I would like to thank the members of the committee for inviting us to speak today. I am Christian Bédard, Executive Director of the Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du Quebec (RAAV), which represents over 3,000 visual artists.
I am accompanied by Nadia Myre, a well-known first nations artist from Quebec. Her work has been exhibited throughout Quebec, Canada and the world.
Along with CARFAC, RAAV is asking for the inclusion of the artists resale right in the Copyright Act. To illustrate the importance of that, I want to share with you the story of one Quebec artist. A painting by Marcel Barbeau was practically given away in the 1950s. In 2008, it was resold by the heir of the person to whom it had been given, fetching $86,000. The proposed royalty rate of 5% would have helped the artist, who is ill and can use all the income he can get.
In addition, RAAV would like to underline other aspects of Bill C-32 that we are concerned could pose serious problems for visual artists in Canada and Quebec. These artists are, for the most part, self-employed workers who are trying to make a living from their artwork. The federal government should not undermine their capacity to do so.
Since the recognition of the exhibition right in the Copyright Act, in 1988, many visual artists have seen their income grow substantially. Unfortunately, the mention of a cut-off date in the act, June 8, 1988, means that all works produced before that date are not covered by the exhibition right, which effectively discriminates against senior artists. That is why we respectfully ask the members of this committee to stop the discrimination against aging artists by removing the following words in the Copyright Act: "created after June 7, 1988".
RAAV salutes the government's intention to recognize the copyright of photographers, printmakers and portrait artists. But clause 38 of the bill reduces the capacity of these artists to be fairly remunerated for the uses of their works. That is why we are asking the committee to recommend the complete withdrawal of clause 38 from Bill C-32, in order to allow photographers, portrait artists and printmakers to fairly share in the wealth created by their work.
Finally, no other clause of Bill C-32 may be as damaging to visual artists in Canada and Quebec as the one including education among the fair dealing exceptions. This new exception will likely become a permanent source of lawsuits between artists, on the one hand, and organizations and individuals that claim to be providing educational services, on the other hand. Artists cannot afford to pay astronomical legal bills.
For visual artists, all of the income from classroom presentation of their works could be at risk, just as reproductions in textbooks could no longer be subject to remuneration. Our biggest concern is that public galleries may claim they fall under this exception because their mandates include education. Galleries are the main source of copyright income for visual artists. Because we don't know what a judge will decide is "fair" in our artistic sector, it is quite possible that this main source of income for visual artists will dry up for good. That would mean the end of the exhibition right for which we have fought so many years to obtain.
Consequently, along with more than 90 other cultural organizations that have signed the Canadian Cultural Industries' Joint Statement on Bill C-32, we are asking for the withdrawal of this clause from the bill. These recommendations may seem incidental to you, but they are very significant for visual artists. Canada must not hurt the daily efforts of its visual artists to achieve financial independence.
I will stop my presentation there to leave time for discussion of our recommendations.