Dear members, 

The purpose of this memo is to inform you of recent developments regarding the National Health and Safety committee (production audiovisuelle) set up by performers’ associations (ACTRA Montréal, UDA, DGC, 514-AQTIS/IATSE, ARRQ) and the AQPM following the coming into force of the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety system (“Bill 59”) and the implementation of the “interim” system.

Since its creation in the spring of 2022, the Committee has met on several occasions, in particular to identify and analyze the health and safety risks to which performers and crafts people working in audiovisual production may be exposed to in during their projects.

Over the course of its meetings, the Committee prioritized certain risks to implement preventive measures in 2024. The first risks selected were those related to filming made on the public roads, i.e. any non-stunt related* recording requiring one or more people working for the production to be on the public roads (whether or not the recording involves a moving motorized vehicle).
 
During 4 meetings, the Committee, accompanied by experts, drew up guidelines to help producers and their teams identify the risks to which they are exposed when filming on public roads, as well as the necessary measures to be taken to control and eliminate these risks (e.g. preparation of a bypass/divert plan, obtaining a permit from the competent authority, retaining the services of flagmen, etc.).
 
In closing, please note that in the coming months, the various members of the Committee would like to offer their respective members customized training on this subject. Stay tuned for training opportunities in 2025.
 
Yours sincerely

ACTRA Montreal

*stunt related driving scenes (that has an element of the stunt driving guidelines) will be discussed at a later session in consultation with the stunt community.