In July 2013, a change in federal legislation led to foreign musicians having to pay increased fees in order to perform in Canada. With backlash from various small concert promoters, the government has been in talks to amend the new fees.
In the past, employers paid a work permit fee of $150 a person or $450 for groups of three to 14. The new rules add a processing fee for handling the paperwork, known as the Labour Market Opinion. At $275 a person, the cost of bringing in a band ratchets up quickly.
Part-time promoter Carlyle Doherty created a petition on change.org addressed to Jason Kenney, minister of employment, social development and multiculturalism, and Chris Alexander, minister of citizenship and immigration, urging them to amend the regulation. It currently has over 141,000 signatures.
But what does this mean for Ottawa?
Downtown venues such as Ritual, Rainbow Bistro, Babylon, and Mavericks have been hosting concerts for years, showcasing bands in diverse genres such as heavy metal, hip hop, and punk rock.
Despite concerns, some Ottawa venues are not being affected by the new fees.
Christina Kasper from Black Widow Promotions, a concert company that organizes metal shows, isn’t affected by these new fees at all.
“We’re lucky in Ottawa that most of our venues are immigration exempt,” Kasper said. “That means that the bands don’t have to get any paperwork or visas or stuff like that to come and play Canada.”
Other promoters, including a representative from Spectrasonic, said the same thing.
According to Warren Creates and Jacqueline Bonisteel, immigration lawyers with Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, “a work permit is required where an artist is entering Canada to perform at a ‘bar, restaurant or similar establishment.’”
Fortunately for Kasper, the majority of Ottawa’s music locales are classified as music venues. While they may sell alcohol, they only do so when bands are playing.
“If bands play venues that sell food or are open all the time, like restaurants or bars, then they have to apply for a Labour Market Opinion,” Kasper said.
But if two major local concert promoters aren’t affected by these new rules, it leaves the question—who is?
“It’s definitely not going to affect bands in Montreal, Toronto, or Quebec City,” Kasper said. “It’s the venues in small cities where by day it’s a restaurant and by night it’s a concert venue.”
Government officials have responded to the backlash by reiterating that the changes are meant to save tax payers’ money. In one example, Kenney tweeted that “employers should pay the admin costs for inviting temporary foreign workers to Canada, not taxpayers.”
Canadian Independent Music Association president Stuart Johnston said he hopes the government will change the rules.
Johnston said the association—which has served as an advocacy group for Canadian independent music since 1971—met with government officials on Dec. 6.
“The Labour Market Opinion issues dramatically impact the entire ecosystem of the domestic independent Canadian music industry,” Johnston said. “The fact is that a foreign artist performing in Canada, whether in a bar, restaurant, or at Massey Hall in Toronto, is not taking away a Canadian job. In fact, it’s supporting Canadian jobs.”
Johnston recounted instances of how the fees have affected foreign and Canadian artists in other ways.
“I’ve heard of a label that had an arrangement with a booking agency in the United States to co-tour both an American and a Canadian act,” Johnston said. “They’d tour Canada, then the States, and they would split the revenue and that would lead to bigger and better touring opportunities.”
However, the American booking agent had to back out after being unable to afford the new fees.
Johnston said he told government officials that the issue needs to be resolved quickly.
“When they made changes to the temporary foreign worker program, they made broad stroke changes that didn’t quite take into account the nuances of the different industries,” Johnston said. “We’re not like any other industry.”
While the new fees don’t affect Ottawa promoters directly, the local music business could be affected in other ways. British singer Hugh Cornwell had to cancel three western Canadian dates because a single show was scheduled in a non-exempt venue. Hypothetically, a similar situation could arise with Ottawa as one of the cancelled dates.
But for now, Ottawa music fans can rest easy knowing that the city’s diverse music scene hasn’t been affected. Kasper has already booked big-name bands, such as Finland’s Sonata Arctica, to play Mavericks this year.
“I do it for the people,” Kasper said. “Who else is going to step in and book all these obscure metal bands?”
