Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2011

[Amanda Cliff]

The member raises a very important point.

At the risk of repeating myself, I can say that the investment in the CMF represents a significant contribution to the creation of Canadian content. The LPIF was another initiative. They are part of a broader ecosystem, and that's the system we see evolving.

It's not quite clear yet how the market forces are going to evolve. The value inherent in the content proposition, in terms of distinguishing your offerings in a very competitive environment, will no doubt shift market forces away from having to produce Canadian content to wanting to produce Canadian content, because it's your competitive edge.

It will be interesting to see how much all broadcasters--the private sector and others--step up in terms of making that happen for competitive and market reasons, quite apart from any government funding they might get.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much, Mr. Del Mastro and Ms. Cliff.

Mr. Scarpaleggia is next.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Thank you very much, Chair.

To put it in simple terms, the challenge of the new media age is to make sure that we have enough domestic cultural content to preserve our own voice and that we have enough content for the new media technologies.

How are we doing relative to other countries that are in a position similar to ours? I mean countries other than the United States, where no help is needed to transmit the U.S. identity. How are we doing with respect to other countries that have the same challenge we have, which is to keep enough domestic cultural content while using new technologies? What areas are people saying we are weak in, in terms of our efforts to ensure that goal? Is it that there's just not enough funding for content development? Are there other issues?

I've heard your presentations, but at the end of the day, if someone were to ask me if things are good, bad, or okay, and what we need to do, what would people say? I understand you can't take policy positions, but what are people out there telling us that we need to do as a country to maintain our voice, our cultural identity, in the new media environment?

[Amanda Cliff]

That would be me again.

I don't have any empirical data with me and I don't know if any is available. I can speak to you anecdotally, if that's acceptable.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

That would be fine.

[Amanda Cliff]

We have visits from other countries on a regular basis. They are there to learn from us, whether it's about the Canada Media Fund, the other initiatives, the CBC, the private broadcasting system, our whole regulatory framework that ensures the creation of content, or the fact that cable and satellite are considered cultural and make contributions. I can't say for sure that it's unique in the world, but we definitely have visits from regulators and ministries of culture from around the world. They want to learn from us and the Canadian example.

The department hosted a conference a couple of years ago, and people from around the world came to talk about this. Our starting point was that we're doing okay but we could probably do better. World-renowned people said we were on top of things, and there is a report from that conference.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

How are we doing, for example, in talking about metrics? One of the main measurements of how we're doing in protecting our culture is how Canadian drama is doing, both as a product here in Canada and as an exported product. If you look at the BBC, it seems so much stronger than the CBC in terms of having sustainable funding and so on. I wanted to touch on that.

Do we have a digital economy strategy, or is it evolving? What is that strategy? If there is one, I don't have the strategy in hand, but I keep hearing that we need one.

[Pamela Miller]

It's an excellent question. I think the response is that the strategy is in progress and that there is a consultation on the digital economy strategy. A wide range of views have been expressed through various forms of online consultations and submissions. The minister made an interim report in November, and I mentioned the five different aspects.

It's a very holistic approach. We are bringing together all the government departments involved and we're consulting with provinces as well. The provinces will be partners in this, as well as the private sector.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

We had a decision from the CRTC earlier this week or late last week. They have a view of how we can foster innovation in the digital economy, but there's an alternative view, an opposing view, of how we can do that. They seem to be at loggerheads, and there's a lot of politics influencing those two views. Are those two views at war at the core of this development of a digital economy strategy?

I know you can't take a position, but could you explain to me the advantages and disadvantages of one view versus the other? There are two different approaches. Both are claiming that if you want innovation in the digital economy, you have to follow their road map, but I'm not clear on who's right and who's wrong. I can't even weigh the options, because I don't fully understand them. I was wondering if you could talk a bit about both of those approaches.

[Pamela Miller]

In response, could I clarify your question? I'm not precisely sure what you mean by “different approaches”.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

We have the CRTC saying we have to allow telecommunications companies to charge more based on usage, because that's what they need to build the networks that will allow them to innovate in the digital economy. Then you have consumers and other businesses saying that if you do that, you're going to choke off consumer choice and make it difficult for businesses to innovate. Their reasoning is that they use the Internet, and if the price of using it goes up, then they won't be able to stay in business or innovate.

So you have two different approaches to the digital economy that have been cast in high relief because of this CRTC decision. That's what I'd like to know more about.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you, Mr. Scarpaleggia.

Go ahead, Ms. Miller.

[Pamela Miller]

I would like to say that I think we all have common objectives. Common objectives are promoting innovation, competition, and investment. Concerning the particular case that you've just mentioned, I think that the Prime Minister has said that this decision on usage-based billing is going to be reviewed, so I'm not at liberty to speak much further about it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Monsieur Pomerleau.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would also like to thank all our witnesses for joining us.

