I appreciate the extra time, because I was worried that my hockey jokes were going to eat into my reading time. I hope you will be joining the party after.
Thank you also for your time. We recognize that the committee has a very tough task ahead of it.
I'm a librarian and I'm here actually to read some statements on behalf of the Manitoba Library Association.
Libraries understand what it's like to be caught in the middle of all of this. The Manitoba Library Association represents nearly 200 libraries. As stewards of public funds, libraries must invest in products and services that offer patrons good value. Libraries have not stopped paying to clear our copyrights, but many use models other than Access Copyright.
Libraries benefit from having rich, diverse choices of Canadian content, and we appreciate your efforts to sustain Canadian creators and publishers. Through investments in open access, digitization, and writers-in-residence programs, Manitoba libraries directly support Canadian cultural production and preservation. We have also witnessed first-hand the effects of market consolidation in the publishing industry: rising costs, fewer independents and Canadian choices, and smaller payments to creators. The act might not be the place to address this; however, there are ways you can support Canadian content creators.
We have heard repeated testimony of the importance of grants such as the book fund and the Canada Council for the Arts. We know these sources of income are significant for small creators and publishers. Dedicated funding for Canadian educational publishing and technology, including the creation of Canadian open educational resources, is more likely to achieve meaningful growth in the sector, while a mandatory flat fee per student across the country will in fact have differential effects on students in different provinces.
We remind the committee that education doesn't only apply to large educational institutions. Manitoba public libraries delivered programs to over 300,000 people in 2016, including fundamental literacy initiatives, services for newcomers, tech classes for seniors, and tutorials for small business owners. Fair dealing is not the main way content is delivered in these programs, but it permits instructors to augment purchased materials with short excerpts for the benefit of students. In the absence of this user right, students would simply go without this diverse information, because instructors cannot afford to buy it in these public contexts. I should specify that we're talking about very short excerpts here, buying a $30 to $100 book to provide a couple of pages in a class you are teaching in a community setting to a group of seniors.
Finally, you have heard about the value of open access. In this spirit, we advocate for meaningful change that would have a big impact: remove crown copyright in favour of public domain. Many government publications, despite being released to the public, are still not freely available for the public to use.
Thank you.