Evidence of meeting #9 for Bill C-32 (40th Parliament, 3rd Session) in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gord Brown
Thank you very much.
We'll move to the Bloc Québécois, with Madame Lavallée, for six minutes.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much for coming to meet with us this morning. If I understood correctly, you have not submitted a brief. I haven't received anything.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Okay.
You presented your document, but I only got the translation. I'm not sure I understood everything, so I will go back to it.
First, I understood that you had five points in the beginning. But when I did the math at the end, there were seven points. Is that correct?
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Okay. Points three and four can in fact be grouped. I counted two different points, with education, but I misunderstood. Again, I am really sorry about that.
I am not sure which point to start with because I think they are all significant and I know I won't have the time to address them all. But I understand that you share the industry's interests and that, as a result, you are quite in favour of Bill C-32.
Do I understand correctly? Are you more or less in favour of Bill C-32?
Counsel, Canadian Media Production Association
With the amendments we have recommended, yes. Generally speaking, yes.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
But if the amendments were not made—the six points you have raised—could you still live with Bill C-32?
Counsel, Canadian Media Production Association
We are counting on the committee to find a way to make these amendments so that the members of our organization consider the bill reasonable.
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
By the way, you should be here around the table with us; you are very good at skating, I find.
You talked about protection measures. You said that people would be spending their money elsewhere if they could make copies of the films that you make. Is that so?
Bloc
Counsel, Canadian Media Production Association
Are you talking about TPMs?
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Yes. In French, we call them MTPs or verrous numériques, digital locks.
Bloc
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
By putting digital locks on films that are sold, for example, would prevent consumers from making copies for their friends.
Bloc
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
I am happy to hear from you because we can see clearly that your needs, as a film industry, are not the same as those of the music industry. The music industry needs its music to be broadcast as much as possible and therefore expects remuneration. However, you would rather restrict distribution. In any case, people do not need another copy for their private use and, therefore, they don't need to get into the private copy system.
Are those your thoughts?
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer, Canadian Media Production Association
One of the things that need to be remembered is that we in our sector create content with the use of various unions and guild talents--actors, writers, directors, and so forth. When we compensate those performers, writers, and directors, we don't just compensate them based on what we call front-end work. We also have a royalty system in place, and that royalty system pays a percentage of revenues back to those artists. If we don't have those measures in place, we don't have those revenues. If we don't have those revenues, those artists don't get paid. It's not just the producers.
So there is a very delicate food chain here to ensure that we can keep the best artists in Canada.