Bill C-60 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Copyright Act

This enactment amends the Copyright Act to implement the provisions of the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, to clarify the liability of network service providers, to facilitate technology-enhanced learning and interlibrary loans, and to update certain other provisions of the Act.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us this afternoon.

For the most part, you've given us an overview of the current state of the law in Canada. As I understand it, Bill C-60, as it was originally formulated, was intended to move us in the direction of compliance with a number of the treaties that Canada has signed on to. Is that correct?

Business of the House

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I see the hon. member across the way is displaying his charm once more.

I also think the hon. member understands clearly that the call for the election and, ultimately, if there is an election caused, it will be the opposition members who will have to take responsibility since they will be voting to dissolve Parliament and we will be voting to sustain Parliament in order to continue the work that I will now lay out.

This afternoon we will continue with the opposition motion.

On Friday we will call consideration of the Senate amendments to Bill C-37, the do not call bill; report stage and third reading of Bill S-36 respecting rough diamonds; report stage and third reading of Bill C-63, respecting the Canada Elections Act; and second reading of Bill C-44, the transport legislation.

We will return to this work on Monday, adding to the list the reference before second reading of Bill C-76, the citizenship and adoption bill; and second reading of Bill C-75, the public health agency legislation.

Tuesday and Thursday of next week shall be allotted days. There are some three dozen bills before the House or in committee on which the House I am sure will want to make progress in the next period of time. They will include the bill introduced yesterday to implement the 2005 tax cuts announced on November 14; Bill C-68, the Pacific gateway bill; Bill C-67, the surplus legislation; Bill C-61, the marine bill; Bill C-72, the DNA legislation; Bill C-46, the correctional services bill; Bill C-77, the citizenship prohibitions bill; Bill C-60, the copyright legislation; Bill C-73, the Telecom bill; Bill C-60 respecting drug impaired driving; Bill C-19, the competition legislation; Bill C-50 respecting cruelty to animals; Bill C-51, the judges legislation; Bill C-52, the fisheries bill; Bill C-59 respecting Investment Canada; Bills C-64 and C-65 amending the Criminal Code.

In addition, there are the supplementary estimates introduced in October that provide spending authority for a wide variety of services to the Canadian public and we the government would certainly like to see this passed.

Petitions

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank members of the House for allowing this to happen. It is very important that an educational amendment be put in the copyright law, Bill C-60, because it will free teachers and students from the burden of paying for otherwise free material that they download right now.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask for unanimous consent of the House to table petitions from teachers, superintendents and principals across our nation who ask for an educational amendment to be put in Bill C-60, the copyright law.

Question No. 192

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been asked whether it will not be seeking an amendment to Bill C-60, an act to amend the Copyright Act, that would ensure that teachers, researchers and students at educational institutions continue to have access to publicly available material online. The government will not do so as nothing in Bill C-60 changes the existing copyright treatment of this access. That being said, the government does recognize that it is an issue.

For this reason, on March 24, 2005, when the government announced in its statement on proposals for copyright reform that it would be tabling a bill to address certain priority copyright issues related to the Internet, it also indicated at the same time that the issue of the educational use of publicly available Internet material requires further public input and consideration such that it would not be addressed in the bill, but that a consultation paper would be released as soon as possible after introducing the bill.

Bill C-60, an act to amend the Copyright Act was introduced into Parliament on June 20, 2005.

The government held a consultation meeting with stakeholders in December of 2002 to discuss the educational use of Internet material and its impact on copyright. Subsequent to that meeting, in an effort to explore possible options, the government established a working group consisting of representatives of the educational and rights holder communities. The group held several meetings in 2003 and issued a report in December of 2003 outlining its conclusions and areas of common understanding regarding educational use of Internet copyright material. However, representatives from the educational sector and rights holder groups were unable to come to an agreement regarding several key issues such as how best to approach the issue of educational use (i.e., whether through an exception to copyright or through licensing arrangements), the uses to be allowed, and how the material should be identified as “publicly available”.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

With regard to Bill C-60, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, does the government plan to bring forward amendments to this legislation in order to ensure that teachers, researchers and students at educational institutions continue to have access to publicly available material online?

