The Writers Guild of Canada represents more than 1,800 professional writers working in film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, and multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 production in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

, feature films, MOWs (Movie of the Week), documentaries

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

, animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

, comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 and variety

Variety show

A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...

 series, children's and educational programming, radio drama

Radio drama

Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...

, as well as corporate videos and multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 productions. The organization administers the Canadian Screenwriting Awards

Canadian Screenwriting Awards

The Canadian Screenwriting Awards are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada, and are awarded to the best script for a feature film, television or radio project produced within the Guild's jurisdiction, written by a guild member in good standing, and broadcast or released in North America or...

.

The WGC is the voice of professional Canadian screenwriters - lobbying on their behalf, protecting their interests, and working to raise the profile of screenwriters and screenwriting. Most importantly, on behalf of its members, the Guild negotiates, administers and enforces collective agreements, setting out minimum rates, terms, and working conditions in the Guild’s jurisdiction — all English-language production in Canada. The central collective agreement, the Independent Production Agreement (IPA), is negotiated between the Guild and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), the association representing independent producers in Canada. In addition to the IPA, the Guild also has agreements in place with the APFTQ, CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

, CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

, CTV

CTV television network

CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

, the NFB

NFB

The acronym NFB may refer to:* National Federation of the Blind, organization representing blind people in the United States* National Film Board of Canada, Canada's public film producer and distributor...

 and TVOntario

TVOntario

TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...

. The WGC is formally recognized as the official bargaining agent for English-language professional screenwriters under the federal Status of the Artist Act and Quebec’s Status of the Artist Legislation.

The Guild is a member of the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds

International Affiliation of Writers Guilds

The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds is an international trade union federation representing guilds of professional screenwriters and playwrights. Some affiliates also belong to national trade union federations....

, comprising: the Australian Writers' Guild

Australian Writers' Guild

The Australian Writers' Guild is the professional association for all performance writers, that is, writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962 and is recognised throughout the industry in Australia as being the voice of performance writers...

, The Writers' Guild of Great Britain

Writers' Guild of Great Britain

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain, established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds .-Activities:...

, The Writers Guild of America

Writers Guild of America

The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

 (East & West), Societe des Auteurs, Recherchistes, Documentalistes et Compositeurs (Quebec) and the New Zealand Writers Guild

New Zealand Writers Guild

The New Zealand Writer's Guild is a New Zealand trade union which represents writers in the fields of film, television, radio, theatre, video and multi-media. It provides services, events, networks, lobbying, and legal advice to those in the film and television industry...

.

The WGC also serves the industry by:

• Providing industry-standard writing contracts and checking agreements to ensure they comply with the WGC’s collective agreements
• Ensuring proper payment of script fees and royalties and resolving disputes over working conditions and credits
• Serving as the voice for screenwriters by undertaking extensive policy and lobbying activities, working closely with government agencies to promote Canada’s indigenous film and television industry
• Publishing Canadian Screenwriter, a quarterly magazine with features, news, reviews and vital industry information
• Administering a script registration service to help writers protect their work
• Hosting an annual awards ceremony honouring outstanding screenwriting
• Keeping a on-line directory of members for industry organizations
• Providing professional development and training opportunities for members and new writers
• Administering the Canadian Screenwriters Collection Society, which collects royalties and levies arising from secondary uses made in Europe and other jurisdictions