Let's talk clearly about the beast.
Mr. Harper created some trauma about seven or eight years ago when the study on Bill C-32 began. He said he would never impose a new tax on Canadians. We told him that this was not a tax, but a tariff, which was much smaller than the amounts discussed earlier. It's clear that quadrupling the funding the government gives to the industry will not be possible.
Let's take the example of Internet subscriptions. The Songwriters Association of Canada, which has no representative here today, suggested a way to impose what is called a monthly retainer. You may find this illogical, but I am comparing that retainer to the 411 telephone service. Every month, we receive a bill that includes the 411 and 911 services, or anything else ending in 11. The amount charged is peanuts.
My mother always told me that peanuts add up to a bag of peanuts, and when you have a big bag, you can sell it. That's how copyright works. We never thought outrageous fees over $1 should be imposed. At some point, the conversation was about $5 because the Songwriters Association of Canada wanted to have
a blanket licence for the Internet.
That will be difficult to manage, but I'm convinced that, given the complexity of the processes that have been implemented, there will be some space between A and B to insert an A+ or a B-. We suggesting applying the user-pay principle and a tariff that would not make the user feel trapped.
It's as simple as that. Users could contribute. Studies were carried out two or three years ago on this topic, and the vast majority of the people surveyed were in favour of a tariff, and not a tax, being imposed.