Parliament of Canada Act

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the current government has chosen to table a piece of copyright legislation, Bill C-60, which ignores the fact that the legal copyright framework for Internet use in the classroom or for educational instruction is not addressed. It is silent on the rights and use of the Internet in schools. This silence reaches right into the classrooms and has far-reaching ramifications for our students.

The absence of an educational amendment to Bill C-60 will have devastating consequences for both educators and students in my riding of Kildonan--St. Paul and all across Canada. Schools cannot afford this added cost of paying for otherwise free materials from the Internet.

I rose in the House and asked the minister opposite to support an amendment to the legislation. The minister replied:

--we introduced Bill C-60 to amend the Copyright Act as promised. The bill will help clarify the scope of copyright, and it makes it possible for Canada to join other countries. We are taking this issue very seriously. We want to have material available to students, but we also want to protect the rights of those who are giving that material. We are taking this issue and putting it aside because it needs some discussion and clarification.

Should we put it aside? This issue needs to be addressed today to ensure that this bill does not find its way to a vote without going to committee, where teachers and educators will have a chance to voice their concerns. Does it need some discussion and clarification? Educators and parents are ready to discuss and clarify.

Last year, concerned ministers of education, school superintendents, principals and teachers in every province met to make their voices heard at the federal level. These are voices that have to be listened to in this bill, and that is evident by the people who have joined us in the gallery this evening.

It is mandatory that the educational needs of students and teachers across our nation be recognized in this new digital copyright law. It is mandatory that schools be exempt from paying every time they surf the Internet for valuable research materials. This law does not have to penalize students who are trying to study and learn.

The deferment of this issue in this bill exasperates the current reality that has students and teachers breaking the law to use Internet materials in the classroom. With the growing cost of education and the challenges school boards are facing, avoiding an educational amendment for the use of Internet in schools and educational institutions is not only irresponsible but damaging to the education of our children.

Canadian Teachers' Federation President Terry Price said:

It took eight long years for the federal government to provide a very limited education amendment providing teachers with restricted rights to photocopy materials and video tape programs for educational purposes. How many more years must Canadian students wait to have legal permission to access use of publicly available Internet materials.

The Canadian educational system cannot afford the luxury of waiting another eight long years for the amendment to the copyright legislation. This minister has said on record that the current government will have public consultation. Let that consultation be in committee. Let us not delay.

This evening a petition is being launched across this nation, one that stands up for our Canadian school system. It states: “We, the undersigned, support an educational amendment that will free teachers and students from the worry of breaking the law under the new government regulations outlined in Bill C-60, the copyright law”.

Even today, as we speak, the Globe and Mail outlines the rise of e-classrooms. This is an important issue and it has to be addressed today.

Copyright Act

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, last week when I asked the government to support an educational amendment to Bill C-60, the minister responded by saying that they were putting this issue aside because it needed some discussion and some clarification. Educators and parents are ready to discuss and able to clarify.

Will the government do the right thing and commit to allowing public consultation prior to supporting an educational amendment in this bill?

[Liza Frulla, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, on June 20, we introduced Bill C-60 to amend the Copyright Act as promised. The bill will help clarify the scope of copyright, and it makes it possible for Canada to join other countries.

We are taking this issue very seriously. We want to have material available to students, but we also want to protect the rights of those who are giving that material. We are taking this issue and putting it aside because it needs some discussion and clarification.

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the education of the students in my riding of Kildonan--St. Paul and across Canada is at risk in this new school year because the government has avoided putting an educational amendment into the copyright law, Bill C-60. Schools cannot afford this added cost of paying for otherwise free materials from the Internet.

Will the government support an amendment to the legislation?

Gasoline Prices

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam outlined so succinctly the kinds of challenges Canadians are facing today due to the high cost of rising gas prices on a daily basis.

