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Unifor members who work in the media sector are urging the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to stop the wide-scale commercial theft that puts thousands of jobs at risk.
“Theft is theft and allowing illegal piracy websites operating outside of Canada to stream content they don't own is a job killer,” said Jerry Dias, National President. “We’ve already lost 4,000 broadcasting jobs since 2012.”
Unifor is part of Fairplay Canada, a coalition of Canadian content creators and unions that is asking the CRTC to set up an anti-piracy regime to stop the illegal streaming and downloading of an estimated $500 million worth of shows and films.
“If everything is being stolen and taken just by downloading it, where is the money going to come from? How are we going to continue to make the projects that everyone loves?” asked Peggy Kyriakidou, a member of Unifor local 700M who appeared in a video supporting the anti-piracy plan.
She and other media workers are asking Unifor members to support the proposal by submitting comments here.
Some have incorrectly confused the campaign with censorship. The coalition’s proposed Independent Piracy Review Agency, however, would only block the most blatant piracy sites that operate illegally, overseas and it does not censor all sites.
Similar agencies protect media jobs in 20 other countries including Great Britain, France, and Spain.
“I build the sets that you see on Canadian film and television,” said Frank Iaccobucci, a Unifor NABET 700-M member and carpenter featured in a video encouraging members to submit comments of support to the CRTC. “I don’t think a lot of people understand the impact that piracy is having on me and my co-workers.
We have already seen what happens when employers lose millions as their popular shows and movies are stolen, cuts trickle down, and our members get laid off.”
The deadline to submit comments in support of the application to the CRTC at this link is Thursday, March 29, 2018. For more information go to www.mediaactionplan.ca
