HERI Committee Report
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in consultation with Statistics Canada and The Canada Council for the Arts, develop and implement a data collection and sharing strategy that allows for the timely collection of book industry statistics. The Department of Canadian Heritage should present a progress report to this Committee within six months of the Government's response to this report.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
establish a permanent
inter-departmental mechanism with Industry Canada to ensure that the Competition Bureau is
made aware in a timely manner of any negative trends affecting the creation, production,
distribution or sales of Canadian-authored books. Representatives charged with this
responsibility would be required to report to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
within six months of the Government's response to this report and once a year thereafter.
The Committee recommends that the Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada get together to determine how the Competition Act could be strengthened to protect the Canadian book industry.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage, in reviewing proposed foreign investment under the Investment Canada Act, ensure that no foreign investor is allowed to take over a Canadian firm in the book industry unless credible assurances are made that the investment will increase the availability of Canadian-authored books.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Department of Finance get together and analyze the impact of the tax on books on publishing, the sales of books and reading in Canada, with a view to gauging the implications of removing the GST on books.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage conduct a study on the current economics of author royalties and report to the Committee on these changes six months after the Government's response to this report and once a year thereafter.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage,
in conjunction with the Canada Council for the Arts and Canada's major writing
organizations, arrange a series of
regionally-based professional development workshops for writers and publishers on contract
preparation.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage and / or the Canada Council for the Arts develop a strategy to increase support for authors' book tours.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage initiate an evaluation of the Public Lending Right Commission with a view to improving this important source of income for Canadian authors, translators and illustrators.
The Committee recommends that by no later than the year 2002, Legislation implementing the two World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties be introduced by the government and enacted by Parliament.
The Committee recommends that by no later than the year 2002, the Government of Canada take appropriate measures to ensure that amendments to the Copyright Act keep pace with technological change.
The Committee recommends that within a year of the presentation of this report, the Department of Canadian Heritage develop and fund a set of comprehensive tools for measuring the activities of libraries in the form of valid and up-to-date statistics relating to library funding, library spending and library usage by Canadians, including print-disabled Canadians. These impact assessment tools should be developed with appropriate input from Canada's library, publishing and academic communities, as well as representation from Statistics Canada.
The Committee recommends that in conjunction with the National Librarian and the National Archivist, the Department of Canadian Heritage immediately initiate a planning process to examine the long-term space and preservation needs of both the National Archives and the National Library.
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide additional funding to the National Library of Canada, beginning in the fiscal year 2000-2001, so that its AMICUS services may be provided at no cost to its users.
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in conjunction with the provinces and in discussion with the library community, Canada's publishers, wholesalers and booksellers, offer incentives for Canadian libraries to purchase more of their books from Canadian suppliers.
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in
consultation with the National Literacy Secretariat, the provinces, writers, publishers,
booksellers, librarians, educators, and the general public, maintain and enhance its
support for literacy programs, including programs for
print-disabled Canadians.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage establish a five-year technological transition program to strengthen all segments of the Canadian book industry. This must include authors, publishers, distributors, wholesalers, marketers, retailers, and libraries.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage
contribute to the creation of an industry-wide forum for Canadian book industry
stakeholders to deal with industry issues (e.g. developing a strategy to reduce book
returns). This forum would meet on an annual basis and be
co-sponsored by the Department.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Heritage offer to co-fund with the industry a study for the French and English language book markets that examines the mechanics of setting up an efficient, timely collection of sales information for the book selling industry, including sales through non-traditional book retailers (e.g., discount stores) and the Internet.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage assist in the development of an industry standard for Electronic Data Interchange within Canada's book industry.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage co-fund a study with key industry players aimed at developing workable strategies to reduce and eventually eliminate book returns. The outcome of this work should be an agreed upon initiative to reduce returns by a measurable amount for a set number of years.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage introduce a technological assistance start-up program to assist smaller independent, Canadian-owned booksellers and small publishers with electronic commerce initiatives. (This would be a modest level of support; for example, a program that would match the first $10,000 of money used to develop a web site.)
The Committee recommends that the Department of Heritage fund a program to digitize selected Canadian-authored titles (backlist and out of print). This support should be available to all Canadian publishers, regardless of ownership.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Heritage work with key book industry stakeholders to ensure that digitized Canadian-authored titles are available for printing on demand and e-books in such a way that copyright is protected.
The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage report annually on the health of the Canadian book industry. This should include reports on performance measures and targets for specific initiatives (e.g., royalty payments, numbers of titles, sales, returns, etc.).
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