Canadian writers appear ready to strike as they negotiate a contract with the country’s independent film and television producers.

The Writers Guild of Canada revealed that 96.5 percent of eligible members voted in favor of a strike if a new agreement with the Canadian Media Producers Association cannot be reached. “This strike authorization vote, a first in the guild’s 33-year history, represents a pivotal moment for Canadian screenwriters,” WGC executive director Victoria Shen said in a statement Thursday.

The results of the WGC members’ vote do not guarantee a work stoppage, but provide the Canadian union with the opportunity to strike if ongoing negotiations with local film and television producers over a new independent production agreement are unsuccessful. not to a regulation.

The main stumbling blocks in Canadian union negotiations are securing fair pay for writers, protections against evolving artificial intelligence technologies on action and animated projects, and a number minimum number of writers for national television series. “While a strong strike mandate does not necessarily mean we will strike, it signals to producers that we are prepared to defend ourselves if necessary. We remain committed to negotiating a fair deal for our members,” Shen added.

Issues in the WGC’s crosshairs in negotiations with local producers, such as AI protection, writer pay and minimum TV writing staff sizes, also figured in the WGC’s negotiations. last year involving the Writers Guild of America and AMPTP, which led to a prolonged Hollywood writers’ strike before a new one. a contract could be concluded.

The Canadian strike authorization vote follows six months of negotiations on a new IPA agreement between the WGC and independent producers. Sean Porter, vice president of national industrial relations and general counsel for the CMPA, said in a statement that his organization remains committed to reaching a settlement with the WGC.

“We believe that a labor dispute would be extremely detrimental to the Canadian film and television production sector and we remain focused on successfully concluding negotiations,” Porter said.

The previous IPA contract expired in December. January 31, 2023. No date has yet been confirmed for the resumption of negotiations between WGC and CMPA negotiators.