Eight Canadian unions and guilds representing screenwriters, directors, actors and crew have formed a coalition dedicated to “ensuring accountable industry policy and the responsible use of taxpayer dollars.”

The Film & Television Alliance for Industry Responsibility (FAIR) was announced Thursday (Nov. 28). Its members are the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ), Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Nabet 700-M UNIFOR, Société des auteur.e.trice.s de radio, télévision et cinéma (SARTEC), L’Union des Artistes (UDA) and the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC). The group represents roughly 87,000 Canadian workers, according to a news release.

The formation of the coalition follows an open call from those organizations to Telefilm Canada to add a requirement in its Production Program for producers to remain in good standing with applicable unions and guilds.

Telefilm’s executive director and CEO Julie Roy responded to the concerns during the funder’s Annual Public Assembly on Thursday, stating that Telefilm is “in discussions with unions and guilds on these matters, and we are exploring how we can contribute to finding sustainable solutions in this space.”

According to FAIR, 27% of Telefilm-funded productions with a budget of more than $5 million sign with “only half, or fewer, of the applicable unions and guilds.” The percentage rose to 31% for productions between $1 million and $5 million, and jumped to 65% for productions with a budget of less than $1 million.

A spokesperson for FAIR told Playback Daily that the statistics were cross-referenced between each union and guild, with the number of applicable agreements ranging from four to five, depending on the region or language. The union and guild stats were compared to the funded projects directory on the Telefilm website, which lists projects supported through the Production Program between 2018-19 to 2022-23.

The coalition argues that the Canada Media Fund (CMF) has a policy in place on working with unions. Currently, CMF’s Core Development and Predevelopment and Core Production guidelines require an applicant company be “in good standing with all applicable talent and industry associations and guilds.”

A spokesperson for CMF said the requirement means that any producer put on an unfair engager list by a union or guild is not eligible for CMF funds, not that CMF only funds projects that sign collective agreements.

In a statement, John Lewis, IATSE’s international VP and director of Canadian Affairs, said FAIR is asking Telefilm to update its guideline “in the coming months, rather than the coming years,” noting that “Telefilm and the unions have shared goals here – ensuring that workers are treated fairly and that public funds are used responsibly.”

WGC executive director Victoria Shen added: “The coalition of unions and guilds in FAIR stands for the same things: fair compensation, minimum working standards and workplace protection. Telefilm has a key role in ensuring Canada’s film industry remains a viable option for screenwriters and other workers in this country.”

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