Thank you, Mr. Chair, and members of the committee. Thank you, in particular, for arranging for us to meet here, under the spirit of the printed word, which rises behind you there, Mr. Chair.
Books have an important role among other media. They are authoritative, prestigious, long form, and intended to last. Because of those things, they have a unique role in our culture and our communities, and among our cultural exports, whether in print or digital form.
Books matter in ways that are unique to books. Canadian priorities matter to Canadian-owned publishers in ways they will never matter to foreign-owned publishers. Independent Canadian-owned publishers cope with structural challenges, in particular a marketplace defined by foreign-owned, multinational companies that enjoy huge economies of scale. We've also had to cope with serious losses to our industry caused directly, although inadvertently, by the Copyright Modernization Act of 2012.
The Canada book fund functions as an amplifier of our success in that intensely competitive, difficult environment. The fund is essential to the capacity of businesses such as mine to take risks and make investments in this arena, where we, for example, are the only independent Canadian book publisher specializing in medicine and health professions.
The Canada book fund has been supported by successive governments over a period of decades. That's because all those governments have understood and supported the role of Canadian-published books in building our communities, in understanding ourselves and our times, in education, and in our economy. They have also understood and supported the role played by Canadian-published books in bringing Canada to the world. Broadly speaking, our goals for our sector are your goals for our sector.
During a period of huge challenges and change for our sector, the Canada book fund has remained stuck. Its value has declined by more than 30% since 2001. Your investment in your goals for our sector has declined by more than 30% over that period. Our proposed increase in the Canada book fund from $39.1 million to $54 million is long overdue. It would pay off in strengthening Canadian artists' presence in digital media, in increased export earnings, and in employment and tax revenues. It would strengthen Canadian communities and Canadian education. It would enable our members, including my company and me, to do a better job for Canada.
Thank you. I look forward to any questions you might have.