Good morning.
Thank you, again, for inviting me to appear.
I've had the pleasure of discussing copyright issues with many of you over the past years, and for those of you with whom I haven't spoken yet, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
My apologies to those following the written translation of my remarks. I have made some small revisions as a result of some recent submissions.
I'm the executive director for the Canadian Music Publishers Association. CMPA has been around since 1949. We are based in Toronto, although we represent music publishers and their songwriter partners from across the country.
Music publishers help songwriters make a living from songwriting. If a song gets used in any way that it generates revenue anywhere in the world, the publisher helps track down that money, collects it, and sends it to the songwriter. A publisher also invests in songwriters throughout their career, helping them stay afloat between royalties, and offering support and expertise.
We believe that the skill, talent, and expertise required to write a hit song are precious things, and are best nurtured by protecting the ability to make a living doing it, so it is important to have strong, effective copyright legislation.
CMPA joined over 100 organizations that have signed on to the cultural industry statement, and we continue to endorse all the positions put forward in that document. We believe in the need to modernize Canada's Copyright Act and to be good global partners. Copyright worldwide is only as strong as its weakest link. We also believe that the government has fallen short of its goals on copyright with Bill C-11, but we understand that the government believes that the proposed legislation does meet its policy objectives, so it's time for us to try to contribute to a new discussion.