Bill 127 explained in plain English
Fairness in Film and Media Production Act, 2012
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill establishes a framework for regulating labour relations and collective bargaining through scale agreements in Ontario's film, television, radio, and new media industries.
This bill, the Fairness in Film and Media Production Act, 2012, aims to regulate labour relations for workers and producers in Ontario's film, television, radio, and new media industries. It proposes to apply certain provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, with modifications, to these industries. The Act would allow media industry worker associations and producer associations to be designated as bargaining agents. These designated agents could then enter into "scale agreements" that set minimum terms and conditions for work. Disputes related to these agreements could be resolved through mechanisms within the agreement or by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The bill explicitly states that it does not affect existing rights or obligations under tax legislation.
- Establishes the purpose of regulating scale agreements between bargaining agents for media industry workers and producers.
- Defines key terms such as "media industry," "media industry worker," "producer," and "scale agreement."
- States that the Act does not affect rights or obligations under Ontario or federal tax legislation.
- Makes prescribed provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, applicable to labour relations in the media industry, with potential adaptations, modifications, and limitations.
- Defines media industry workers as employees, designated bargaining agents as trade unions, and producers as employers for the purposes of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
- Defines scale agreements as collective agreements under the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
- Grants the Ontario Labour Relations Board the same powers, duties, and functions when exercising jurisdiction under this Act as it has under the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
- States that decisions and orders of the Ontario Labour Relations Board are final and binding.
- Allows the Ontario Labour Relations Board to authorize labour relations officers to inquire into matters and endeavour to settle them.
- Allows the Lieutenant Governor in Council to consider the media industry's needs when appointing members to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
- Specifies that contracts between producers and media industry workers include the terms of applicable scale agreements.
- Allows contracts to include terms exceeding the minimums set in a scale agreement.
- Establishes procedures for resolving disputes arising from scale agreements, first through the agreement's mechanisms and then potentially through the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
- Provides for the continuation of existing written agreements respecting minimum terms and conditions for media industry workers.
- Designates specific media industry worker associations as bargaining agents.
- Allows media industry worker associations and producer associations to apply to the Minister to become designated bargaining agents.
- Outlines the process for the Minister to designate or revoke the designation of bargaining agents.
- Grants designated bargaining agents the authority to bargain and enter into scale agreements.
- Allows for the revocation of designations of bargaining agents.
- Grants the Lieutenant Governor in Council the power to make regulations concerning the Act's management, enforcement, definitions, application of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, membership, designation and revocation processes, scale agreements, successor rights, notice, and transitional matters.
- Producers in the film, television, radio, and new media industries
- Media industry workers in the film, television, radio, and new media industries
- Media industry worker associations
- Producers' associations
- The Minister of Labour
- The Ontario Labour Relations Board
- Media industry workers have the right to be represented by a designated bargaining agent for the purpose of negotiating scale agreements.
- Producers have the right to engage media industry workers under contracts that adhere to scale agreements.
- Designated bargaining agents have the authority to bargain and enter into scale agreements on behalf of their members.
- Scale agreements bind certain media industry workers and producers.
- Contracts between media industry workers and producers may include terms that exceed the minimums set by a scale agreement.
- The Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The Act explicitly states that it does not affect the rights or obligations of media industry workers or producers under Ontario or federal tax legislation.
- Disputes arising from scale agreements may be resolved through dispute resolution mechanisms within the agreement or by the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which may issue orders to resolve disputes.
- The specific provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995, that will apply to the media industry are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The adaptations, modifications, and limitations to the Labour Relations Act, 1995, will be prescribed by regulation.
- The criteria and processes for designating or revoking bargaining agents are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The specific definitions of terms like 'artist,' 'media industry workers' association,' 'new media,' and 'producers' association' are to be prescribed by regulation.
- The exact date of the Act's commencement is not specified and will be determined by proclamation.
Certain provisions of this Act and its regulations will apply to labour relations in the film, television, radio, and new media industries, with possible adaptations, modifications, and limitations as prescribed by regulations under the new Act.
Source: Section 4(1)
The Ontario Labour Relations Board will have the same powers, duties, and functions when dealing with matters under this Act as it does under the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
Source: Section 5
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced