Science and Research committee  Thank you. It’s important to understand that today we need to change the legislative frameworks to allow the commercialization of copyright in Canada, that is, in our domestic market. Without this, it will be impossible for rights holders to negotiate with educational institutions, which have long been major users of content.

Science and Research committee  You can appreciate that the level of trust is at an all-time low. We’ve been in a constant struggle for 11 years now to make this change. We’ve seen our revenues melt away. Publishers are starting to downsize or even close their doors. So we’re becoming increasingly impatient. That said, as you mentioned, we’re not giving up.

Science and Research committee  I'm delighted to know that you are an author yourself and receive royalties from your writing. You will understand that if an excerpt from one of your books is used in an educational institution in Quebec, you will receive royalties through Access Copyright, which is our partner, but if your work is used in a Canadian university, you will probably not receive royalties.

Science and Research committee  The image of Canada internationally has definitely suffered when it comes to copyright. People now talk about the Canadian flu when they discuss this issue. As recently as yesterday, at a round table, I was talking with the director general of the International Publishers Association.

Science and Research committee  Thank you for pointing out how long the process is. The act was modernized in 2012. Of course, the recommendations of several commissions and committees were taken into consideration. In 2011, for example, representatives of the academic community said that the new act was working to pay royalties to copyright holders.

Science and Research committee  It is essentially a financial problem. The universities have decided to save money on the backs of rights holders. There is no other way of seeing it. In most of the countries with which Canada does business, copyright is respected. I would clarify that when I talk about the situation in Canada, I am talking about Canada with the exception of Quebec.

Science and Research committee  The income of rights holders in relation to the publication of texts, whether they are book or newspaper publishers, which we have heard a lot about recently in other contexts, is derived from two things: the sale of the finished products, for example subscriptions, in the case of newspapers, and the use made of the works in various contexts.

Science and Research committee  If I may clarify something. In very concrete terms, when a work or an excerpt from a work is used in teaching, in particular, but in any context, the licences that Copibec offers allow people to use the excerpts of works entirely legally, in exchange for financial compensation.

Science and Research committee  Hello. Thank you for inviting us to this committee. My name is Gilles Herman. I am the CEO of Les éditions du Septentrion and the vice-chair of Copibec. With me is Christian Laforce, the executive director of Copibec. Copyright is enshrined in article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.