Madam Speaker, first of all, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Brampton—Springdale.
I am pleased to be able to speak to the motion moved by my colleague from Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert. It is a very complex, topical debate that goes far beyond the context and scope of the motion.
We are in the midst of a transition to a digital economy, which affects culture in a big way. It is a topic we are faced with every day, not only in the House of Commons, but also in the business world, in broadcasting, and in film studios, to name a few. We could talk about it even more, if this government would be more open about the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement, which concerns all of us. We know our government colleagues very well, and they like to have full control over access to information. That said, let us get back to the matter at hand.
The Liberal Party has always believed and still strongly believes that our artists, especially our creators, must be paid and remunerated for their work. Our party has always been recognized as a reliable partner for Quebec and Canadian artists. This is the case because we recognize the value and wealth of the contributions made by our artists and cultural industries.
Our party fought back when the Conservatives decided to eliminate various cultural programs in 2008 for ideological reasons. I can assure the House that we will continue to protect what our artists do to enhance our culture with courage, innovation and creativity.
This is why I agree in principle with my colleague's motion. Clearly, our creators should be compensated for the valuable work they do. Who would agree that they should not be compensated for what they create, except maybe our Conservative colleagues?
The purpose of the motion before us is not to create a new law or a new tax. Its purpose is to update the current law, because there is already a system of levies on recording media such as blank CDs to account for copies. That already exists. Why should the new technology that is replacing CDs not be subject to the same law?
The argument we have heard from the Conservatives today makes no sense. Unlike them, we know that this motion has nothing to do with a new tax; it has to do with a levy on electronic devices. That levy would be redistributed directly to artists.
My colleague should know that when a tax is collected, the money goes into the government's consolidated revenue fund and can then be put toward government priorities. In this case, we are talking about a levy that goes directly to creators and artists. The government does not get one cent of the money.
Unfortunately, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and his parliamentary secretary cannot tell the difference between a tax and a levy, and they are hoping that the public will not be able to either.
I have said it before and I will say it again: our artists should be compensated for their work. They amply deserve to be compensated. It is logical, fair and essential to maintaining a strong, vital cultural milieu. The cultural industry generates $40 billion in revenue and creates more than 600,000 jobs in Canada. Culture makes a significant contribution not only to our economy but to our everyday lives. Can we even imagine a day without culture?
We must support our artists by ensuring that our legislative framework reflects this new reality. My colleague's motion talks about redefining that framework. Unfortunately, though, this motion has serious problems in terms of process and content.
With respect to content, it is clear that the motion is not specific enough, particularly when it comes to the digital devices targeted by the new levy. What exactly are we talking about? We know that it would apply to iPods because people use them primarily to listen to music, but would it also apply to the BlackBerry and iPhone?
That is a good question. Will it also apply to home computers? In short, will it apply to all devices that have a memory and can record and play back music? We think it is absolutely critical that we differentiate between these devices based on their primary use. The primary use of a device that will be subject to the levy is a new element we have to consider in this debate.
This matter deserves to be taken seriously, but a motion that does not take this distinction into account will not help. However, I want to say that the work that went into this motion is not for nothing. It reminds us that we still have a lot to do to deal with current problems that need solutions. That is what I wanted to say about the content of the motion.
With respect to the process my colleague has chosen, with all due respect, I must say that it was somewhat ill-advised. For this discussion to be productive, it must take place within the larger context of the ongoing debate on copyright. Many have said that the government is behind when it comes to updating that kind of legislation. My NDP colleague mentioned that too.
The Conservatives believe that it is more important to advance their ideological agenda than to help our artists. We all know that. The Copyright Act is in dire need of amendment, but we have to deal with it comprehensively. We cannot do it by playing with motions that will not end up changing anything. Nor can we dissect every little part of the Copyright Act and turn all of those parts into motions to win political points.
Unfortunately, this motion is incomplete. It comes at a bad time and in the worst way. In fact, it could be counterproductive and hinder our current objectives. The Conservatives have taken advantage of this in order to spread falsehoods about the end goal. The Bloc Québécois motion—and we heard this again today—has allowed the Conservatives to completely shift the debate to make it an issue of taxes. We all know that is not the case.
The Conservatives are obsessed with the word tax. They are unable to distinguish between a tax and a levy. The motion as presented has given the government the opportunity to talk about taxes. This will hurt our artists in future debates. The current debate will not change anything, but this motion may hurt future debates.
We must quickly come up with something concrete. I invite my colleague and her party and all the other hon. members to work with us in order to come up with a system. It could be the one proposed in the motion, but with some clarifications. We want a system that will enable our artists to be paid for their work. It is a matter of common sense, justice and equality.
Instead of debating a motion that, even if it were accepted, would not change anything and that simply allows the government to make speeches day after day about taxes, why not work together to amend the legislation when the time comes? That way, our artists will get what they deserve and will be paid for their creations.