TORONTO – Canadian screenwriters and producers have a new collective agreement governing English-language screenwriting in Canada after the new independent production agreement was ratified by the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA), and the Association Québécoise de la Production Médiatique (AQPM).
The agreement, reached in principle in January, came into effect March 16, 2015 and sets the terms of engagement until December 31, 2017. It includes automatic jurisdiction over TV series bibles written by WGC members, which were not covered in the previous agreement, and an improved royalty formula which the WGC says will result in its members seeing royalty payments sooner and on more projects. The new royalty formula also applies to digital productions, such as web series, when they are sold for use on conventional television.
“This round of bargaining took place during an extremely challenging time in the industry”, said WGC president Jill Golick, in a statement. “We are pleased to say that it responds to the evolving marketplace, protects the interests of Canadian screenwriters and expands the WGC’s jurisdiction, while at the same time maintaining a healthy relationship with our producer partners.”
“With our industry currently in such dramatic flux, we are happy to have closed a fair deal with the WGC”, added CMPA chief negotiator and chief legal officer Reynolds Mastin. “It’s one that creates greater flexibility for producers, particularly in the development stages of new content. We believe this new agreement better reflects how we need to work with our industry partners, and we look forward to working with the WGC under its terms.”
“We are pleased to have concluded an agreement with the WGC and the CMPA that reflects the new business reality of our industry”, said AQPM president and CEO Marie Collin.
