CHPC Committee Report

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT FOR THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- REVIEW OF THE CANADIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY

The New Democratic Party would like to thank the many stakeholders who took the time to share their thoughts with us on the current state of the Canadian music industry. We believe this exercise will benefit and serve to educate all political parties.

The NDP was committed to carrying out a thorough investigation that focuses on the issues currently facing this industry, and those that are likely to arise in the future. The consensus that has emerged on almost all recommendations in the report eloquently demonstrates the commitment of all political parties to work together in producing a constructive and useful report for policy-makers.  That being said, the NDP would like to express our reservations regarding recommendation 8.

The Committee’s study revealed that, based on the testimony we heard, stakeholders overwhelmingly support federal government actions to encourage Canada’s creative industries in the digital age, in the context of a legislative and regulatory framework strained by these rapidly changing realities.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage already submitted recommendations to the government in February 2011, citing new challenges facing digital media and emerging outlets.  The government responded to these recommendations with three years of silence and idling, and no action was taken until the spring of 2014, when the Minister of Industry published a Digital Canada strategy lacking any real new initiatives for Canadian cultural industries. There is clearly a major vacuum in the government’s cultural and economic agenda.

When it comes to recommendation number 8 regarding the Music Entrepreneur Component (Canada Music Fund), the New Democratic Party would like to point out that not a single witness recognized the need to make these major changes being proposed by the committee. Of course, it goes without saying that such an important proposal should have been brought up with stakeholders and witnesses, but no questions were raised on this topic when there was opportunity to do so. The NDP believes that such structural changes should not be made without consulting with industry stakeholders; as a result the NDP is unable to support recommendation number 8. Potential effects of such changes, be they positive or negative, were not explained to Parliamentarians as part of this study.

The New Democratic Party believes that this report fails to note the testimony of the many stakeholders who clearly expressed the desire for the Canadian government to increase the proportion of public funding through FACTOR/Musicaction. To safeguard the credibility of such an important study, all opinions – no matter how divergent – deserve to be reported. 

As the first to feel the effects of the digital shake-up, the musical industry took the opportunity during these hearings to point out many of the challenges that artists have been facing as their audience migrates towards new platforms. Music, like television and film, is at the heart of Canadian identity. The NDP believes that the music industry’s strength, its sustainability and its accessibility need to be at the centre of the government’s priorities. 

More specifically, in an effort to support the industry, the government must consider the evolving realities, diversity of expressions and voices (emerging vs. established artists), broadcasting of Canadian content, and how Canadians listen to music. This can be accomplished by studying new ways to support artists through regulatory and fiscal instruments, and by supporting the tourism industry, for example. These efforts should include a long-standing NDP proposal, income averaging for artists.