Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a point.
The hon. member's approach does not seem to correspond with the intent of the bill. We should remember that the use of blank tapes is a matter of piracy. In committee we heard many groups, including the Consumers Association of Canada, confirm that in fact everyone was copying cassettes. You take a cassette, and you can make endless copies.
I wonder whether anyone in this House could say that neither they nor their family members had ever used a cassette to tape music from a record. I have some figures for the hon. member.
First of all, this type of private copying compensation system has been adopted in 25 countries. It is not a tax but a levy. A certain amount is levied, and it is called a levy because it is more or less a salary for performers who are entitled to receive it because they are the ones who create and produce.
Last year alone, 44 million blank tapes were sold. According to the report of the task force on the future of the Canadian music industry in 1996, at least 39 million of these cassettes are used for copying purposes, resulting in a total loss of about $325 million to the recording industry and performers.
Think about it. I think it is a very good idea to collect a levy from the source, from the manufacturers, and redistribute it as a salary to performers who are losing money because people are copying their cassettes.