Mr. Speaker, when I was interrupted I was making reference to the fact that many small radio stations depend rather heavily on their libraried material, which can be in several different formats depending on how old the station is.
The legislation with its lack of considerations for transfer of format does not recognize advances in technology. As a matter of fact it penalizes radio stations that might want to advance their technology. It is somewhat like the weavers of Manchester breaking up the steam looms. We are moving into the 21st century but the government does not recognize that. The anti-technological biases of the Minister of Heritage being well known, I am not terribly surprised by it.
The other question regarding ephemeral rights refers to the length of time people will be allowed to maintain material in their files before it has to be destroyed or at least not used. The 30 days
proposed is preposterously short. Six months, which is what the industry requested, would have been quite reasonable.
I would like to read a letter received from the Kiwanis Club of Pembroke, Ontario. It may cast some light on how this lack of reasonable time shift will affect some of the charitable ventures that rely upon broadcast. I will read it in its entirety.
The Kiwanis Club's efforts to ensure continued Easter Seal benefits for the children in our community, could be seriously jeopardized by provisions in the new Copyright bill currently being debated in Ottawa.
Dennis Runge, Chairman, said today that he is sure that it is just an oversight by the Members of Parliament, who have no idea that the fund-raising telethons Easter Seals have so successfully held with CHRO TV over the years could be really harmed by some small exceptions which have inexplicably been omitted from this proposed bill.
Runge explained that the problem is with the entertainment portions of the broadcast, which are so important in attracting viewers. "CHRO has told us that under the proposed Copyright Bill, they could be fined, or else have to pay additional costs and undertake a major effort to clear the rights, just for taping local performers a few weeks ahead of the broadcast, and then playing it back during the telethon".
The Kiwanis Club believes that if it loses the ability to showcase these entertainers, the broadcast will suffer. And, if either they or CHRO TV have to pay a second time just for the necessity to tape and playback these performances, the costs will add to the telethon budget, and not as much money will be able to be directed into Easter Seals.
Runge says that CHRO TV has indicated it wants to continue to do the broadcast, that it believes in the work of the Kiwanis Club and wants to support our valuable work in the community. However, CHRO TV has also said that if the Copyright legislation is passed as is, the future of the telethon will have to be seriously re-examined.
The Kiwanis Club says "local Members of Parliament have to tell the government that broadcasters should be giving
time shift' andtransfer of format' exceptions in the proposed Copyright Bill, which would eliminate the problem, and permit Kiwanis and CHRO TV to continue working for the benefit of people in Pembroke and surrounding area."Sometimes it is not clear that new legislation can have detrimental effects in a community" said Runge. "But this time we have been able to see the problem coming, and hopefully our MPs will understand that it is up to them to see that the people of our town don't lose out by a careless decision made in Ottawa".
It is signed by Dennis Runge, chairman of the Kiwanis Club of Pembroke, Ontario.
This is a very typical example of the way in which people with good intentions try to protect everybody from everything imaginable and end up creating severe problems for other people who do not deserve to have problems. I am sure they have received letters similar to this. They must have received them by the hundreds. I would hope that they would start to give a bit of consideration to what they are doing and make serious amendments to this bill, not just to gratify the Quebec entertainers who have been getting everything they want, but to think about the service clubs and the small community stations all over Canada that are going to suffer under this legislation.