WGA strike hurting Canadian film industry

VANCOUVER , British Columbia, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- The ongoing Hollywood writers' strike is crippling the Canadian film industry by shutting down productions and putting employees out of work.

Since the Writers Guild of America strike began Nov. 5, work on many TV shows and films in Canada, as well as the United States, has been suspended.

Canada's CTV reported that, without scripts from Hollywood to shoot, Vancouver's nearly 40,000 film professionals have little to do.

British Columbia's Bridge Studios, where the sci-fi television series "Stargate" is shot, is one of the firms hit hardest by the labor action.

"A lot of people are taking courses, thinking about changing careers and worried about making house payments," "Stargate" producer John Smith told CTV News.

Don Ramsden, a representative for the International Photographers Guild, lamented how he has never seen the Canadian film industry in a worse position than it is now.

"Never in my career. And I've been doing it since 1982," Ramsden said.

Also affecting the industry is the high Canadian dollar and the way many places in the United States are offering the tax credits and incentives that make British Columbia such an appealing place to work, the CTV report said.