I would like to thank the chair and the members of the committee for inviting me to appear on behalf of Universities Canada.
Our association represents 96 universities in the 10 provinces, whose teaching, learning and research activities extend to the three territories.
With me is Wendy Therrien, director of research for Universities Canada.
Let me just echo the chair's remarks of a moment ago and thank you, on behalf of our members, for undertaking this study. For those who have been on this study before, it is complex, it can be dry, it can be polarized, and it has big impact on the work of students and the work of researchers. Your efforts are vitally important in terms of the more than one million young people studying at Canada's universities today and those who will follow them. Your work is also vitally important to Canada's university researchers, who produce most of the copyrighted educational material used by university students.
The university community brings a balanced perspective to this review, as both owners and users of copyright material. Canada's future will be shaped in large measure by the education students receive today. Fair dealing for education ensures that students across Canada have a diversity of learning materials, educational opportunities, and increased accessibility to post-secondary education.
Digital materials mean that today, more than ever before, young people are equipped to achieve their potential, whether they live in Abbotsford or Attawapiskat, and that helps build a stronger, more prosperous Canada for all. In our rapidly changing world, Canada cannot afford to take a step backward in education. Maintaining fair dealing for education will help ensure Canada's young people continue to have the 21st century education demanded in our changing world.
As mentioned, the vast majority of learning materials used by students today comes from creators on campus, university faculty. University professors are prolific creators in writing books and research papers. One estimate is that academics, not literary authors, produce as much as 92% of the content available in university libraries.
Copyright law needs to balance the interests of copyright owners and the users of copyright material. It should incentivize the creation of new ideas and allow for the dissemination of knowledge. Fair dealing is important for maintaining this balance.
Compliance is also important, and that's why many universities have significantly increased their compliance efforts, with offices staffed by lawyers, librarians, and copyright specialists to advise students, faculty, and staff on the use of copyrighted materials.
Today universities spend more than ever before in purchasing content. According to StatsCan, university library acquisitions in 2016 exceeded $370 million, a figure that has been increasing year over year. In the past three years, universities have spent over $1 billion on library content. Libraries are also changing what they're buying. Our libraries have shifted their primary purchasing from print to digital content. One institution reports that in 2002, only 20% of its acquisitions were digital, but today this number has grown to 80%, and that trend will continue.
It's important for this committee to know that, unlike printed books, the use and reproduction of digital content can be negotiated and contracted. On campus, digital content is usually shared through links and not copies, and is frequently protected by digital locks. Further, Access Copyright's repertoire doesn't cover authors of born-digital works and is restricted to authors of printed material.
Along with digital content, most libraries now have e-reserve systems, making it easier for students to use library content on their personal devices 24-7. These systems are making printed course packs much less common than just a few years ago.
Beyond digital disruption, a series of Supreme Court decisions guides the use of copyright material on campus. Before 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada said fair dealing is a right, and that's significant. In 2012, a series of decisions by the Supreme Court concluded that the right of fair dealing was much broader than how the education sector had been using it up to that point. These judgments were the genesis for the shift in how the education sector has managed copyright.
Since 2012, the courts have continued to expand our understanding of copyright law. A growing body of legal decisions is determining the details of what fair dealing means, and several active court cases are still pending.
I would respectfully submit that Parliament should allow the courts to continue their work before intervening with more legislation.
To conclude, it's true that parts of our cultural industries are struggling to adapt to the digital disruption affecting Canadian society. Canada's universities were pleased to participate in the 2016 review of Canadian cultural policy and to recommend new tools to support the creative economy. But changing fair dealing is not the answer to the challenges facing copyright owners during this period of transition. Changing fair dealing would have a direct impact on the affordability of education for students and the quality of the teaching materials at all levels.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today. We wish you well in your deliberations. We welcome any questions you may have today or throughout the consultation process.