Copyright reform in Canada

Broadly, Canadian copyright law has a two-fold purpose: to protect the rights of the creators and owners of works and to permit public access to these works. In summer 2009, the Government of Canada launched nation-wide consultations to solicit opinions on the issue of copyright reform. In addition to making a submission, the Federation sent out a call to action and created a toolkit to help members respond.

Following the consultations, Bill C-32: An Act to Amend the Copyright Act was tabled in June 2010. The Federation’s copyright committee drafted a submission responding to Bill C-32 in November 2010, which was followed by a presentation by Federation Copyright Committee chair Jay Rahn to the House of Commons committee studying Bill C-32 in March 2011. Following the 2011 federal election, Bill C-32 was re-introduced into the House of Commons as Bill C-11. On June 18, 2020 Bill C-11: The Copyright Modernization Act passed its third reading in the House of Commons, and has now moved on for voting in the Senate.

Federation Copyright Committee

Comprised of experts and representatives from the scholarly community, the Copyright Committee develops positions and provides advice to the Federation's Executive Committee. Meeting on an ad-hoc basis to respond to Canadian copyright issues, their contribution is essential to help the Federation develop positions on the issue of copyright reform, and to represent the interests of the social sciences and humanities research and learning community.