Canadian film industry to establish code of conduct

The Canadian film and TV industry is making an effort to introduce a code of conduct to end sexual harassment on movie and TV sets.

Canadian industry representatives said in a statement that they will "collaborate on an industry-wide response to sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence."

The day-long meeting that was held in Toronto on Thursday was attended by industry unions, guilds and associations with an aim to come up with more effective enforcement of existing industry policies

"We agree to zero tolerance for such behavior. We recognise that increasing gender equality and diversity across our industry is an important part of the solution," the statement added.

The proposed code of conduct will also define "expectations of appropriate and inappropriate behavior, enforcement and consequences."

The Canadian industry also proposed "more effective reporting mechanisms and supports" so that actors/actresses can report allegations quickly without fear.

This step was taken following criticism from Canadian actress Mia Kirshner, who accused that Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) did not protect her against an 'ordeal' with Harvey Weinstein, and that actors still fear speaking out against sexual predators to avoid putting their careers in jeopardy.

In a recent interview Kirshner said, "As a proud Canadian, I would like to see my union, ACTRA, create the gold standard for how complaints of sexual harassment and abuse are handled in the workplace," Hollywood Reporter stated.

Representatives of ACTRA, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the Director's Guild of Canada, the Casting Directors Society of Canada and the Canadian Media Producers Association, representing indie producers, were part of the day-long discussions on addressing sexual harassment in the Canadian industry.