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

The East Coast Music Association says it now has an action plan, just two weeks after its awards show frontrunner, Jeremy Dutcher, dropped all eight of his nominations amid growing calls for transparency from the non-profit.

On Tuesday, the association sent its members a "six-point plan for unity and progress" to address the growing controversy over its decision in January to fire CEO Blanche Israël. 

"Events that have unfolded over the past year have made a couple of things clear — the membership, staff and stakeholders served by the ECMA are diverse in their views on what the mission and goal of the ECMA is," the association wrote.

Several nominees and artists have dropped out of the ECMA conference and awards week, scheduled to begin in St. John's on May 7. 

With those resignations came calls for change — and some even called for audience members to boycott the May events until the association heeded demands for transparency about its current governance, including the decision to fire Israël.

In a March 19 statement, the association cited "lost institutional knowledge, decisions being made without board approval, and legal risks [they] couldn't ignore" as reasons Israël was sacked.

"We recognize and regret that the way we handled it left members feeling blindsided. That's on us," the statement said. 

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

She spoke to The Canadian Press in an article dated March 17, acknowledging divisions within the association. 

"I like to think of the ECMA community as a bit of a family, and I feel like we're having, in some ways, a bit of a family feud at the moment," she said at the time.

"I do think there's lots of more information we could be sharing and we should be sharing."

Eagles could not confirm to The Canadian Press how many participants had backed out of this year's event.

"It is very unfortunate that we are in this position where people feel that this is their option," she said.

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

Some of those actions, according to the plan, will come in the form of workshops and conversations at the upcoming event, forming new groups and committees, and discussing how the music organization handles diversity. 

The ECMA says it will:

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

• Organize a panel discussion on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility at the awards event.

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

• Include members in hiring a new CEO and shaping the job description.

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

• Create a member advisory group for strategic planning, including one member from each of the five regions.

What will this year's event look like?

The East Coast Music Awards gala is set to be held at the Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's on May 8, with several other events happening throughout the week.

So far, artists Jeremy Dutcher, Mo Kenney, Stephen Hero, Aquakultre, Wolf Castle and manager Evan Newman have publicly withdrawn their award nominations.

Other nominees, like Halifax-based reggae singer Jah'Mila, have been critical of the organization's recent decisions but are choosing to use its platform at the event.

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