Canadian actors support U.S. counterparts

The national executive director of Canada’s main actors’ union, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) said Tuesday that his union will support the Screen Actors Guild’s demands that actors hired by Canadian production companies controlled by U.S. studios be paid at U.S. contract rates. Stephen Waddell told Wednesday’s Toronto Globe and Mail that SAG’s demand, which is being raised during current contract negotiations with producers, is “not so much an expansion in scope as a clarification of existing agreements that had not always been observed.” Waddell noted that although such a contract clause might cut back on the number of Canadian actors employed in productions by the Canadian shell companies, “it’s an important clause in terms of fairness.”