BURST
A petition backed by B.C.’s International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees ( IATSE ) Local 891 union is calling on Ottawa to change how the production services tax credit is calculated.
The move, the union says, would make B.C. and Canada more competitive for film and TV production .
The petition, sponsored by Burnaby Central Liberal MP Wade Chang, opened Tuesday for a 30-day signature campaign. IATSE 891 is urging motion-picture workers, unions and members of the public to sign and circulate it.
“It’s available for any citizen of Canada to sign, and we know that, like through recent polling at British Columbians, over 80 per cent of British Columbians support the film industry ,” said IATSE 891 business representative Crystal Braunwarth, referring a recent poll IATSE did in tandem with the Motion Picture Association.
Braunwarth says if people are interested in helping “attract more work to not just B.C. but Canada,” they should consider singing the petition, which is available to read and sign HERE .
IATSE Local 891 represents over 10,000 professional artists, technicians, and craftspeople working in the film and television industry across B.C. and the Yukon. The union covers workers across 19 specialized creative and technical production departments.
Canada’s film/TV production industry supports more than 180,000 jobs and generates over $10.2 billion in annually. In B.C., the TV/film business brought in around $3.1 billion in 2024 and employed close to 50,000 full-time workers.
The provincial tax credit for Canadian-content film and television productions is 40 per cent and the tax credit for international productions is 36 per cent. The federal tax incentive is 16 per cent.
At issue is the “federal grind,” the industry term for the way provincial production incentives reduce the amount eligible for the federal credit. The union argues that removing the adjustment would allow federal and provincial incentives to work together more effectively and help attract productions that can choose among jurisdictions.
“That 16 per cent should stack on top of every single province’s provincial incentives, but it doesn’t truly stack because there is that claw back, which is what we call the grind based on labour,” said Braunwarth.
In B.C., that claw back equals 5 to 6 per cent which then reduces the federal incentive to 9 or 10 per cent, according to Braunwarth.
In a Truth Social post in August, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Congress to create federal tax incentives to help bolster the United States’ film industry. But Braunwarth says the petition here in Canada was set in motion before that.
“I know this looks like something that’s happening sort of as a response. It is not,” said Braunwarth. “We’ve been advocating for this since last April. And so yes, for sure, the U.S. federal credit that’s likely going to be implemented is going to have an impact.”
Experts are predicting the U.S. government will move to support a transferable federal tax credit equal to 20 per cent of U.S.-resident labour costs.
“I don’t think we’re nervous. … We are slightly concerned because there’s quite a bit of talks about the tariffs and all that between the U.S. and Canada,” said Milton Lu a veteran TV/film lighting technician and a member of the IATSE 891 executive board about the general feeling among those working in the industry.
Due to a large contraction in the global production industry over the last few years, governments everywhere are looking at tax incentive policies.
“There has been a 40 per cent reduction in content spend globally, and so what that means is that every jurisdiction has to stay ahead of the competitive conversation,” said Braunwarth.
IATSE 891 estimates the change could support about 2,850 jobs in B.C. The union says increased production would also benefit suppliers, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and other small businesses.
“It’s not as dire as it was a couple of years ago. We’ve doubled the work, but we’re I’m still at 45 per cent of my members working. That’s not enough,” said Braunwarth.
Electronic petitions can remain open for 30, 60, 90 or 120 days. After a petition is presented in the House of Commons, the federal government must respond within 45 calendar days, or on the next sitting day if the House is not sitting.
“I am proud to sponsor this petition,” said Chang in a statement. “Canada has the talent and skilled workforce to compete for more productions. Eliminating the federal grind is a practical change that can create good-paying jobs, strengthen our economy, and support Canadian content. I encourage Canadians to sign and share the petition.”