Status of the Artist Act-Certification, Revocation, and Intervenors

The Status of the Artist Act (the Act) is federal legislation that provides the legal structure for the certification of artists’ associations to represent self-employed artists in the negotiation of their pay, benefits and working conditions with producers who use their services. An artist can be, for example:

• a visual artist;
• a performance artist;
• an author; or,
• a musician.

• Certification under the Status of the Artist Act is recognition by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (the Board) that an artists’ association represents a group of self-employed artists. The group of artists that is represented is called a “sector,” the description of which will be in the certification order.  
• Once an artists’ association is certified, it has the exclusive right to represent self-employed artists in the designated sector in collective bargaining and in their relations with federally regulated producers.
• Certification allows the artists’ association to negotiate the pay, benefits and working conditions of the self-employed artists in its sector with producers or a producers’ association. These agreements are called scale agreements.

• The artists’ association must file an application with the Board to become certified to represent self-employed artists in the sector described in its application.  
• To be successful, the artists’ association must prove that the sector that it has applied to represent is suitable for bargaining. To make that decision, the Board will look at:
  • whether the artists in the sector share common interests;
  • the bargaining history between the artists or artists’ associations and the producer or producers’ association involved; and, 
  • geographic and linguistic factors.  
• The Board will certify the artists’ association if it finds that it is the most representative of artists in the designated sector. 

• The Board keeps a record of the certification orders that it makes. This information can be found in the Certification Register on the Board’s Decisions page.  
• The Register identifies the artists’ associations that have been certified, links to the certification order where you can find a description of the sector that the artists’ association represents and indicates the date of certification or the date of the last renewal, whichever is later.

• An artists’ association seeking to be certified by the Board needs to file the following information with the Application for Certification:
  • A copy of the membership list certified by the authorized representative of the artists’ association;
    • The list must include the full name and address of each member. 
    • If the artists’ association also represents members from other sectors, it must provide a list that indicates the members who are in the proposed sector.
  • A copy of any scale agreements in force affecting the proposed sector;
  • A copy of the artists’ association's by-laws that:
    • set out the membership rules for artists who wish to join the artists’ association;
    • give the members the right to participate in votes in the meetings of the artists’ association and the votes to ratify the scale agreement;
    • give the members the right to access the artists’ association’s financial statements to the end of the previous fiscal year;
    • do not discriminate against an artist in a way that prevents the artist from being a member of the association;
  • Proof that the membership has authorized the artists’ association to apply for certification.

• Public notice gives artists, other artists’ associations, producers, and other persons interested in the sector an opportunity to file competing applications or to make submissions to the Board about the application.  

• Hearings are not usually held. In most cases, the Board can make its decision based on the documents filed, without holding a hearing. This is part of the reason why written submissions should be as complete as possible.
• The Board has discretion to decide whether to hold a hearing, even if the participants request one. 
• If the Board decides to hold a hearing, the participants will be informed of the date and location in advance. If possible, the participants are consulted regarding scheduling.  For more information about the hearing process, click here. 

• An artist who works in a sector that has been certified can apply to cancel the certification. This is called a revocation application.
• An application for revocation can be filed at any time when the artist thinks that the association’s by-laws discriminate against the artist and prevent the artist from becoming or continuing to be a member of the association.
• Where the grounds for revocation are that the artists’ association is no longer representative of the artists in the sector or that the association has not made reasonable efforts to enter into a scale agreement with producers:
  • an application for revocation can be filed after one year since the date of the certification of the artists’ association or of the renewal of the certification if there is no scale agreement in force; or,
  • an application for revocation can be filed in the three-month period prior to the automatic renewal of the certification if at least one scale agreement is in force.