East Coast Music Association responds to calls for boycott with a plan for change

Maddie Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 4:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

The East Coast Music Association says it present has an enactment plan, conscionable 2 weeks aft its awards amusement frontrunner, Jeremy Dutcher, dropped each 8 of his nominations amid increasing calls for transparency from the non-profit.

On Tuesday, the relation sent its members a "six-point program for unity and progress" to code the increasing contention implicit its determination successful January to occurrence CEO Blanche Israël. 

"Events that person unfolded implicit the past twelvemonth person made a mates of things clear — the membership, unit and stakeholders served by the ECMA are divers successful their views connected what the ngo and extremity of the ECMA is," the relation wrote.

Several nominees and artists person dropped retired of the ECMA league and awards week, scheduled to statesman successful St. John's connected May 7. 

With those resignations came calls for alteration — and immoderate adjacent called for assemblage members to boycott the May events until the relation heeded demands for transparency astir its current governance, including the determination to fire Israël.

In a March 19 statement, the relation cited "lost organization knowledge, decisions being made without committee approval, and ineligible risks [they] couldn't ignore" arsenic reasons Israël was sacked.

"We admit and regret that the mode we handled it near members feeling blindsided. That's connected us," the statement said. 

CBC Newfoundland and Labrador has repeatedly requested an interrogation with the committee of directors chair, Michelle Eagles. Eagles declined an interrogation Tuesday.

She spoke to The Canadian Press successful an nonfiction dated March 17, acknowledging divisions wrong the association. 

"I similar to deliberation of the ECMA assemblage arsenic a spot of a family, and I consciousness similar we're having, successful immoderate ways, a spot of a household feud astatine the moment," she said astatine the time.

"I bash deliberation there's tons of much accusation we could beryllium sharing and we should beryllium sharing."

Eagles could not corroborate to The Canadian Press however galore participants had backed retired of this year's event.

"It is precise unfortunate that we are successful this presumption wherever radical consciousness that this is their option," she said.

The East Coast Music Association says Tuesday's plan is "the opening of ECMA's committedness to positive, structural change."

Some of those actions, according to the plan, volition travel successful the signifier of workshops and conversations astatine the upcoming event, forming caller groups and committees, and discussing however the euphony enactment handles diversity. 

The ECMA says it will:

• Draft a "transparency policy" to update governance operation and foster accountability.

• Organize a sheet treatment connected equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility astatine the awards event.

• Create an in-person and online forum for members to stock their imaginativeness for the organization.

• Include members successful hiring a caller CEO and shaping the occupation description.

• Create an advisory committee connected equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

• Create a subordinate advisory radical for strategical planning, including 1 subordinate from each of the 5 regions.

What volition this year's lawsuit look like?

The East Coast Music Awards gala is acceptable to beryllium held astatine the Mary Brown's Centre successful St. John's connected May 8, with respective different events happening passim the week.

So far, artists Jeremy Dutcher, Mo Kenney, Stephen Hero, Aquakultre, Wolf Castle and manager Evan Newman person publically withdrawn their grant nominations.

Other nominees, similar Halifax-based reggae vocalist Jah'Mila, person been captious of the organization's caller decisions but are choosing to usage its level astatine the event.

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