Canadian Heritage Committee on May 4th, 2010

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Parker, I'm going to finish with you. I have only one minute left. You talked about taxing the ISPs. Can you tell us more about that. How would that be done?

[Maureen Parker]

We're actually talking about an ISP levy with respect to the CRTC's jurisdiction. We're talking about imposing a levy, as well, in terms of distribution to compensate creators for things like illegal file-sharing. It's kind of a two-part solution.

Kelly Lynne, would you like to...?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Is that like what the writers and composers suggested, a levy of two or three dollars per user per month, something like that?

[Maureen Parker]

We share an idea with the Songwriters Association. We're probably not the same in terms of an amount or a figure. And again, their levy was only going to cover music. We're looking at a more comprehensive idea that will cover audio-visual completely. We haven't put a figure on it, because we're not there yet, but that's a road we have to investigate.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

It's the same principle.

[Maureen Parker]

It's a similar principle in terms of compensation for artists for uses that are not permitted under the Copyright Act. First we need to amend the Copyright Act to allow those permitted uses. Then we need to figure out a way to compensate artists. A collective licensing regime is what we're proposing.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

We have to move on.

We'll go to Mr. Pomerleau, please.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you all for coming to meet with us today.

My question is for you, Mr. Caron. I am taking up an argument of my colleague's. You're the first witness who has told us we have too much information. That's what I've been thinking for a very long time. We politicians are faced with this fact every day. I get the very distinct impression that people are losing interest in politics quite simply because there's so much political information that they can no longer analyze it, absorb it or understand it. I very much understand people who are in that situation.

With regard to digitization, what are you trying to do to provide an analytical grid? Exactly what are you doing, or what are you thinking of doing?

[Daniel J. Caron]

There are two aspects. The first concerns acquisition. It's not simply a matter of digitization, but also of acquisition. We're trying to establish new criteria to ensure we retain only information that, over time, is relevant for Canadians. We'll probably be more selective and not simply absorb everything that's being produced. That's our first job. We're doing that across Canada with our colleagues at the country's archives and libraries. This is a new model, a new approach, which should normally identify more information that will be preserved.

Digitization is also an interesting point. We believe we must digitize in a surgical manner. In other words, we have to choose. Not everything necessarily has the same value or the same level of interest. So we're trying to develop approaches that will enable us to see what is most interesting, what is most in demand. We mustn't simply digitize everything we have in our vaults. A large portion of all that would be of no interest. We have to be rational when we select what will be digitized.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Do you have the financial means to do all that on time?

[Daniel J. Caron]

To date, we've had very good support. We are getting in all in shape. In any case, as I mentioned earlier, it will be a collaborative effort, and we'll be doing it with colleagues. With regard with what we're doing now, the most important thing will be the digital preservation issue. That issue will eventually have to be resolved. We're working on that, but it will probably require an effort.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

You said that, in a digital environment, everything is saved yet little is preserved. Could you explain what you meant?

[Daniel J. Caron]

When you save something on your computer, it's saved somewhere, but not necessarily preserved and organized. You don't necessarily ensure the information will be transferred when the next version of the software appears. If, for example, you go back to your old computer, which is in your basement, you may find files that you won't even be able to open. You've saved them, but they haven't been preserved. That means they aren't in a trusted digital repository that guarantees you'll be able to read them in 10 or 20 years. That's our challenge, and it's an enormous one.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

That's all, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you very much.

The last question is for Mr. Uppal, please.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have questions for Ms. Parker.

First of all, I agree with you that artists need to be paid. They need to be compensated for their work. You talked about a comprehensive ISP levy encompassing audio-visual and other things.

My concern is about the consumer. This is another idea to go into the consumer's pocket. At some point we're going to start putting too much pressure on the consumer. Your idea of an ISP levy would not be user-pay; it would apply to anybody using the Internet, possibly for education or something else.

Are you concerned that we're off-loading too much onto the consumer?

[Maureen Parker]

Your question is twofold. It wouldn't necessarily be a levy on everyone. We're able to determine that those people who are using higher speeds and have greater broadband access are downloading files. We can see that's currently infringing on copyright, and artists are not compensated for it. So there is a way to see that this is a targeted segment of the population. That's my point.

I think your other point was this will be unpopular with consumers. It may be, but we don't intend to make it unpopular with consumers. We want to get a very clear message out to consumers and our audiences that the creative class cannot survive without compensation. I live on a street where half of my neighbours are artists. They're musicians and actors. They contribute to society. They have kids, go to school, go to church, and pay their taxes. They deserve to earn a living too. If we want to live in a country that supports a creative class, we have to figure out how to monetize those illegal uses.

So we're not trying to stop the train; we're not trying to roll back or look at the past. We're trying to move forward in a way that we can retain our artists and ensure that they're properly compensated.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

I agree with you that we need to compensate them. We just need a fair balance between compensating them and making sure we're not putting the Internet and other things out of reach for some people.

[Maureen Parker]

Absolutely.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

My colleague has a quick question.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

My question is for Mr. Caron.

First of all, thank you for your presentation.

Since you're talking about preservation, I have a very basic question concerning LAC, which is located at 395 Wellington Street. It's been a while since I read any news in the papers about the damage caused to our heritage by sprinklers. Has that problem been solved?

[Daniel J. Caron]

I knock on wood and cross my fingers. For the moment, it's solved, yes. In fact, we worked very hard with the Department of Public Works. The situation will further improve because we received funding to expand the preservation centre in Gatineau. It will be a building with high-density shelving. We'll be able to remove from high-risk areas all documents and books that could be damaged in order to keep them safe. We're—

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Are you telling me that the condition of the site at 395 Wellington Street can't be remedied?

[Daniel J. Caron]

No, the 395 Wellington Street site simply isn't a preservation location. It's a consultation location, a reference location.

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

With regard to the recurring flooding problems, has the plumbing been repaired?