In a report submitted to culture minister Christine St-Pierre, the committee makes 25 recommendations for “thinking differently” and “acting differently”

Montréal, April 9, 2010 - Today the L’Allier Committee presented its report on its consultative process to the associations of artists, producers and promoters affected by the application of the laws on the status of artists. The report was recently submitted to the Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women, Christine St-Pierre.

In April 2009 the Minister instructed the Committee to undertake a reflective consultation process with the associations affected by the Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of performing, recording and film artists (R.S.Q. c. S-32.1) and the Act respecting the professional status of artists in the visual arts, arts and crafts and literature, and their contracts with promoters (R.S.Q. c. S-32.01).

The Committee’s mandate required it to take into consideration the economic realities and technological changes faced by artists and producers, and to submit a report containing recommendations and potential solutions for rendering the application of the two statutes more effective and appropriate.

The L’Allier Committee members are Jean-Paul L’Allier, lawyer and strategic adviser to law firm Langlois Kronström Desjardins, and Denis Boutin and André Sasseville, also of the same law firm. A former mayor of Québec City, Jean-Paul L’Allier was also Quebec’s Minister of Cultural Affairs during the 1970s.

In its report, which contains 25 recommendations, the Committee sets out the issues on which consensus has been reached, and those on which the parties are still far from reaching an agreement. The various comments made by the Committee in its report are intended to assist both the Minister and the major organizations involved in going beyond even an improved status quo.

At the conclusion of its reflective process, the Committee realized that improvement of artists’ socio-economic conditions would not be achieved by simply adopting the few changes to their legal environment brought about by the above-mentioned statutes. In the Committee’s view, improvement of those conditions requires further development of Quebec’s cultural industries and greater market share for its cultural products.

In the Committee’s opinion, in order to achieve the changes envisaged, all parties involved have to “think differently” and “act differently”.

The L’Allier Committee recommends five specific courses of action
The Committee recommended to the Minister a series of actions it deemed necessary for the development of Quebec’s cultural industries and, by extension, the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of its artists. Among those recommendations are:
1-         The holding of round-table discussions for each sector affected by statute S-32.01 so that the associations involved could agree amongst themselves on the establishment of general model agreements for promotion contracts, containing, where appropriate, supplementary mandatory provisions in addition to those already prescribed by the statute.
 
The Committee also recommended that the Minister use the regulatory power conferred upon her by section 45.1 of statute S-32.01 to impose a solution in the event the parties fail to reach an agreement.

2- The creation of a working group to study the advisability of creating a fourth area of artistic endeavour that would be governed by statute S-32.01.

The mandate of this working group would be to circumscribe the artistic disciplines collectively termed Media Arts by the Committee, to determine where those disciplines converge with and diverge from the other disciplines that come within the definition of visual arts in section 2 of statute S-32.01, and to recommend to the Minister the best way to ensure the adequate representation of artists working within these disciplines for purposes of the exercise of powers conferred on associations of artists by statute S-32.01.

3- For each of the areas targeted by statute S-32.1, where collective agreements apply containing the kind of litigious provisions that several associations asked not be discussed before the Committee, the Committee recommends that the Minister strike a working group to examine the advantages and drawbacks for both artists and producers resulting from the application of such provisions.

In its proceedings, the working group should involve the associations concerned and encourage them to reconsider, in light of the advantages and drawbacks so identified, maintaining such clauses in effect or modifying them in the best interests of not only the associations' members but the future development of their specific cultural-industry sector as well.

The Committee is of the view that the Minister should reserve the right to intervene following completion of the working group's mandate, if in her opinion the associations cannot amongst themselves arrive at solutions that would result in the improvement of artists' socio-economic conditions and the development of Quebec's cultural industries.

4- The Committee further recommends that the government not abolish the Quebec Sales Tax on cultural products and that the proceeds of that tax be used, at least in part, to finance the measures proposed in its report for increasing the market share of Quebec’s cultural products, increased support for artists’ associations and improving the socio-economic conditions of artists. 

5- The Committee also recommended to the Minister that for the benefit of all cultural-industry sectors a body be installed that would serve as an “observer” and as a “marketing arm”.
 The Committee does not necessarily recommend the creation of a new structure, being rather of the opinion that the Minister should first determine whether existing institutions (OCCQ, CALQ and SODEC) could fulfill that role before deciding to create a new body for those two purposes.

Several of the Committee’s recommendations involve inviting the parties – sector by sector in order to respect the “specific ecology” of each milieu – to hold discussions among themselves in the presence of a facilitator in order not only to resolve conflicts but also to work together to develop ways to deal with change in the most mutually advantageous manner possible. The Committee noted in the course of its mandate that the various associations of artists, producers and promoters have more than enough combined knowledge, expertise, wisdom and passion to successfully perform this exercise and make the right choices.
In such a context, government action should for the moment be geared to support for the cultural industries and to solidarity with all those involved. In the Committee’s view, given the size of the Quebec market, the government has a duty to provide ongoing special support to artists and the cultural industries, in light of their contribution to the defining characteristics of Quebec society.

The problem solving technique
The Committee’s consultative process, which employed the “problem solving” technique, required 14 days of working with associations of artists, producers and promoters, as well as numerous meetings with smaller groups such as regional cultural councils.
The problem-solving technique, which was applied throughout this mandate by André Sasseville, a partner at law firm Langlois Kronström Desjardins, is an approach based on the resolution of disagreements through the identification of common interests. It allows the parties involved in a dispute to voice their interests, and to propose and choose options that tend to generate consensus, while satisfying and protecting those interests.

About Langlois Kronström Desjardins
Langlois Kronström Desjardins (lkd.ca) is one of the largest law firms in Quebec, with over 120 professionals working in its three offices in Montréal, Québec City, and Lévis. With a total of more than 240 individuals making up our team, we are able to offer our clientele a complete range of legal services renowned for their exceptional quality in business law, civil an commercial litigation, labour and administrative law, maritime and admiralty law, and public and private real estate law.

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For more information:

Jean-Paul L’Allier 
Lawyer and Strategic adviser 
418-650-7014 

Geneviève Lebel
Senior Consultant, Communications and Media/Public Relations
418-650-7015