Good evening.
I teach Canadian literature at McGill University. I'm the author of an academic book on the history of copyright in Canada. I was also the editor of a scholarly journal for five years, and I know that revenue streams are important to publishing.
Nevertheless, I would like to speak in favour of fair dealing.
Last month I published the results of a two-year study. The article is called “Copyright and Poetry in Twenty-First-Century Canada” and it appeared in the journal Canadian Literature. The basic questions behind the study were how Canadian poets make their living, and whether fair dealing deprives them of their livelihood.
I worked with a team of four research assistants. Our method was to read contemporary poetry, reach out to the authors to share our readings, and then invite them to take our online survey. The method was effective in reinforcing an important principle: poets and teachers of poetry are not enemies. We are partners in maintaining the culture of poetry in this country.
Forty-eight poets responded to our survey. Their annual income earned as a writer, on average, was about $13,000, or 18% of their total household income. It came from the following sources, listed in order of importance. Over two-thirds of what they earned came from government grants. Second most important were writer-in-residence programs, followed by public readings, editing and jury work, public lending rights, and finally, royalties on book sales, payments from magazines, and payments from copyright collectives.
On average, the percentage of the poet's household income coming from commercial sources governed by copyright was around 2%.
My conclusion is that poets today do not derive much income from the free market. Meanwhile, fair dealing provisions for education help us teach their poetry.
I'd like to ask if the committee is going to hear from more teachers and professors over the course of its consultations, because there are none speaking today.
Thank you.