A group made up of advertising organizations and the Quebec-based labour organization representing French-language performers in Canada have reached a new collective agreement, in principle.

The Joint Producers’ Association (APC) and the Union des Artistes (UDA) announced the new agreement on the production of advertising on Wednesday (Dec. 13). The two sides say the deal modernizes and amalgamates the collective agreements concerning TV, radio, internet and new media platforms, and offers fair conditions, flexibility in the use of different advertising formats, and is better adapted to the development of Canadian media.

The APC is a group made up of the Association of Creative Communications Agencies, the Association of Canadian Advertisers and the Institute of Canadian Agencies. Its goal is to negotiate minimum working conditions for artists hired in the production of commercials. The UDA represents more than 13,000 actors, singers and entertainers working in French across Canada.

“This agreement is important for the entire advertising ecosystem, as it is the second largest source of revenue for UDA artists,” says Association of Creative Communications Agencies president and CEO Dominique Villeneuve. “The modernization of the agreement will enable us to continue working collaboratively to not only keep but increase commercial production in Quebec, for the benefit of all. With the current media crisis, this agreement provides production stability for the entire industry.”

The new agreement will take effect within four months, and training sessions will be held next year to explain the details of the new agreement.

Similar negotiations resulted in a deal between the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and the Association of Canadian Advertisers earlier this year, which renewed the National Commercial Agreement for another year. The NCA is the collective agreement governing how advertisers engage with unionized actors for commercial productions.