ACTRA Maritimes Blog

Tax Time

It is tax time and our office sent an email out to members to ask if they would share contact information on tax preparation providers they have used who have experience preparing tax returns for professional performers.

We received positive feed back on those listed below. Please note that this is in no way an endorsement, recommendation or guarantee, either implicit or implied, by ACTRA of these service providers.

Mary Boyd: 420-9050

Lyle/Tilley/Davidson: 423-7225

Josh Touesnard at Smith & Touesnard: 423-6105
E-mail: joshua@S-T.ca

Hugh Davidson at Lyle Tilley Davidson: 423-7225
www.ltdca.com

Linda Jenkins at H&R Block on Rainee Drive: 420-1526

Floyd King: 404-0448

ACTRA Maritimes Holiday Party 2009

ACTRA Maritimes Holiday Party 2009

A good time was had by all!

Wanda Arab and President Jeremy Webb

Role Reversal – President Jeremy Webb and suprise guest

L to R – Alexander Baker, Alvina Poole & Christopher Simmonds

Fun was had by all!

ACTRA Fights for Canadian TV

ACTRA’s decade-long fight to get more Canadian drama back in prime time is entering the final round. Our federal regulator – the CRTC – is holding big hearings on November 16 where they will re-write the rules for Canadian TV.

Visit www.actra.ca, www.ourtv.ca, and rally with ACTRA and some of Canada’s biggest TV stars on Parliament Hill, on November 16 at 1:00pm. Let all of Canada know that the argument is about is our culture, our TV and, as Canadians, our voice. The airwaves belong to us!

OUR CULTURE. OUR VOICE. OUR TV

William F. White International Crew Cards are Here!

William F. White International has generously chosen to show their appreciation of Atlantic Canada’s cast and crew by offering Atlantic Film Festival Crew Cards to members of ACTRA, DGC, IATSE 667, IATSE 849 and WGC.

The Crew Cards are good for two free tickets to regular festival screenings and can be used to obtain a $2.00 discount off additional regular screenings. The cards can not be used for Gala Screenings or Gala,Opening or Closing party tickets. Crew Cards are offered to Full and Apprentice Members in good standing.

Passes may be picked up from Eva at the ACTRA office. Get yours before they are gone!! The Festival runs from September 17th, to September 26, 2009. The box office is located in Park Lane Mall by the escalators.

Financial Bootcamp Seminar

(Looking out for your Financial Future)

Proudly Sponsored by ACTRA Fraternal Benefit Society

ACTRA Fraternal is proud to present a seminar by one of North America’s top financial specialists – Alexander Wright.

The Financial Bootcamp Seminar is designed to guide you through the necessary steps to ensure your financial future.

Alexander Wright is one of Canada’s pioneers of financial planning, having set up Wright & Co. as a fee-only planner in 1972. He has worked with the film industry for over 30 years and understands the specific concerns of this unique industry.

Alexander Wright’s credentials include the following designations: BA, MBA, CFP, CFE, CLU, RFP; he is also qualified in forensic accounting and arbitration. He has taught university and college, run workshops, addressed professional conferences internationally and is the author of

the acclaimed “Demons in the Financial World”. Alexander Wright is a compelling and practical seminar leader who pulls no punches – your time will be well spent.

This seminar is available free of charge to all ACTRA Maritimes members. You must register before September 17, 2009 by emailing Eva MacGregor at emacgregor@actra.ca.

Space is limited so register early.

FINANCIAL BOOTCAMP SEMINAR

Acadia Room
Radisson Suite Hotel
1649 Hollis Street
Halifax, NS
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Refreshments will be served

The Situation and Needs of Canadian Senior Artists

Town Hall Discussions

Friday, September 18, 2009
9 AM – 11 AM
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Confederation Centre, Studio 2

– AND –

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
7 PM – 9 PM
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Program Room

If you are an artist and 60 or over, please participate in this action-oriented research project about artists in all disciplines.

A distinguished group of Canadian arts organizations (listed below) is looking for ways to do more to support Canada’s senior artists (that is, those who are 65 and over).

We need your help! Please assist us by participating in this first-ever assessment of the situation and needs of senior artists in Canada.

More »

They Shoot They Score!!

STICKS AND STONES – WINNER OF THE 2009 SHAW ROCKET PRIZE!!

The heroic efforts of pee wee hockey players both on and off the ice in Sticks and Stones have won this television movie the prestigious $50,000 Shaw Rocket Prize for most innovative and creative Canadian production of 2009 for youth and families! Produced by Cirrus Communications, QC, and Dream Street Pictures, NB, Sticks and Stones tells the heart-warming story of a Friendship Series Tournament organized by young Canadian hockey players to make amends for the ill treatment received by a visiting American team.

Over 800 students from schools across Canada voted Sticks and Stones the ultimate winner of the 2009 Rocket Prize, choosing from a short list of four exceptional productions (Fred’s Head, How She Move, and Instant Star) selected by an international jury of industry experts. The Shaw Rocket Prize congratulates Sticks and Stones, and all of this year’s Rocket Prize finalists.

We applaud the tremendous efforts of all of those who work in the Canadian production industry to create consistently great programming for Canadian children, youth, and families. Shaw Rocket Prize: celebrating quality television for kids and the people who create it!

www.rocketprize.ca | www.rocketfund.ca

2009 Annual General Meeting

The membership of ACTRA Maritimes is invited to attend
the ACTRA MARITIMES 2009 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Venue: The Admiral Room, The Lord Nelson Hotel – 1515 South Park St., Halifax, NS

Time: 10:00 A.M.

Date: SATURDAY, MAY 23rd, 2009

Light Refreshments Provided
Apprentice Members Welcome
Voting Limited to Full Members

RSVP Eva MacGregor at emacgregor@actra.ca or by telephone at 902-420-1241

Our “Ricky” fights for Canadian television

GATINEAU – ACTRA Maritimes member Robb Wells (Trailer Park Boys) and Toronto member Julie Stewart (Cold Squad) took ACTRA’s fight for more drama on television to the CRTC. The regulator is holding public hearings on the regulatory framework for cable and satellite services in addition to specialty and pay channels.

“We need more Canada on TV. If the CRTC changes the rules, not only will Canadian creators be out of work, our country will lose its capacity to tell our own stories. The rules are working. Please don’t import the drama disaster from the conventional side onto the specialty side. It takes too long to fix,” said Wells.

“Canadian culture on the small screen is at a crossroads. If the ecosystem of CRTC rules is dismantled, it will be the death knell for Canadian culture and our sovereignty. Already scarce financial resources will be diverted out of our broadcasting system,” said Stewart.

“Polling shows that 67% of Canadians look to the CRTC as guardians of our cultural trust on television. Canadians expect the CRTC to regulate the system to ensure we have access to Canadian content,” added Stewart.

“Broadcasters will not spend on drama unless they are regulated to do so. We know this from the fallout of the CRTC’s disastrous 1999 Television Policy that caused Canadian English drama to virtually disappear from primetime conventional TV,” added Wells. More »