On behalf of the 6,500 members of actra who are part of the Toronto Performers branch, I am writing to take issue with a letter in your Jan. 27 issue authored by Aaron Barnett, Scott Carman and Michael Shayne of Green Couch Productions.

The lack of comprehension that Messers Barnett et al seem to have about the relationship between performers and producers is very distressing. I will address some of their main points to clear up any misunderstandings that may have been left with your readers.

The main problem that the Green Couch producers seem to have with actra is that it is ‘inflexible’ about the payments to which our performers are entitled, and that by refusing to negotiate lower and lower rates with each producer, we are somehow acting in a manner detrimental to the Canadian production scene. actra, they contend, is not about what is best for the careers of its members ­ it is about money.

Nothing could be further from the truth. actra is not ‘about money.’ It is about protecting and advancing the rights of performers, rights for which performers have been fighting for a very long time. The right to a safe working environment. The right to basic guaranteed working conditions. The right for payments for the future use of their images. And the overriding principle that performers are professionals and have a right to be paid properly for their work.

These rights were a key concern of actra’s predecessor organizations in the 1940s and they are even more important today.

Steps have been taken to safeguard these rights in the Independent Production Agreement ­ one of the many agreements actra has negotiated with various sectors of the production economy.

The ipa is not (as Messrs Barnett et al contend) an ‘actra agreement,’ but is a Canada-wide agreement that was negotiated between actra and the cftpa. As such, it lays out rules that protect both the performer and the producer.

One such protection (outlined in article A601) prohibits actra from negotiating lower rates with individual engagers, guaranteeing that we cannot offer one producer a ‘deal’ on rates while denying the same rates to another.

Any suggestion the actra is being ‘inflexible’ if it d’es not give companies such as Green Couch ‘a break’ is totally ludicrous and indicates that the operators of that company are not willing to respect an agreement negotiated by their own production colleagues.

Furthermore, as a key part of the cultural fabric of this country, actra is very concerned about the state of Canadian production and believes strongly in fostering homegrown talent.

We have agreements with universities, colleges and the Canadian Film Centre that allow young producers and directors at those institutions to use, without payment, actra performers who volunteer their time. The ipa also offers discounted rates for performers in lower budget productions, beginning with a 25% reduction in fees for projects between $1.6 million and $1.1 million, and rising to 45% for projects under $125,000.

(If Green Couch balks at paying principal performers approximately $250 per day under the 45% discounted rate, I would suggest they might deserve the appellation of ‘amateur’ they falsely attributed to me.)

Lastly, actra d’es not operate as an entity independent of its membership, but is run by members. National and local branches of actra (including actra Toronto Performers) are administered by councils of elected performers. Staff persons such as myself and actra Performers Guild executive director Stephen Waddell work at the direction of these member councils, and as such, actra cannot operate independently of the interests of the majority of its members.

actra members are professionals. They have years of training and experience in all manner of production media. Through their membership in actra they continue to act collectively to safeguard their hard-won rights.

And despite all the advances that performers have made in this country, despite all the creativity and initiative that performers possess, the average actra member working in Canada earns just over $7,000 per year, providing us with a glaring reminder of how much further we have to go.

Companies such as Green Couch have to realize that protections for performers exist for very good reasons and that the cost of professional talent is the cost of doing business. If they can’t afford the discounted admission, they’re playing the wrong game.

celia c. hamilton,

branch manager (not president).

actra toronto performers,

toronto.