Number six is reproduction for private purposes.
Compensation must be attached to format shifting and reproduction for private purposes so that income can continue to flow to artists, regardless of how media develop. The existing private copying levy must be modernized so that it applies to digital devices developed, manufactured, and marketed to copy music. If it is not updated, it will take millions of dollars of royalties from artists' pockets.
Let's be frank. The private copying levy is not new. It is not going to apply to cars. It is not $75. And it is not a tax. The only tax on iPods is the HST. We ask you to put rhetoric aside and do the right thing. Everyone in this room knows that updating the levy instead of letting it die a natural death is the right thing to do.
At some point, whenever it is, you will all be fighting for your jobs. And you are all aware that there are nearly one million creators working together, with great passion, to get this bill fixed. Our reach extends to every single riding in this country. We are particularly counting on the three opposition parties to work together to fix this bill. Together you hold the majority on this committee and in this House. We need you to deliver a bill that recognizes the central role creators and rights holders have in our digital economy and assures them that their intellectual property rights will be respected.
Anything less and Canada will continue to be an international embarrassment, to our collective shame.
Thank you.