EQUIFLASH [ACTRA AND EQUITY JOIN FORCES ONCE MORE TO PRESS FOR LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILD PERFORMERS ]

[CAEA e-drive]

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ACTRA AND EQUITY JOIN FORCES ONCE MORE TO PRESS FOR LEGAL PROTECTION FOR
CHILD PERFORMERS 
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TORONTO, October 30, 2014 - David Sparrow, President of ACTRA Toronto,
Ferne Downey, President of ACTRA National, Arden R. Ryshpan, Equity's
Executive Director and performers Art Hindle, Clara Pasieka and David
Gale will be at the Ontario Legislature today to support Bill 17 -
Protecting Child Performers Act, 2014. The private member's bill,
introduced by Paul Miller, MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, receives
second reading today.

ACTRA Toronto and Canadian Actors' Equity Association, the performers
unions representing screen and stage actors respectively, jointly
support the bill, as they did its predecessor, Bill 71, which died on
the order paper when the provincial election was called. The new
proposed legislation contains the same measures to address length of the
workday and rest periods for minors, health and safety, tutoring, income
protection and parental access and responsibilities. If the bill passes
second reading, it will likely be referred to committee for review.

"Last year this bill came within inches of becoming law in Ontario. We
said we'd be back to stand up for child actors, and so here we are
again," said Equity Executive Director Arden R. Ryshpan.

"This bill is a largely unchanged from its predecessor bill, Bill 71,"
said David Sparrow. "We simply will not give up until our most
vulnerable are protected under the law."

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing
over 15,000 of Canada's 22,000 professional performers working in the
English-language recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian
culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to
secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers. 

Equity is the voice of professional artists working in live performance
in English Canada. It is a national artists' association representing
almost 6,000 performers, directors, choreographers, fight directors and
stage managers working in theatre, opera and dance from coast to coast.

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