CCA Bulletin 37/08 – Federal Election 2008: What to ask candidates when they solicit your vote? (Part Two)

Ottawa, Monday, September 16, 2008

In order to assist all those who are preoccupied with the place arts and culture occupy in the current electoral campaign, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) has identified seven broad areas of prime importance for artists, creators, cultural institutions and industries. The CCA has developed a set of questions for each issue: these questions can be asked to all candidates when they come knocking at the door or participate in an all party debate.

Section 2 of the Federal Election Doorstep Kit examines two key Bills which have been proposed by the Conservative government as well as the role each party sees civil society play in policy making. Bill C-10, which has caused a lot of controversy, proposes to revise the Income Tax Act, while granting what many consider to be undue discretionary and retroactive power to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Bill C-61 would amend the Copyright Act and bring it in line with the World Trade Organization Internet treaty. The third issue discusses the role of civil society in developing public policy, while questioning the evolving status of advocacy and lobbying in this process. Each set of suggested questions is preceded by a short backgrounder on the issue. We encourage you to disseminate as much as possible the replies you may get, either in writing or in a public forum.

Issue: Bill C-10 – Proposed Revisions to the Film and Video Certification Criteria

Background

Bill C-10 is a proposed set of legislative revisions to the Income Tax Act dealing with broad questions of foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts. C-10 is a voluminous and highly technical bill that addresses proposed changes to the criteria for the certification of film and video productions for tax purposes.

The initial bill was introduced by the Hon. John Manley and the Hon. Sheila Copps in 2003 and did contain the phrase “contrary to public policy”. C-10 was introduced by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. James Flaherty, and contains the same phrase which has raised concerns within many communities of interest in Canada.

By granting discretion to the Minister of Canadian Heritage to decide whether a proposed film or video production is “contrary to public policy”, many are concerned that this could lead to subjective or prejudicial judgments by any Minister or senior officials. The legislation already prohibits certification for film and video projects that violate the Criminal Code.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and International Trade was studying the proposed legislation when Parliament was dissolved for the federal election. Senators heard from the mayors of our major cities, artists, civil rights lawyers and academics condemning the overly broad “contrary to public policy” language in the legislation. They fear that this will lead to a chill in the film and video production industry which will in turn mean the loss of jobs and opportunities for Canadian creative workers.

Suggested questions

Do you support the removal of the “contrary to public policy” provision in the Bill C-10 provisions on the certification of film and video productions?

Will you and your Party support the amendments proposed by Senators Francis Fox and Wilfred Moore restricting the provisions to violations of the Criminal Code and providing an avenue of appeal to film and video producers whose projects are rejected by the Department of Canadian Heritage?

Issue: Bill C-61 – Revisions to the Copyright Act

Background

In June of this year, the federal government introduced the long-awaited amendments to the Copyright Act. The intent of this legislation is to bring Canadian copyright law into harmony with the World Trade Organization treaty on intellectual property. The Bill has received first reading but the House has risen for the summer recess before the legislation could be referred to Committee for further study.

The proposed legislation offers a broader range of exceptions than previous copyright legislation and describes itself as a “marketplace framework’ rather than the usual attempt by government to reach a” balance of interests” between creators and copyright owners and user communities.

Contemporary technologies and the creative economy rely on copyright protection for their growth and development. For artists and creators, copyright is an economic and moral bill of rights which allows them to enjoy the financial benefits from the public use of their work.

It is essential that, whatever Party forms the next government, Bill C-61 be introduced as quickly as possible and that a detailed study of the proposed legislation be undertaken by a joint legislative committee composed of members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. Such a hybrid committee will create a balance in the perspectives of the two Departments that have traditionally taken differing approaches to copyright legislation.