Thank you very much for allowing this open-mike session.
I very much endorse the presentations earlier today by Rowland Lorimer, Kevin Williams, and in particular Jerry Thompson. The Federation of BC Writers, which I represent, has the interests of literary artists very much at stake. There is some agreement with prior presenters, but there's also some disagreement.
We support the positions of Access Copyright, particularly with respect to fair dealing. This concept has been used inappropriately recently, determined on more than one occasion, as you well know, by decisions of the Federal Court and elsewhere as an excuse to make free copies of creative works without rational bonds. The purely financial reasons driving the initiatives of academic institutions have callously bypassed the intent of the fair dealing exclusion to copyright protection.
As was very well stated by Jerry Thompson, the vast majority of the authors represented by the federation are poorly paid for their contributions even before one arrives at the question of being paid for the copying of their work. Seeing large institutions arbitrarily use their creative works without payment or recognition does not appear to be fair in the least, particularly when those institutions have budgets in the hundreds of millions and they use their legal budgets against us.
We are composed of a disparate and powerless assembly, being taken advantage of individually in situations of gross economic disadvantage. This in itself calls for regulation by government of behalf of those individuals.
Just as important, the unique culture of our country is at risk. The committee has heard elsewhere, and we loudly repeat it here, if Canadian authors have no financial incentive to write of their Canadian experiences from the Canadian perspective, then there will be no such creative works made. Without that unique understanding, the view of our communities and the interactions of our people will no longer be heard, and Canadian culture will be a minor footnote in the history of the world written by a more dominant culture.
Another factor I will briefly touch on is copyright ownership. The act needs an overhaul, as so many speakers before this committee have said. The question is, what is the strategic goal of the Copyright Act? Is it a grossly financial instrument for monetizing the setting down of ideas or should there be a real vision? Should the act not be an enabler of further creation rather than providing for an affixing of dollar signs?
To answer those and several other questions, we strongly advocate for funds to be allocated for a study to take place over the next few years in preparation for the next major rewrite of the act. We would like such a study to determine the actual situation of the beneficiaries and users of the provisions of the act. We have a specific list of questions that could be the basis of a study, and we certainly want to contribute in any way we can.
Thank you.