Madam Speaker, the amendment that is being proposed in effect deletes the provision of the minister that the Department of Industry deal with copyright. It is really intended to bring that over to another department.
The issue that has just been made by the hon. member opposite is a very accurate statement, that we need to recognize that the whole area of creator's rights and the business of intellectual property ought to be identified. It is not strictly a matter of heritage, history or things of that sort but is rapidly developing and rapidly changing in our economy in Canada today. We need to recognize that in the area of patents and trademarks of those sorts of things are no less the property of people who use their minds and who use their knowledge to develop particular ideas as much as other kinds of property.
We are moving today into a knowledge economy which is not only a business of making things and of moving people. It is a matter of ideas. It is a matter of innovations. It is a matter of applying these in the right way.
It seems to me that there may be some interest here. In other departments, it is with regard to specific content but in terms of the ownership of certain sorts of things we need to recognize that this is included here in the old traditional way of talking about copyright.
We are really talking about much more than the initial intent of copyright. We are talking about intellectual property. The matter should not be taken out of this clause at this time.
Therefore I think the Reform Party would suggest that colleagues not support this amendment.