The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) jointly announced Tuesday the successful negotiation of an agreement in principle on the terms for a new three-year independent production agreement.
The CMPA-WGC Independent Production Agreement establishes the terms, conditions and rates for writers, story editors and story consultants, a joint announcement says.
“We are pleased to have reached a fair agreement with the CMPA that will protect the livelihoods of our screenwriter members and maintain stability in the Canadian film and television industry,” Victoria Shen, executive director of the WGC, said in a statement. “We feel the new agreement includes important protections for Canadian screenwriters and balances the concerns of our producer partners.”
On April 25, the WGC announced its members had voted overwhelmingly in favour of authorizing strike action if a new agreement with the CMPA could not be reached. At that time, the WGC said the two organizations had not reached agreement on several issues, including protections for live action and animation writers against the use of artificial intelligence, reasonable compensation for animation writers, and minimum participation of screenwriters during production of TV series.
“We are proud to have come to terms on an agreement that truly values the important alliance that exists between Canadian screenwriters and independent producers,” said Sean Porter, the CMPA’s vice president of national industrial relations and counsel, in Tuesday’s press release. “I want to thank the individuals on both sides of the bargaining table for their commitment to finding solutions that serve to benefit the future of our sector and Canadian storytelling on screen.”
The terms for the new independent production agreement will be sent to the CMPA’s board of directors, and distributed by the WGC, for ratification, the organizations’ announcement said. The current agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2023.
