Writers Guild of Canada Tells Members to Not Cross Picket Line During WGA Strike

Etan Vlessing
·3 min read

The Writers Guild of Canada has told its members to follow Writers Guild of America strike rules and not accept any work under the WGA jurisdiction.

“As a fellow guild and member of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds, the Writers Guild of Canada will support the WGA during its strike to the fullest extent possible. The compensation issues raised by WGA writers are the same concerns affecting writers around the world,” the Canadian writers guild said in a statement to its members on Tuesday that was obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

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The WGC communication to its rank and file followed unionized Hollywood screenwriters getting ready to set up picket lines for the first time in 15 years as they failed to agree on new contract terms with major studios and streamers. The WGC, as expected, backed the WGA in its contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for fair pay terms in the streaming era.

“The Writers Guild of America announced this morning that its members were going out on strike effective immediately after weeks of negotiations with the AMPTP. Despite best efforts by the WGA bargaining team to negotiate a fair deal upon the termination of its collective agreement as of May 1, their attempts have failed,” the WGC leadership said as it predictably fell in behind its American sister union.

Major Hollywood studios and streamers needing original content have long filled soundstages in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, work that has ground to a halt amid the WGA strike now in effect. American series to have shot in Toronto and across the province include The Handmaid’s Tale, Reacher, The Umbrella Academy, Accused and Ginny & Georgia.

U.S. series like Superman & Lois and The Flash shooting in Vancouver have powered that western-most Canadian province past pre-pandemic 2019 production levels to record Hollywood expenditures, as has happened in Ontario.

But complicating matters for the WGC is that many Canadian screenwriters are dual members of the WGA and the Canadian writers guild. Should dual members live and work in the U.S., they will be expected to follow WGA strike rules and avoid any work on struck projects, the WGC said.

That message aims to thwart any bid by American producers to shift production to Canada to avoid WGA picket lines south of the border. The WGC told THR that American producers tend to fall under the jurisdiction of the WGA and sign up to that union’s agreement when shooting in Canada.

“We are monitoring new contracts closely to ensure that productions are properly within our jurisdiction, and not attempts to circumvent the strike,” the Canadian guild warned.

At the same time, WGC members who have their residence in Canada — according to the union database — can continue to work under the Independent Production Agreement, which remains in force until Dec. 31 and covers pay rates and workplace conditions for local screenwriters on English-language film, TV and digital media production.

“You may not accept ‘struck work.’ Struck work includes anything that is normally a WGA show. For example, this includes U.S.-based productions and productions that are already under a WGA contract,” the WGC told its members.

The Canadian union leadership also publicly backed the WGA as it takes to picket lines for leverage at the bargaining table.

“The WGC, along with writers guilds around the world, stands in solidarity with the WGA in their strike action for fair compensation for writers. We hope for a swift and fair resolution,” Victoria Shen, executive director of the WGC, said in a statement Tuesday.

Alex Levine, WGC president, added in his own statement: “The compensation issues that pushed WGA members to strike apply to all writers in the digital streaming age. WGC members support WGA writers in their fight for fairness, and we applaud their strength and collective resolve.”

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