OTTAWA – The passage of Bill C-11 in the House of Commons trumpeted by the government Tuesday was met with trepidation by some industry stakeholders.
The Bill, known as the Copyright Modernization Act, seeks to bring Canada’s antiquated copyrights law in line with current international standards by implementing provisions of the World Intellectual Property Protection Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Heritage Minister James Moore said in a joint announcement that the legislation balances the everyday activities of Canadians while “giving creators and copyright owners the tools they need to protect their work and to grow their business using new and innovative business models”.
"Our government is creating a modern legislative framework that will strengthen our ability to compete in the global digital economy," said Minister Paradis, in a statement. "This legislation balances both the rights of creators and the interests of consumers. It will protect and create jobs across the country while promoting innovation and attracting new investments."
"With this new copyright legislation, our government makes a firm statement about the importance of protecting jobs and strengthening our digital economy," added Minister Moore. "The Copyright Modernization Act balances the needs of creators and users. And, most importantly, it will ensure that creators all across Canada know that their work will be protected in Canada and abroad."
The Bill now moves to the Senate for review and debate, and once passed, will be granted Royal Assent. Before coming into force, it will go through an order-in-council process over the coming months.
A number of cultural organization ranging from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) to the Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA) and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) issued a joint statement urging the Senate to “seriously consider amendments to mitigate the destructive effects of the Bill C-11 on contributions that artists, creators and producers make to the knowledge economy”.
According to the coalition, the Bill, as it stands, puts at risk “significant amounts of annual revenue”. Canadian writers and publishers, for example, could suffer from the potential impacts of the new, vaguely defined exemption for education under fair dealing, while the list of exceptions could wipeout well-established sources of revenue for artists, creators and producers in the music industry.
“We are deeply disappointed that none of our recommendations have been taken into account by the House of Commons”, said ACTRA’s national executive director Stephen Waddell, in the statement. “C-11 is now heading to the Senate where we hope Senators will pay more attention to our concerns.”
– Lesley Hunter
