Press Release
Review of the Copyright Act
The Book Industry Requests an Urgent Meeting with Honourable Ministers St-Onge and Champagne
Montreal, November 30th, 2023 – The Canadian book industry is pleased that a new report from the House of Commons, released last week, supports its claim that the Government of Canada should review the Copyright Act. The industry is requesting an urgent meeting with the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, on this matter.
Called to testify last spring as part of the study by the Standing Committee on Science and Research, Gilles Herman (Éditions du Septentrion), then Vice-President of Copibec, rightly pointed out that in 2012, the legislator added several exceptions to the Copyright Act allowing circumvention of intellectual property, including introducing the concept of fair dealing for educational purposes, without specifying its scope of application. Since then, most Canadian educational institutions have disengaged from the collective licensing regime they had previously adhered to, resulting in financial losses of approximately $200 million in 10 years, directly attributable to this legislative gap.
"If the Canadian government does not correct the copyright law, the risk is that the education sector of the future will no longer teach Canadian content because Canadian publishers will have simply disappeared," he affirmed.
This observation echoes the report from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage entitled Shifting Paradigms which, as early as 2019, stated that the government should amend the law "to specify that fair dealing provisions do not apply to educational institutions if the work is accessible on the market."
It is high time to close the gaps in the law and protect the future of Canadian literature.
Access Copyright, the Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL), the Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), the Canadian Authors Association (CAA), Copibec, the Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG), the Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC), The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) urge the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, and all elected officials to take action so that these fundamental recommendations in favor of Canadian education and literature soon materialize in the law.
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About the Signatory Associations
Access Copyright – Access Copyright is a collective voice of creators and publishers in Canada. A non-profit, national organization, we represent tens of thousands of Canadian writers, visual artists and publishers, and their works. Through agreements with sister organizations around the world we also represent the works of hundreds of thousands of foreign creators and publishers. This rich repertoire of content is highly valued, by educators, students, researchers, corporate employees, and others who need to copy and share content. We license the copying of this repertoire to educational institutions, businesses, governments, and others. The proceeds gathered when content is copied, remixed, and shared are passed along to the copyright-holders. These investments help to ensure the continued creation of new and innovative works.
Contact : Robert Gilbert| Communications Specialist and Affiliate Relations |rgilbert@accesscopyright.ca
Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) – The Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL) brings together the vast majority of French-language publishing houses in Quebec and Canada. Its mission is to support the growth of the publishing industry and ensure the visibility of Quebec and Franco-Canadian books nationally and internationally, particularly by advocating for the respect of copyright. Member publishing houses of the Association publish various types of works, from novels to textbooks, including essays and children's books.
Contact : Audrey Perreault | Director of Communications and Member Services | aperreault@anel.qc.ca | C: 514-808-5441
Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP) – The Association of Canadian Publishers contributes to the development and maintenance of vibrant, competitive book publishing companies, professionally managed, and owned and controlled in Canada, to support and strengthen the contribution that Canadian books make to Canada’s cultural, economic, and educational landscape. ACP represents approximately 115 Canadian-owned and controlled book publishers from across the country. The membership is diverse and includes publishers from a variety of genres. Over 80% of Canadian-authored titles are published by the Canadian-owned sector. This means a strong Canadian-owned sector is vital to the development of new Canadian authors and writers.
Contact: Jack Illingworth | Executive Director | jack_illingworth@canbook.org
Canadian Authors Association (CAA) – The Canadian Authors Association provides writers with a wide variety of programs, services and resources to help them develop their skills in both the craft and the business of writing, enhance their ability to earn a living as a writer, and have access to a Canada-wide network of writers and publishing industry professionals. We are a membership-based organization for writers in all areas of the profession—aspiring, emerging and professional—in every genre and across all writing-related professions. As a not-for-profit national arts service organization with charitable status, much of what we do benefits all writers, whether they are members or are affiliated with us as partners or through other writing groups.
Contact: Brandi Tanner | Administrative Director | office@canadianauthors.org
Canadian Publishers Council (CPC) – The Canadian Publishers’ Council, as Canada’s main English language book publishing trade association, was founded in 1910 and represents the interests of publishing companies that publish books and other media for elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, professional and reference markets, the retail and library sectors. Our members employ more than 2800 Canadians and collectively account for nearly three-quarters of all domestic sales of English-language books. Members spend over $50 million with Canadian-based book manufacturers and pay more than $25 million in royalties to Canada’s writers.
Contact: David Swail | President | dswail@pubcouncil.ca
Literary Press Group of Canada (LPG) – Founded in 1975, the LPG is a not-for-profit association that represents Canadian-owned and -operated literary book publishers from coast to coast. Our members produce books by some of Canada’s most innovative and creative writers, giving readers access to diverse voices that have not been well represented in mainstream publishing. In addition to their cultural contributions, LPG members are small businesses that support local economies through the full range of their business activities, from editorial, design, and production to marketing, sales, and distribution.
Contact : Laura Rock Gaughan | Executive Director | laurag@lpg.ca
Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) – Founded in 1977, the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ) is a professional union dedicated to defending the socio-economic rights of literary artists and promoting Quebec literature. Recognized in 1990 as the most representative association of artists in the field of literature under the Professional Status of Artists in Visual Arts, Crafts, and Literature Act and their contracts with broadcasters (as well as by the 2022 reform) and accredited in 1996 by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board for exclusive negotiation with federally regulated producers, UNEQ currently brings together nearly 1800 members from all literary practices.
Contact : Lucas Prudhomme-Rheault | Communications Manager and Assistant to the General Management | lucas.prudhomme@uneq.qc.ca
Copibec – Copibec is the Quebec collective management society for reproduction rights, a non-profit social economy enterprise specialized in copyright management. It represents over 30,000 authors and 1,300 publishing houses. Copibec provides users of copyright-protected material with simple and tailored solutions to meet their needs. On the international scale, the collective management society has agreements with over 33 foreign societies to include books, newspapers, and magazines from these countries in its repertoire. Among its members are UNEQ, ANEL, RAAV, AJIQ, FPQJ, SODEP, Quotidiens du Québec, and Hebdos du Québec.
Contact : Christian Laforce | Executive Director| c.laforce@copibec.ca
Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) – The Regroupement des éditeurs franco-canadiens (REFC) was created to enable French-language publishing houses to undertake concerted actions in the areas of marketing, promotion, representation, and training. It also promotes a partnership-oriented approach by encouraging cooperation among members and key stakeholders in the book ecosystem, thereby ensuring consultation, dialogue, and collaboration with organizations committed to the cultural development of French-speaking communities in Canada.
Contact : Stéphane Cormier | Président | scormier@prisedeparole.ca
The Writers' Union of Canada – The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. Now over 2,600 members strong, TWUC advocates on behalf of writers’ collective interests, and delivers value to members through advocacy, community, and information. TWUC believes in a thriving, diverse Canadian culture that values and supports writers.
Contact : John Degen | Executive Director | jdegen@writersunion.ca
