Canada's entertainment industry pushes for concrete change #AfterMeToo

Sarah Polleyreflects on the landslide of revelations ofsexual misconduct in the entertainment business.

"We've all been complicit in this culture:we've all seen things, we've let them slide. We would have never gone to a producer to report it, because no one would have cared. Right? That was the culture we were all used to it," the Canadian actress and activist said last weekat a Toronto panel discussing sexual harassment in the film industry.

But"that complicity is changing," she says.

What's galvanized Polley, industry leaders andactivists in this climate where sexual misconduct is being called out and dozens of power players are tumbling is the opportunity for a significant cultural shift towards safer, gender-balanced and more diversified workplaces.

'A very personal fight'

Today, actor Mia Kirshner, filmmaker Aisling Chin-Yee and actor-producer Freya Ravensbergenare kicking off a two-day symposium they've spearheaded. Entitled #AfterMeToo, it bringstogether members of the Canadian film and TV community, trauma experts, lawyers, activists and politicians in Toronto to discuss practical ways to combatsexual harassment, assault and abuse.

"It's a very personal fight for me. As somebody who went through the system, as somebody who has been sexually assaulted, I spent a great deal of time thinking about this and studying it and trying to reconcile how I dealt with it post-assault and what I wished was in place,"Kirshnertold CBC News.

The Toronto-based actorwrote a blistering opinion piece this fall in the Globe and Mailthatblasted the industry for "turning a blind eye to sexual harassment and abuse carried out by those who wield power in the film industry," including criticizing performers unions ACTRA and SAG.

"We created #AfterMeToobecause we didn't feel heard from within the system," she said. The goal is to explore the issue from a survivor's point of view andmake recommendations forindustrial policy, new legislation and changes to the justice system.

Topics Kirshneris eager to explore include review of sexual harassment and assault complaints by independent parties "not beholden to protecting the organization," online reporting systems that can track whether accusers subsequently face reprisal or industry blacklisting, increasing mental health support for victims and greater accessibility to and advances in sexual assault kits.

"The whole purpose of #AfterMeToo is to work together, not to work separately. No one is pointing a fingerat one place. It's a systematic breakdown."

'There's money at stake'

The entertainment industry is just one of thesectorsrocked by allegationsthis fall of workplace sexual misconduct, harassment and assaultcommitted by powerful, high-profile figures, an ever-growing wave initially sparked by New York Times and New Yorkerexpossabout disgraced movie mogul HarveyWeinstein.

Weinstein'sswift fall from grace has been followed by a string of others, from actorKevinSpaceyto comedian Louis C.K., producer BrettRatnerto filmmaker JamesToback,Just for Laughs co-founder GilbertRozonto TV news stalwarts MattLauerand Charlie Rose.

"We're defined by our hopes. My hope is that this is a turning point in our culture," said filmmaker PatriciaRozema.

"I'm very encouraged that theWeinsteins, the RoyMoores... the KevinSpaceysare brought down. There really was a belief that they were too big to fail and it's been proven they were not. There's money at stake and when the money is actually following the morality, there's hope."

Stakeholders in the Canadian entertainment industryincluding the unions representing performers, directors, producers and media workers held a closed-door meeting in late November to discuss the issue. The result was anagreement to develop an industry-wide code of conduct.

Some of the same players gathered again lastweek at the TIFF Bell Lightbox to discuss the issue at a small gathering open to the public, sharing examples of measures to come in the immediate future, including ACTRA's vow to expedite processessuch as conducting investigations of the most serious harassment claims within 48 hours.

Other initiatives that industry groupslike the Canadian Media Producers Guildare pursuing include the development of tool kits and training sessions that will be made publicly available, outreach to schools feeding into the industry and exploring a better reporting mechanism for complaints.

The goal is to find one "that would have safe reporting and adjudication of claims done by a third-party body to eliminate any kind of conflict of interest, any kind of personal affiliation, because that's going to give the fairness and transparency to the process that I think every party will appreciate," said Marguerite Pigott, vice-president of outreach and strategic initiatives at the Canadian Media Producers Association.

Gender balance, increased diversity

The current atmosphere has inspired much conversation about reprehensiblebehaviour on entertainment industry sets, with many saying that observing basic tenets liketreating people withrespect and valuing everyone asequals would be two simple steps.

Though KristinKreuksaid "nothing really terrible has ever occurred" to heras a performer, the star of the upcomingCBC-TVlegal dramaBurden of Truthsaid she's felt uneasyon some sets "where it's fine if someone comments on the way you look calls you attractive or not. Calls you sweetie or honey or whatever it is.

"There's just a general feeling that you must exist as kind and soft and gentle,and make sure everything's OKfor everyone to feel especially the males on set to feel good," the Canadian actress toldCBCNews.

Kreuk'sco-star, Peter Mooney said, "As a male and a white male, I've been on the most privileged side historically. And I think it's really heartening to see that there's some measure of levelling coming now, that the safety and security that I feel that I'm afforded on set is starting to be extended to everyone."

PraisingBurden of Truth'sfemale-led team, with women prominentas writers andproducers and in the cast, Kreuksaid, "It's important that we have women telling stories, because it changes the way those stories are told. It changes the way women are represented on-screen, which then shifts the way we perceive the male and female dynamic as a whole."

Actor, director and host Nicole Stamp supports showcasinga more representative swath of humanity,"where women are writing female characters so the women you're seeing on TV are not somebody's idea of what women are like," she said.

"And the same thing for marginalized people from other identities. I want to see transgender characters played by transgender actorsI don't want to see an able-bodied person pretending to have a disability and imagining what that feels like.

"The more that we can bring true parity and true diversity into our storytelling, the richer our culture becomes.It's not just about what happens on our film sets. It's about how the stories we put onscreen change our whole culture."

There are many small and seemingly simple ways for everyone to effect change, added Stamp, whose Facebook missive to male friends about "how to help" amid the #metoomovement went viral in October.

"We don't have to pull out a flaming sword to take down an industry monster" every time, she said.

"We can treat women and marginalized people in more respectful ways in our everyday life and just improve the five-metre radius around each of us. If you do that, you actually helpshift the entire culture."

Many in the entertainment world feel that achieving positive outcomes in their industry which garners attention around the globe can serve as the vanguard for other sectors.There is a sentiment being touted universally across the board: now is a decisive moment of change.

"We have this window where we're being heard and we absolutely can't miss this," Kirshner said.

"I won't accept not being heard. We won't accept not being heard... These systems need to change. Laws need to change.Sexual assault trialsneed to change, radically."