Listening to the debate tonight, this should have been put forward by the government months ago because it did not happen overnight. The gas prices have spiked frequently over the past 18 months. Prior to that, a government in the know would have understood that problems would occur and a strategic plan should have been put in place.

Tonight, as we talk about changes to the Competition Act and the need for action and as we listen to the debate and the answers that have been put forward by members opposite, clearly it is a pathetic display, in my opinion and in the opinion of my constituents of Kildonan—St. Paul, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, of how the government governs. The government has absolutely no plan. The government generates $32 million per year every time one litre of gas goes up one cent. That is an awful lot of revenue.

The government has bragged about a great surplus of money in the bank. However, we see people in health care waiting lines, waiting for treatments or for tests. Seniors have to pay exorbitant prices for medicines. Crime is on the rise across Canada. My city of Winnipeg has its fair share of major crimes, but we do not have the police resources to hold it down. Yet we have a federal government that deals with every issue, including the gas price crisis, with a laissez-faire response such as, “We'll all get together, have an all party meeting to come up with some sort of solution sometime in the future, somewhere, and it will help somebody”.

We have seen a myriad of examples, on which the member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam just expanded. We have seen a myriad of problems with some of the half-baked schemes that the government has come up with. Right now we are talking about a country that is financially under duress. Our country is overtaxed. Our country is meeting challenges on a daily basis with a government that is making irresponsible choices. We have a copyright bill, Bill C-60, in which the government forgot to place an educational amendment. Now schools will have to pay for the price of downloading materials that are free every where outside the school. It does not matter whether it is gas prices, or legislation, it is clear that the government has no plan and the action that it has taken is slow and tardy. We have example after example where people are suffering because of the fuel situation.

Let us go back to the school situation. Bill C-60 neglects to have an educational amendment was not put into Bill C-60. School buses use fuel to get around and we have an added tax on the school systems in Canada.

The rise in gas prices impacts people. Before I came here for this debate I was talking with a young woman in my hotel. She said that her husband did not pick her up at work any more because gas was so expensive. She now takes a bus. She said that she was a little afraid of walking at night in some areas. She is very nervous because she works the night shift.

Government has to look at the well-being of all Canadians. Government has to be able to predict the future. It has to look at the signs and see what is going on in the economic engine of our country.

Everyday Canadians feed their families, go to school, try to have some recreation time, a quality of life and to build a foundation where they can be comfortable. We need a government in place that takes all this very seriously. We must have a government that is able to plan and put programs in place that assess and meet the needs of Canadians across our country.

I will not repeat what the member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam said. He very eloquently outlined most of the businesses that had been impacted as a result of the rising fuel prices. The member outlined some of the reasonable arguments as to why Canadians could not wait. The solutions have to come now.

We have in place a government that is not ready to bring forth those solutions. As I have listened to the debate tonight, the government is obviously throwing out policy on the fly. The member from this side of the House pointed out a little earlier that it is very piecemeal.

This became quite clear when I drove down one of the main thoroughfares in my constituency and saw lineups of cars at the gas stations at midnight when there was a threat of hurricane Rita impacting the coast of America. The motorists were afraid that the environmental threat would cause gas prices to go up.

There should have been leadership in the House of Commons from the Prime Minister and from the government, explaining and reassuring Canadians of what could happen. When people have a fear of filling their gas tank in order to safely get to and from work, there should be a solution. Canadians should not fear the fact that they might have to cut the grocery bill because they cannot afford to pay for gas.

To be quite frank, Canadians do not really care a whole lot about excuses. What people care about are solutions. Here in the House the confidence of the Canadian people in the government is being undermined because of the lack of action and strategic planning and because of comments that high gas prices are good for Canada.

I challenge the members opposite to find one Canadian who believes that statement to be true. I am calling the government to action, to put a plan in place that will meet the fuel and heating challenges that Canadians are facing this winter.

Copyright Act

[Liza Frulla, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-60, an act to amend the Copyright Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)