes or Moments of Intimacy
- and -
Support for Performers Mental Health in the time of COVID

Two versions of the recorded education session are below. Downloadable materials follow below the videos.

Video 1 | includes PowerPoint Presentation

Video 2 | includes ASL Interpretation

• Learn more about our special guests
• Download the Presentation (PDF)

Before the pandemic, Intimacy Directors came into industry awareness as specialists who help navigate scenes or moments of an intimate and/or vulnerable nature. Additionally, this included specialization in helping to support creative workspaces in the wake of #metoo.

In the "new normal" of producing during a pandemic, the Intimacy Direction role is again expanding, now including awareness of the impact that the current stressors (mental and physical) can have in our workplace.

In the ever-changing landscape of the live performance industry, and as we return to work during COVID-19, Intimacy Directors can offer various ways to support performers within the role and perspective of Intimacy Direction.

Save the Date: Wednesday, November 25
Time: 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. ET
Platform: Online via Zoom webinar *
ASL interpretation will be provided

Due to technical difficulties, a written transcript will not be available.

This session offers insight into the role of Intimacy Directors, and how we all can enter into this new working environment with a clearer understanding of approaching scenes or moments of intimacy at this time.

* Please note: Only Equity members in good standing may attend. Transcription and a video recording of the meeting will be made available to all members as soon as possible after the meeting takes place. 

On June 9, 2020, Equity Council convened a special meeting to discuss the current state of the community in relation to the #BlackLivesMatter movement and commit to action in response to the urgent needs of the membership. From that meeting, Council committed to four actions.

The final of these commitments was that the next Online Member Meeting would be dedicated to Anti-Oppression training. After a summer hiatus, Equity is proud to offer this important training for our members.

Save the Date: Wednesday, August 26
Time: 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET
Platform: Online via Zoom webinar
ASL interpretation will be provided

Our guest trainer is Douglas Stewart. Douglas has worked as an equity trainer, dispute resolution officer and Chief Human Rights Advisor and has done extensive work with Equity over the last few years.

A video recording of the seminar is below. A transcript of the meeting is available here. The materials and resources from the meeting are available for download HERE (member login required)

Join Council President Scott Bellis and Executive Director Arden R. Ryshpan at Equity’s seventh online video meeting looking at your personal finances in these challenging and uncertain times.

Recently, Financial Health came up as one of three top concerns of our members right now. We heard you, and we are dedicating our next Online Member Meeting to helping manage your personal finances more effectively.

Topics for discussion include: how to plan and manage cash flow, how to determine expenses, how to cut expenses, how to create a draw-down strategy, when to consider debt, how to consider the pros/cons of drawing from RRSPs and how to clean up your tax record with the Canadian Revenue Agency. Our special guests to guide us on this financial exploration are:

Chris Enns – Opera Singer and Financial Planner 
Chris’s mission is ‘helping creatives and other money ‘misfits’ build financial stability’ and he does this through coaching and DIY tools on his website Rags to Reasonable. Chris has built his practice for people with variable income, hard to predict expenses, and no built-in safety net.

(Expense Worksheet and Money Matters - Chris Enns Outline)

Tova Epp – Actor and Senior Tax Preparer
Tova Epp is a tax preparer/actor/wildlife rehabilitator-in-training. She’s been working at Artbooks, the cosy tax office for artists, for 12 years, preparing the tax returns of many diverse and exciting artists from across the country. She holds a BFA with Distinction from Concordia University.

Date: Wednesday, June 3 2020
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Online Zoom webinar

Video recording of the meeting is available below.

Equity is holding a fifth online video meeting with Council President Scott Bellis and special guests and mental health experts Stephanie Kersta MSc RP and Carolyn Plater MSW RSW, who will share valuable information on building and strengthening resiliency during COVID-19.

Date: Monday, May 4, 2020
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Online video meeting via the Internet (Zoom webinar)

Video recording of the meeting is embedded below.

PART 1/2 (Discussion):

PART 2/2 (Meditation):

Meeting Resources

• Cognitive Distortions
• Coping Skills
• Putting Thoughts on Trial
• Sleep Hygiene
• Meeting transcript

June 23, 2020 - Equity’s national Council invites Equity members to attend an online Council education session held as part of Council’s two-day June meeting. This information session has been opened up to members-at-large as part of Council’s ongoing commitment to dismantling systems of oppression within our Association and industry.

The Staying Warm: A Guide to Allyship in Action seminar will be presented by Jacquelyn Cardinal and Equity member Hunter Cardinal from the Naheyawin Centre. It approaches Indigenous allyship through action, courage and humility, and meaningful change. The Staying Warm A Guide to Allyship in Action presentation guidebook is available HERE. 

Date: Monday, June 29, 2020
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET
Platform: Online via Zoom webinar.

A video recording of the seminar is below. A transcript of the meeting is available here.