The important thing to keep in mind is that this is an international issue at its very heart. We're talking about works by composers like Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Duane Allman, the list goes on and on, falling into the public domain during that 30-month period that CUSMA allows for a transition. To the point of a cultural exemption, it's tempting to say these composers aren't Canadians so it doesn't matter, but it does matter because it's income from compositions by composers around the world that gives Canadian publishers like Jennifer the revenue they need to reinvest in the songwriters and the songs she referred to in her initial testimony.
It really is a critical issue. It's baffling that the government would choose to wait another 30 months and allow hundreds or thousands more valuable compositions to fall in the public domain never to be recaptured by publishers who rely on that revenue for their investment in Canadian culture.