A deal has been struck between North American producers and the Union of British Columbia Performers, ending long-running talks in the province.

Producers led by the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents Hollywood studios and independent producers, shook hands on a new B.C. Master Production Agreement late Tuesday. Details on the contract renewal were not immediately available from the UBCP, which is stick-handling all media inquiries on behalf of all parties in the talks, which includes the CFTPA and ACTRA as observers.

An official from UBCP tells Playback Daily that details of the settlement will not be made public until the union membership has had a chance to review and ratify the new deal after a mail-out poll. The mailings will likely take a few weeks.

But sources close to the talks indicate the UBCP deal roughly mirrors the deal agreed in mid-February between ACTRA and the CFTPA, with a pay hike for local actors and provisions for new media residuals. The producers are also understood to have received concessions from the UBCP on low-budget productions.

Additionally, the UBCP negotiating committee, led by union president Howard Storey and lead UBCP negotiator Mercedes Watson, has agreed to recommend ratification of the new deal to its membership.

The end to the B.C. actors talks follows mediator Vince Ready’s declaration of a deadlock last July and an extension of the last B.C. MPA to March 31, 2007.

But despite the delay in reaching a new deal for B.C. actors, the talks incurred no disruption to film and TV shooting in that province, owing to the UBCP and U.S. producers negotiating a safe harbor agreement for continuing production.