QUESTION PERIOD — Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Copyright Policy
June 5, 2019
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Harder, on June 3, 2019, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released its final report and its 36 recommendations regarding the Copyright Act. The committee recommends improving the bargaining power of Canadian creators by granting them a termination right while mitigating the impact of such a right on the commercial exploitation of copyright.
My question for you is the following: When does the government plan to respond to the contents of this report, and when will it commit to reviewing the Status of the Artist Act in order to promote improved socio-economic conditions for our professional artists in every region of Canada, whose median salary is $21,600, which is well below the median salary for the entire population?
I thank the honourable senator for the question. Copyright is an issue he has raised from time to time in this chamber. It’s because we all recognize that copyright is vital to the creative social sector and to writers and the well-being of creators in the Canadian market.
To date, I should report that the government has increased the Copyright Board of Canada’s funding by 30 per cent and introduced reforms to ensure that creators are compensated fairly and can thrive in this digital economy. The government is obviously grateful to the committee for its report which, as the question indicated, has just been tabled in the other place and will be closely reviewing its recommendations.
In the meantime, I can assure you that the government has implemented important measures to modernize the Copyright Board and has obtained a cultural exemption from the United States, which gives us the tools to protect our culture on the web, which in a digital economy is particularly important to creators.