My question is for Mrs. Motzney or Mrs. Cliff.

First, I would like to make a quick comment that has nothing to do with you, but that I find funny. In French, we talk about droit d'auteur, while in English, we talk about copyright. These seem to be two completely different ways of seeing things. They are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, which strikes me as a little odd.

My question is about a statement on page 8 of the document, regarding copyright and a way of ensuring that creators and authors are compensated for their work. In one of the three bullets, you state the following: “Digital environment may present new opportunities for creators: global audiences; direct access; more responsibility to manage own creations; changing business relationships.”

I feel that this is a very general statement and I would like you to explain it to me. I would like to understand how each of these points is likely to guarantee our artists decent compensation for their work.

[Barbara Motzney, Director General, Copyright Policy, Department of Canadian Heritage]

Thank you for your question.

First, I want to say that the policy on copyright comes under the jurisdiction of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada. I am accompanied today by my colleague, Mrs. Colette Downie, Director General of the Marketplace Framework Policy Branch at Industry Canada. We will share our time.

It is true that the difference between copyright and droit d'auteur is a historical one. In addition, legally speaking, the two systems originated in two different parts of the world.

Let's talk about copyright.

It's a part of marketplace framework law. It's one of the key elements of marketplace framework law in Canada, along with other laws. It supports the development and availability of content.

Points in the deck presentation mention global audiences. How does copyright support global audiences? Well, bringing our copyright law up to international standards, as an example, is a way to enable Canadian creators and Canadian rights holders to participate on an even playing field with other countries.

We were talking about exports, and Ms. Cliff was highlighting some of the key success stories of programming. In terms of direct access, from my reading of the testimony that you've heard, part of what is changing is the interactivity and the way creators are reaching their audiences. It can be a much more interactive process. What is changing is that creators have more direct access to their audiences, who participate with them and shape with them what the creative product is.

I was reading some of the testimony. Jumpwire Media, as an example, testified before you. They have an online model through which they are tracking individual sales of their product. That's an example of the changing approaches. That means that the business relationships are changing as well.

Who creators work with and how they distribute their material is changing. Again, I think that is certainly part of the testimony that you've heard.

Copyright gives creators a whole series of rights. They have a series of economic rights. They have moral rights. They're able to license or assign those rights, either partially or regionally or for specific time periods or for specific media. I think the Copyright Act is a good three or four inches thick, and it tells how all of that supposed to work.

Basically, creators have this series of rights that they start with when they make a creation. The choices that they make in bringing that creation to market amount to the management of those rights. As business relationships change and create greater responsibility for them--and that's another point for creators--it's possibly a challenge, but it's also an opportunity for them to be able to manage their rights in different ways.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Ms. Downie, do you have any comments?

[Colette Downie, Director General, Marketplace Framework Policy Branch, Department of Industry]

I think Barb covered all the provisions in the copyright bill that are important to creators. Obviously the bill is intended to allow creators to be able to engage in the new online world and to innovate, as well as to help protect their works and ensure that they are fairly compensated in that digital world. I don't really have anything else to add.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Yhank you.

Merci, Monsieur Pomerleau.

Mr. Richards is next.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Thank you all for being here today. We certainly appreciate how well prepared all the information is that you've compiled for us. It's certainly shaping up to be an informative couple of hours here.

I have some questions in two different areas. I'll start with broadband Internet. I see in the presentation that you provided, under question 5, some information on the broadband strategy. You indicate Broadband Canada's program, combined with some other provincial programs and some private sector expansions that are expected. You talk about the fact that 98% of Canadian households will then have access to basic broadband service.

I'm curious to know where we are right now, at this point in time, prior to starting the program.

[Pamela Miller]

Last year's official statistic, which just came out from CRTC, was 95%. We're working towards closing that to 98% by 2012.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Was that as of the end of last year?

[Pamela Miller]

Yes. That was the data collection period.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

That's something that was definitely interesting to me. Certainly there are areas in my riding where we lack the service. Obviously we have some significant challenges in my riding. We have these little things called the Rocky Mountains, for example, and another minor, insignificant detail called a major national park, with vast expanses of wilderness and trees. There are just a few minor little challenges that are presented there.

I'm just curious about that remaining 2% of Canadian households that will still be left to be implemented in 2012 when things are completed. What types of areas are we talking about there? What's the plan for those?

[Pamela Miller]

First I'll address the situation in your particular riding. You're in the Wild Rose riding, I understand, and there are two projects that are approved through the Broadband Canada project in your area.