Extensions to be scrapped from Bill C-36

A controversial proposal to extend the term of copyright on unpublished works by deceased authors appears likely to be scrapped from Bill C-36, now before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. At a meeting June 12 in Ottawa, the committee voted to delay clause-by-clause consideration of the bill until June 17, but Canadian Heritage parliamentary secretary Carole-Marie Allard gave indication during the session that the contentious sections 21 and 22 would be on the chopping block when committee members are given a chance to propose amendments. The sections in question would extend copyright protection for unpublished works for authors who died between Dec. 31, 1929 and Jan. 1, 1949, which include papers by famed wordsmith Lucy Maud Montgomery. At the meeting, various Heritage committee members expressed surprise over the level of opposition to the measure, which was contained within a bill crafted mainly to merge the National Library and National Archives. Even Liberal member Paul Bonwick asked chair Clifford Lincoln to delay proceedings given unanticipated opposition. Saying the bill "appears to be more complex than it was last week," Bonwick supported calls from Opposition Canadian Alliance member Chuck Strahl and Bloc Québécois member Jocelyne Girard-Bujold for a five-day stay in the process. "I need more information," Bonwick said, noting that his office has been recently flooded with calls and emails, presumably from anti-copyright extension activists. Girard-Bujold was more dramatic, saying that proceeding to clause-by-clause examination of the bill on June 12 would be tantamount to "gagging the people who have no voice." Allard also objected to not having received a copy of speaking notes by federal Information Commissioner John Reid in French prior to the meeting. For his part, Strahl said that in a late-evening session the night before with staff, he failed to hammer out final versions of his proposed amendments and that he preferred an adjournment of the session until June 17 to finish drafting those and distribute them with adequate time for study by fellow committee members. Those amendments will likely mirror, at least in part, the government’s own proposed changes. Saying "90%" of the bill was proving uncontroversial, Allard said the Liberals would propose elimination of sections 21 and 22 - a move that will likely speed approval of an amended bill by the committee. Several members, including Allard and chair Lincoln, noted several times during the June 12 meeting that the majority of the bill is seen as a positive development for the Library and Archives. NDP member Wendy Lill’s prime concern with delaying committee approval was that important preservation or other projects might be set back. Responding to Lill’s questioning, Andrée Delagrave, assistant deputy minister, transformation, for the Library/Archives, said passage of the bill is crucial to move the proposed merger forward and let the new institution finalize integration plans. "We’ve gone as far as we can go as two legal entities," Delagrave told committee members. "We have two heads, we have two reporting structures. To make decisions about the future of the institution, we need one head." It now remains for those in favour of the now-moot copyright extension proposal to find another avenue to implement the measure. The heirs of the estate of Lucy Maud Montgomery - cited frequently in the current debate as the main agitators for the additional copyright protection - will find the author’s unpublished works in the public domain at the end of the year. Bruce Stockfish, assistant director general of Canadian Heritage’s copyright policy branch, in attendance at the meeting, refused to speculate on how the measure might be re-introduced, saying it was up to the committee to determine whether it would put the issue of copyright extensions on the section 92 review plate. Even if the item is added to the section 92 review agenda, however, it’s unlikely the measure would pass before the December 31 deadline. Lincoln told Canadian NEW MEDIA after the June 12 meeting that the committee would likely ask Parliament for more time - quite possibly into next year - to begin its broad review of the Copyright Act. One alternative might be to seek a private members’ bill in the Senate, as photographers have to advance their own copyright agenda. Once passed in the Senate, private senator bills are often rubber-stamped in the House of Commons.

Extensions to be scrapped from Bill C-36

News | 06/13/2003 4:00 am EDT

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