How can The AFC support workers affected by the WGA strike?

Our Emergency Financial Aid Program can provide short-term emergency financial assistance for essential household bills and costs that cannot otherwise be paid.

Emergency Financial Aid

This assistance is based on professional eligibility and immediate financial need. Our goal is to help the largest possible number of applicants with their most critical needs.

Right now, we are focusing on making sure that people stay stable, and basic needs are met for the next 2-3 weeks. At this time, we cannot consider requests for payments that are due more than one month in advance. 

To receive financial assistance, you need to: 

• Be professionally eligible; 
• Demonstrate immediate financial need; 
• Pursue all other avenues of support; 
• Provide the required documentation. 

Am I professionally eligible? 

You are professionally eligible if you: 

• Are working age and have earned the majority of your income from Canadian entertainment industry work over at least the past three years,

OR 

• Are over 65 and have earned the majority of your income from the industry over your working life.

If you do not meet these guidelines exactly, we still encourage you to get in touch. We want to help as many people as we can. Please email us at contact@afchelps.ca or book an appointment through Navigator if you have a question about eligibility.

Do I meet the guidelines for immediate financial need? 

• Do you have enough money in the bank to meet your basic needs for the next 4-8 weeks? If NO, The AFC may be able to help. 
• If you have enough money in the bank for two months of living expenses, we ask you not to apply at this time. Your request will be deferred to avoid overloading our system. 
• Are you unable to meet your basic needs because other resources like EI, government benefits, and pensions are not available or insufficient? If YES, The AFC may be able to help. 
• Do you currently have a specific need (like medical costs or a dental emergency) that would leave you unable to meet your basic needs for the next month? If YES, The AFC may be able to help. 

What are basic needs? 

Basic needs include immediate rent or mortgage payments, food, utilities, phone bill, car payments, car and home insurance, or urgent medical expenses. The application form has more information about what kind of assistance we can and cannot provide.

The AFC does not provide wage replacement due to lost earnings.  

How much money can I get?

• The dollar amount will depend on your immediate basic needs and your monthly expenses. 
• It is common for people to receive only part of their request. 
• Smaller requests (under $2,000) will be processed faster; however, if you need more, we encourage you to ask for what you need.  

Can I apply again if I received assistance before? 

Yes – in most cases, you can apply again. If you are not sure whether you can apply for more assistance, please email us at contact@afchelps.ca, and we’ll be happy to help you.   

What “other avenues of support” are there? 

We are asking those who are able to pursue all possible sources of support. We will ask if you are able to:  

• Apply for EI or other government benefits; 
• Find temporary employment in other fields;
• Access savings; 
• Arrange for payment plans or extensions;
• Access any other sources of financial support.

Note: The AFC does not require that everyone accesses their RRSPs or uses their credit card before applying, although for some, these resources may form part of a plan for weathering a crisis.

What documents do I need to provide?

• Required: Application Form. The application form can be downloaded below. Please save your finished form with a new file name and back up your information. If you are unable to fill out and send in the application form, email us at contact@afchelps.ca or book a Navigator appointment for help with the process. 
• Required: Bank Statement: a recent overview of accounts and balances – a screenshot is fine.
• Documentation of entertainment industry earnings for the past three years.
• Documentation of the costs you are requesting (bills, lease, etc). You do not need to document your food, transit, or gas costs. 

How do I get help with my application? 

Please email us at contact@afchelps.ca or book an appointment through our Navigator program to talk to a team member. We are here to help. 

How long will this take?

The current estimated time for a decision is up to 3 weeks. We may email or call you in the interim to review any information that is unclear. If assistance is approved, we will call or email you with your decision. Payments will be made directly to your creditors using direct bill payments or EFTs whenever possible, within the following week.