Renewed Reciprocal Agreement signed with ACTRA

Equity Council is pleased to announce an update to the longstanding Reciprocal Agreement with the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). A joint committee of ACTRA and Equity Councillors met to sign the updated document on December 8, exactly forty-three years to the day after the original agreement went into effect.

The new version generally simplifies the language and tidies up some loose ends. More significantly, it also removes the reciprocal joining requirement, so that members of one association working in the jurisdiction of the other now have access to the full range of member or permit options that would ordinarily apply to whichever engagement they may be involved in.

Going forward, ACTRA members will be eligible for permit engagement under our joining programme when doing initial contracts in theatre. This change will offer ACTRA performers, new to the professional stage, the opportunity to build experience in live performance and familiarity with Equity engagements before committing to membership. The specific terms of engagement will depend on what is available for the contract in question, and not on ACTRA membership.

Note that some engagement policies, such as the Artists' Collective, do not require joining for non-members to participate. Equity has historically excluded these engagements from the Reciprocal Agreement joining requirement anyway, so the change only serves to formalise what has long been the case.

ACTRA members can get more information on their engagement options for a given contract by contacting either Equity office.

ACTRA and Equity have enjoyed a long and collaborative relationship, and this renewed commitment to reciprocal recognition and assistance is designed to serve our memberships well into the future. Both national Councils have also committed to ongoing discussions aimed at greater opportunities for connection and collaboration, including the upcoming review of our Strategic Alliance, which generally covers all matters of joint advocacy.