VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Glenn Moore · Been Here Awhile Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 241

For those of you who are U.S. talent or from Europe and have agents or do work in Canada or for Canadian producers, have you ever been told you need a Canadian work permit to get auditions or jobs? Is this a new requirement? I am being told this and I am checking into it. Everyone I have talked to says they know nothing about it. I have done a few Canadian jobs and never had to worry about this before. Maybe it's just an agency thing? Not sure. Anyone else run into this issue? Thanks!

Glenn

Foog · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:29 am Post subject:

Anyone who has done work on voices.com has done a "Canadian" job, or at least a job brokered through a Canadian company. If you are not going on-site in Canada as an employee or subcontractor, I can't see how a work permit would be a requirement. You might be asked to fill out a tax form declaring that you will be paying tax in the U.S. and are exempt from paying any Canadian tax on the work done for a Canadian client (I recently had to fill one out the other way around, as a Canadian working for an American client), but a full blown work permit? Sounds excessive and unecessary.

There have been recent scandals here in Canuckistan about temporary foreign workers "stealing" low level jobs from Canadian citizens. It's an election year and there is lots of noise about it. Maybe the (presumably Canadian) people that told you a work permit is required are being overly paranoid in light of this and are worried about a CRA (our IRS) audit.
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Andrew Fogarasi

Lee Gordon · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:46 am Post subject:

I've never been asked for one.
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todd ellis · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:01 am Post subject:

what lee said.
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Bruce · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:12 am Post subject:

What Todd said.

B
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DougVox · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 7:44 am Post subject:

What Bruce said.
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Kim Fuller · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 9:29 am Post subject:

Vad de sa

Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

Sounds like someone's too lazy to do paperwork.

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

I just did a radio campaign in Canada for Great Western Brewing.

The studio was in Toronto, but the agency was in San Francisco.

Never heard about any issues with work permits, etc. It was a non-union job.

Bish · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:31 am Post subject:

I love this stuff. The craziest ideas get planted... someone (probably the office intern) misreads or misunderstands something and starts acting like it's true (because we all like to know a truth that no one else does)... it gets repeated, and on every re-telling it gains a tiny bit more credibility. Then, all of a sudden, it turns up in places other than the weirdo-blogs and becomes a legitimate question.

Oh, Internet... you are such a scamp!

(... however, if true, it would be really interesting to see Voices.com disappear and VOs start working on their own business plan instead of feeding theirs)
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melissa eX · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2015 9:42 am Post subject:

Could simply be one way of politely saying they only want to use Canadian talent. There are a number of incentives in Canada for Canadian productions but they mandate principal talent - I believe - be Canadian.
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Glenn Moore · Been Here Awhile Joined: 24 Jan 2005 Posts: 241

Thanks for the info everyone. Yes, Melissa, I believe you are correct. Some Canadian producers often prefer Canadian talent. I believe my situation is with a particular agency.

markjmckenzie · Joined: 04 Jun 2014 Posts: 12 Location: Windsor, Ontario

The law changed on April 1st of this year. We've had an issue with this at the radio station I work for, as we employ half a dozen American workers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/temporary-foreign-worker-mass-exodus-expected-april-1-1.2970833

todd ellis · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 5:31 am Post subject:

i asked a nice lady downtown for a "canadian work permit" --- she told me it costs extra.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Foog · Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:08 am Post subject:

Mark, the Temporary Foreign Worker laws don't apply in this case (unless, as I suggested earlier, someone is panicking and erroneously believing they have anything to do with someone contracted to do voice work)
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Andrew Fogarasi