OTTAWA – A coalition of groups and associations representing Canada’s arts and culture industries has come together to urge the Government to make changes to Bill C-32 that they say will help keep Canada competitive in the digital economy.
After presenting a position statement and their proposed revisions to MPs in Ottawa, the coalition issued a statement saying that the Bill, as it stands, will “overturn the core principles of copyright law that historically have ensured a healthy environment for creators, producers, distributors and consumers of Canadian cultural content”.
Citing a list of new exceptions in the Bill, including the expansion of ‘fair dealing’ to cover education, the coalition also warns that C-32 “will cause serious damage to markets for Canada’s cultural sector and significantly reduce current and future revenues on which creators depend for their income”.
"The whole purpose of copyright is to protect creators and their work," said internationally acclaimed jazz artist Sophie Milman, in the statement. "Bill C-32 turns that principle on its head by ripping away many of the rights that we have long relied upon, making it that much harder to make a living from our work."
Almost 90 groups representing hundreds of thousands of writers, performers, actors, illustrators, musicians, composers, publishers, poets, visual artists, playwrights, songwriters, and producers have signed a statement calling for changes to Bill C-32. The coalition is part of a $46 billion industry that employs more than 600,000 Canadians and contributes twice as much to the GDP as the forestry industry.
