Canadian screenwriters say they're earning less in the streaming era, call for protections

Canadian screenwriters have experienced a massive earnings decrease over the last half decade, says the union representing its members, and many are concerned a new federal law to regulate streaming giants doesn't go far enough to protect writers.

As their American counterparts continue to strike south of the border, the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) issued a release this week reporting a 22 per cent inflation-adjusted decline in income for Canadian television and film writers over the last five years.

But while the federal government passed the Online Streaming Act (OSA) in April to regulate digital streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify, writers with the union say they're worried language in the new law won't hold foreign streaming giants to the same standards as Canadian broadcasters.

"It's brutal," said Ian Carpenter, who has worked on Canadian shows Being Erica and Played, and is the current showrunner for horror-anthology Slasher. "The work is just not out there."

Carpenter says he's been lucky, but estimates around half his friends in the industry are no longer writing and having to find work elsewhere.

"I haven't actually worked on a show for a Canadian broadcaster in ages," said Carpenter, adding that his work is now entirely for shows that are with international streamers.

WGC president Alex Levine says the entire point of the OSA was to bring foreign streamers into the Canadian system and tell them the trade-off for profiting off Canadian viewers is to help pay for and contribute to Canadian content.

"Otherwise we just become the production plant for American studios," said Levine.

Guild hopes for change as policy finalized

But the way the act is worded, said Levine, could mean streaming companies like Netflix won't have to hire Canadian screenwriters for a production to qualify as "Canadian content."

He adds this could mean foreign streamers simply use a Canadian crew for production — despite a program being written and creatively driven by Americans in Los Angeles — to slip by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) standards.

"Our view is that it's not Canadian content unless it's Canadian-written," said Levine.

Levine says streaming productions usually result in smaller orders and fewer episodes per season, which means writers have to cobble together more jobs to make ends meet.  That's in part why many Canadian writers are moving to the U.S. to seek work, he says.

David Larose, a spokesperson for the Department of Canadian Heritage, which oversees the CRTC, told CBC Toronto that a consultation process was conducted "to provide greater clarity and predictability on how it will implement the Act." 

Larose also said there will be a second round of consultations with the CRTC this fall, which will include "engagement on definitions of Canadian and Indigenous content" and reviewing possible changes.

Levine says the WGC is lobbying the federal government as it finalizes policy on how the CRTC will administrate the Online Broadcasting Act.

Harder to make hit Canadian shows without protections

Carpenter says that unless the government builds protections for Canadian content into the OSA, he thinks it will be much harder to produce Canadian shows like Kim's Convenience, Letterkenny and Schitt's Creek, whose final season swept all seven major comedy awards at the Emmys in 2020.

He says the Canadian government should work to ensure the "breadth and diversity" of the country is represented in Canadian content and adds that requiring streamers to hire locally will also help develop young writing talent — something that hasn't happened as work dries up.

Rob Michaels, an Iraqi-Canadian writer and director who is currently working on upcoming CBC comedy One More Time, also agrees that regulation of streamers would help Canadian screenwriters.

"I would love for there to be mandates for the streamers to make more Canadian television," said Michaels.

But Michaels says Canadians are also capable of working on American productions that shoot and produce their work in Canada.

"I definitely think Canada has the talent to contribute to some of those shows in the writing room."

Like Carpenter, he says he has been lucky to find work in Canada, but frequently hears from peers about the difficulty of securing local work.

"There are more opportunities in America — that's just the reality of it," says Michaels, adding he is moving there in the coming week to explore some of those opportunities himself.

No plans for Canadian writers to strike

Meanwhile, Levine says the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike hasn't greatly affected the WGC, though the union has supported its sister guild.

He says the WGC is set to renegotiate its own collective agreement this fall, but adds a work stoppage is the last thing they want.

"In Canada, I don't think we can afford producers or writers to go on strike," said Levine. "Our industry is not robust enough to withstand that kind of pressure."

His focus right now is getting the Canadian government to produce jobs for Canadian screenwriters.

"I strongly believe Canadians being able to write television, which is the dominant medium of our time, is crucial to preserving a national identity," says Levine.