Evidence of meeting #10 for Bill C-11 (41st Parliament, 1st Session) in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
On division.
(Clauses 19 to 21 inclusive agreed to on division)
(On clause 22)
NDP
The Chair NDP Glenn Thibeault
I will open up clause 22 for discussion.
Mr. Regan is next for discussion on the clause.
Liberal
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have an amendment to move on clause 22.
NDP
The Chair NDP Glenn Thibeault
Mr. Regan, I just got it clarified that if we are moving amendments we have to go in the order that we see here, so we will go to NDP-3 first.
I'm asking for discussion for five minutes on the clause, and I'll go with Mr. Angus.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
First Mr. Nantel will speak to the clause, and then we'll talk about the amendment.
NDP
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
We've heard many witnesses here in this committee talk about the reality of authors and copyright holders in the cultural arena. We've heard what they had to say, but have the Conservatives listened to them? Is the essential mission of this legislative committee not to ensure that Canada's Copyright Act protects copyright?
Please allow me a few moments of silence.
Have the Conservatives even once clearly shown an attitude toward the authors that has done anything other than view them as spoiled children who are asking for too much support?
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
I'm afraid, Mr. Chair, I'm getting no translation whatsoever.
NDP
The Chair NDP Glenn Thibeault
Perhaps we can have the translator speak, because I was having some difficulty hearing. I'll turn the volume up.
The Chair NDP Glenn Thibeault
Fantastic. Your time wasn't wasted. We shut it down.
Mr. Nantel, you have the floor.
NDP
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
With this bill, the Conservative government will have once again shown that it doesn't listen. It is interfering in many areas of the cultural industry, stirring up ill-feelings and breaking up systems that were quite effective. Rather than looking for "made in the U.S.A." methods, as it likes to do, the government should have drawn inspiration from several options that have, so far, created a nice balance in Quebec.
Quebec has a lot to say about the cultural industry, and with good reason. Quebec culture is neither folklore nor heritage; it is avidly consumed every day. We watch it on television, we read it, we listen to it, we see it in the movies. I'm not talking about a virtuous interest stemming from an awareness of the history, but a real living language, a deep and daily identification. What distinguishes the Quebec nation has generated the commitment of businesspeople and tradespeople who are behind these authors. These people have a market-based approach, and they have exchanged and created many links internationally.
It is with much enthusiasm that I will try to contribute to the efforts made by organizations, including the Canadian Conference of the Arts, to create even more links between the cultural stakeholders of Quebec and others across Canada. All of Canadian culture will benefit from the expertise of the Quebec entertainment industry.
The Quebec cultural environment has mobilized because the balance achieved is threatened by Bill C-11 in several ways. Quebec's cultural know-how wasn't considered in either the preparation of the bill nor in the hearings, including those on Bill C-32 and on Bill C-11. Furthermore, I'll note in passing that the Conservative members of this committee have never ever spoken in French!
Once again, this government has slammed the door on Quebec's face. This contempt has very concrete consequences. Bill C-11 doesn't repair the immense loss of revenues related to the technological development of private copying.
In proposed clauses 29.22 and 29.24, the general flow guarantees copying for personal use without framing the legitimacy or providing royalties. We all know that it is legitimate for consumers to digitize a CD they bought in a store so they can listen to it on whatever platform they own, and that if everyone filled their iPods with music from iTunes, as suggested by Apple, there would just be new distribution methods. But this new digital formal has led to an alarming statistic we all know: nearly 90% of the music on an average iPod is pirated.
So I call upon my colleagues from all parties to study in good faith the update of the royalties system on private copying, royalties that belong to the authors. Because the audio cassette and then the CD-R make private copying possible, this system of royalties must take into account new technologies that both facilitate the life of authors and make it easier to steal from them.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Thank you.
As indicated by my colleague when he was speaking about this clause and the sections of the clauses that make up this part of the act, our concern is that we are seeing $30 million immediately being removed from the table from artists by not updating the copyright levy that has existed. Plus, as we shall see further on, we're going to lose another $21 million from the broadcast mechanical if the loophole is unclear. That's some $50 million. That's serious money to artists to generate new works to compensate them for the copies.
We find it unfortunate that the government has decided to treat the legitimate payment of artists, who are fuelling so much of our sector, as a tax, as an infringement, when we're seeing that everyone else seems to be making money from this act except the people who create it.
I concur with my honourable colleague. We know that bringing in amendments at this point on this issue would be ruled out of order, but we want it on the record that we are talking about the $30 million that will disappear with the levy not being updated, plus the other $20 million, which we will be speaking about soon enough, around the ephemeral mechanicals.
NDP
The Chair NDP Glenn Thibeault
Can you help us and can you clarify? There is amendment NDP-3. Have you moved that amendment?
