Call to Action

We’re running out of time to fix our Copyright Act

Date: August 7, 2024

The Union’s coalition partners at I Value Canadian Stories, have launched a late-summer campaign to apply more pressure on government to that end. We invite all Union members to participate: 

Here are three ways to take action.

1. Write to your MP,  the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry: If you only do one thing this summer, please take five minutes to visit the I Value Canadian Stories website to use the site’s letter-writing tool to send a message to your MP as well as Hon. Pascale St-Onge, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Hon. François Philippe-Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, that we are depending on them to put forward meaningful copyright reform this fall.
    
2. Ask your MP to get on board: This summer, your MP will likely be spending a lot of time in their riding. If you see your MP out and about in the community, don’t be shy. Strike up a quick conversation. All you need is a minute or so to introduce yourself as a constituent as well as your profession and give a quick elevator pitch on the need for immediate copyright reform.
   
   SAMPLE PITCH:
   Hi, my name is [your name] and I’m a professional writer who lives in this riding. For over 10 years now, my livelihood has been under threat because of changes to the Copyright Act that have deprived Canadian creators and publishers like me of royalties when their works are copied in educational institutions. Like you, I should be paid for my work. There’s a ready-made fix to restore fair compensation to creators and publishers like me that has all-party support. Can we count on your support this fall to fix our Copyright Act?
   
   The goal of your pitch is to put copyright and fair dealing on your MP’s radar and gauge their support. Offer to follow-up with more information by email and ask for the best email address to send it to or look it up at www.ourcommons.ca. Share a link to ivaluecanadianstories.ca.
    
3. Spread the word on social media: If you’re on X, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, encourage your followers to amplify the call for copyright reform this fall by posting to social media and tagging your MP as well as Ministers St-Onge and Champagne, and include the hashtags #cdnpoli and #IValueCdnStories. 
   
   SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA POST:
   We’re running out of time to fix our Copyright Act. Today, I wrote to my MP urging them to support Canadian creators & publishers this fall. Please join me & send your letter too. [tag your MP] @PascaleStOnge @fp_champagne #cdnpoli #IValueCdnStories http://ow.ly/yfCY50LPXRW

Background: 
The government has acknowledged that the marketplace for published works for the education sector in Canada is broken and that our copyright regime no longer encourages the continued creation of Canadian published works, particularly as it relates to materials that bring classroom instruction to life.

Canadian creators and publishers have been waiting now for over a decade to be fairly compensated when their published works are copied in educational institutions outside of Quebec.

In 2022, the government committed “to [ensure] that the Copyright Act protects all creators and copyright holders… [and] ensure a sustainable educational publishing industry, including fair remuneration for creators and copyright holders, as well as a modern and innovative marketplace that can efficiently serve copyright users.”

This summer marks another important time to collectively push Ottawa to keep its promise to Canadian creators and publishers. 

We know you’ve added your voice many times before to support the need for copyright reform in Canada. We hope you’ll do so again this summer to help reinforce our collective message to the federal government ahead of the fall legislative session. By raising this individual concern with your elected Parliamentarian, you are helping all writers in Canada. Click here to go to the letter-writing tool.

Tell the Government Canada’s Writers Need a Raise on PLR

Date: February 16, 2024

As you may know, The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) has long lobbied for a substantial increase to the Public Lending Right (PLR) budget, which has simply not kept pace with the growth of Canadian books in our libraries. Visit the Union’s PLR advocacy page for background on this issue.  

During the last election, the government promised a minimum 50% increase to the program budget. The mandate letter for the Minister of Canadian Heritage reflected that promise as well. As we enter PLR payment season, it’s time to remind government of their promise. 

The Association of Canadian Publishers (ACP), in partnership with l’Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL), has launched a letter-writing campaign aimed at reminding Parliamentarians about promised increases to all public funding for the book industry. Your Union joins with the ACP and ANEL in this reminder to Ottawa, and urges all members to take advantage of the ACP’s automated letter template tool to send a note to your Member of Parliament. 

The letter-writing tool uses your postal code to determine which MP gets your note, and the template itself is editable. You are encouraged to add your own personal thoughts about support for the writing and publishing sector to the letter, and TWUC strongly urges you to add a message about the Public Lending Right Program budget. 

Things you might want to say:

• Canadian authors have seen the real dollar value of average PLR payments decrease by almost 50% since the program’s launch. What’s more, title restrictions have been introduced to make the inadequate budget stretch further. 
• This government has promised to increase the program budget substantially, but that promise has not been fulfilled in successive Federal Budgets. 
• The Writers’ Union of Canada calls on the government to double the PLR program budget from $15 million to $30 million in order to make up the immediate shortfall between books in the program and available funds. Furthermore, we ask the government to commit to annual increases tied to program growth.  

The ACP is happy to have writers use their template to send letters. Spend as much or as little time on it as you wish, but please do send a letter if you can. Click here to go to the letter-writing tool.