August 28, 2023
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos
Minister of Public Services and Procurement
Via email Jean-Yves.Duclos.x@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Dear Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos,
I am writing on behalf of 28,000 unionized performers to demand you take immediate action to stop Canada Post from producing non-union commercials while ACTRA members are locked out by the Institute of Canadian Agencies (ICA).
Our complaint of bad faith bargaining against the ICA is currently before the Ontario Labour
Relations Board.
One of our members who served as the voice of Canada Post is one of thousands who have been unfairly locked out for more than 16 months by several agencies who refuse to pay minimum rates to unionized commercial performers. A replacement worker is now doing his work.
A crown corporation owned by the Canadian government has no business actively prolonging this dispute by enriching an anti-union agency that refuses to sign our National Commercial Agreement. How can a government that has repeatedly promised Canadian workers anti scab legislation be using taxpayers’ money to hire replacement workers to perform in its commercials?
We have learned that one such non-union commercial is being produced today via an agency called “The & Partnership” and below is the call for auditions:
PROJECT: *NON-UNION CANADA POST
MEDIA: Web (1 X :60 Web 1 Year, 4 X :15 Cutdowns Web 1 Year)
ROLE: VO
RATE: Rate follows below…
Session = $500
1 X :60 Web 1 Year = $600
4 X :15 Cutdowns Web 1 Year = $1000
GRAND TOTAL = $2100
RECORD: This coming Monday, August 28th 2023
SPECS: Man, 30 to early 40’s. Should be casual and conversational and inviting.
Jean-Yves this makes Canada Post complicit in the suffering of unionized performers and their families since April 26, 2022, by lining the pockets of a union busting agency intent on undermining ACTRA performers in the commercial sector. ACTRA members feel betrayed by their own government.
In May, delegates to the Canadian Labour Congress, representing 3.3 million workers voted to support ACTRA’s resolution to demand “that the Government of Canada revise its national procurement policy to forbid the use of any scab labour, directly or indirectly through subcontractors, and further to seek to use only unionized goods and services.”
Earlier this year your predecessor claimed to be completely unaware of this dispute when confronted and asked to investigate this issue in this video from the committee. ACTRA has repeatedly met with and spoken with your staff on this issue and successfully campaigned to ensure the federal government’s agency of record is signatory to a collective agreement with ACTRA. We urge you to ensure the federal government’s agency of record continues to be a signatory of our National Commercial Agreement when that is procured next June.
Please note that ACTRA met with Treasury Board officials on September 22, and December 1, 2022 and with your the policy director on Feb. 6, 2023 on this issue.
I look forward to your speedy reply and immediate attention to ensure that Canada Post end any non-union advertising production and hire an agency that works with ACTRA. We would welcome your assistance and the opportunity to meet with you.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Noble, ACTRA National President
cc.
Doug.Ettinger@canadapost.ca
Rod.Hart@canadapost.ca
anthony.laporte@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Anita.Anand@tbs-sct.gc.ca
Monique.Lugli@tbs-sct.gc.ca
chrystia.freeland@fin.gc.ca
Leslie.Church@fin.gc.ca
seamus.oregan@labour-travail.gc.ca
seamus.oregan@parl.gc.ca
Paul.Moen@labour-travail.gc.ca
pascale.st-onge@pch.gc.ca
Jude.Welch@pch.gc.ca
pablo.rodriguez@parl.gc.ca
Lawrence.Zhang@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
cory.pike@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Colin.Lalonde2@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
mkelly@actra.ca
ahepburn@actratoronto.com
nclancy@actra.ca
jsimpson@cupw-sttp.org
bklassen@cupw-sttp.org