moved that Bill C-32, an act to amend the Copyright Act, be read the third time and passed.
Mr. Speaker, our culture defines who we are. It is what makes Canada unique in the world. Bill C-32 is not only about culture, it is about creating jobs and growth for Canadians. It is about strengthening Canada's cultural industries and strengthening the very things that allow us to tell our very unique story.
Nine hundred thousand Canadian jobs depend on the cultural sector and nearly 5 per cent of our gross domestic product comes from culture. Over the last five years the cultural sector has grown faster than the economy as a whole. But this success did not happen by magic. It took incredible talent, risk takers, artists and millions
and millions of Canadians who wanted to hear and see and read our story.
What is copyright? Copyright is protecting people's creative work. It means that creators have the right to be paid when their work is used for commercial purposes.
According to Statistics Canada the average Canadian artist is among the lowest paid in the economy, earning only about $13,000 per year.
Just a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to meet world- renowned author Antonine Maillet. She told me that she could not live on her royalties alone, that she had to give lectures to make ends meet.
This bill is about fairness and making sure that Canada's creators are paid for the work they create, for their intellectual property. This bill has struck a balance which safeguards the interests of the users so that all Canadians can continue to be exposed to Canada's story.
We have listened carefully, and this is a copyright act that respects those values. That is how Canadian culture will flourish and that is how jobs will continue to be created in the cultural industries. We need an act that deals with the realities of today, not 1924 when the act was first adopted.
For eight years now, successive governments and ministers have been working on this copyright bill. With Bill C-32, we tried to strike a balance between the creators' rights and the need to make their works accessible to everyone. Bill C-32 creates a healthy and fair environment for Canadian book distributors.
As for all framework legislation, the Copyright Act as amended by Bill C-32 sets out the legitimate right of creators to be compensated for the commercial use of their works, while ensuring that the international community has reasonable access to these works.
Given the number of creators and users affected, it is not surprising that Bill C-32 took so long. It is the result of a long and painstaking study and consultation process.
First of all I want to thank all the members of the committee who did the real work in bringing back into the House Bill C-32 for third reading.
In particular, I would like to thank the hon. member for Lachine-Lac-Saint-Louis, the committee chairman, for his leadership on a very sensitive and complex matter.
We are extremely grateful that we have a colleague in this House who is the model of calm, reasoned and impassioned guidance.
I would especially not want to forget to thank also the one who took care of the painstaking balancing act, that is, my parliamentary secretary, the hon. member for Restigouche-Chaleur. He guided us through every step with his usual devotion and impartiality.
I want to thank also the members of the Liberal caucus who spent hours and hours ensuring that we achieved the right balance. I would be remiss if I did not in particular single out-
-the work done by the critic of the official opposition, the hon. member for Richmond-Wolfe, who put his own political interests aside to co-operate with all of us on a very important issue for all the artists of our country.
There are times in politics when one has to put his or her own beliefs aside to work on drafting good legislation. I think that this is what we succeeded to do together.
Aided by our consultations, the government put forward a number of amendments at third reading. These amendments were aimed at improving the bill.
I want to point out that the only party in the House that is opposed to copyright is the third party, the Reform Party. I think it is important to point out how the Reform Party has in its own charter cited the importance for respect of property rights. Let me quote from the Reform Party's policy on constitutional reform: "The Reform Party supports amending the charter of rights to recognize that in Canada there has existed the right of every person to the ownership, use and enjoyment of property, both real and personal, and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law".
Unfortunately despite the stated belief in property rights this party did not recognize these rights when it came to Canada's creators and artists. The Reform Party unfortunately refuses to recognize that when an artist creates a song, quand Céline Dion chante or when Shania Twain sings the voice of Shania Twain is what makes that song unique. Up until the passage of this bill Shania Twain was never recognized as the creator of the record or the CD that bore her name. Historically, because of copyright reform almost a decade ago, we paid the person who writes the Shania Twain song but we never paid the singer. Bill C-32 will change that.
The Reform Party does not recognize the legitimate rights of what yesterday the Speaker so eloquently called the soul of our nation. Copyright reform also plays a real and important part in maintaining our place in the world and in maintaining our identity. By bringing in this bill the government is recognizing that culture is the lifeblood of what we are as a nation and that culture is part of our collective identity.
For nearly ten years artists have awaited the reform of phase II of copyright. Last December the world community, through the World Intellectual Property Organization, concluded two new important world treaties, the copyright treaty and the performances and phonographs treaty. Unfortunately Canada could not sign those treaties. Our own copyright legislation was so out of date that we could not sign a convention which was established in 1961. Bill C-32 will fix that. Canada will finally be in a position to join the world community as a full respector of copyright.
We can also move forward to address the pressing issues related to the digital agenda and the pressing issues related to the performances and phonographs treaty of world intellectual property.
We worked very hard to give Canadian artists, who work in conditions that are among the poorest of all trades, the opportunity to get financial reward for what they currently do on a royalty-free basis.
Bill C-32 is good both for creators and for people who use the products of the Canadian cultural industry, that is, Canada as a whole. I am therefore asking the members of the House to demonstrate resolve and respect.
I am asking all members of the House to underscore their respect for copyright by supporting the third reading of this bill and by ensuring that it has a speedy move to the Senate where we fully expect the kind of co-operation which was very evident in the debate in the House of Commons.
I also want to say a special thank you to the Liberal whip's office and in particular the whip and the deputy whip for the work they have done in bringing this bill together. I thank the House leader, the whip, the deputy whip and the deputy House leader. Hopefully the bill will be sent to the Senate tonight for first reading. It is a bill which has been a long time coming. It will mean a better life for thousands of Canadian artists.