December 14th, 2010 – TORONTO – Performers are calling on Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore to stop spreading misinformation about the proposed extension of the private copying levy and using artists’ rights to compensation as a crass political tool. The Ministers held a press conference today in Ottawa where they repeated a number of outright falsehoods regarding the private copying levy.

“Today’s event was an election-style stunt in front of a foreign-owned retailer using young people as political props, it was completely unbecoming of two Ministers of the Crown working on the taxpayers’ dime,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA National Executive Director. “Canadian voters are smarter than to fall for this kind of political manipulation.”

ACTRA would like to set the record straight on some of the Ministers’ claims:

Claim: “The iPod Tax has been proposed and supported by all opposition parties.”

Truth: The only ‘tax’ on iPods is the HST which the Ministers’ government collects. Creators are proposing an extension of the existing levy on recording devices to compensate creators directly for the use of their work.

Claim: “The iPod Tax would add up to $75 to the price of every mp3 player and smart phone on the market.”

Truth: The $75 dollar figure is pure fiction. The CPCC has not put a price on the levy. It is the job of the independent and impartial Copyright Board to set the amount based on the item’s storage capacity and use after hearing from both manufacturers and creators, just as they have done for the current private copying levy on CDs and mini-discs. Based on past decisions, a levy on MP3 players would be would likely be $2-25 based on capacity.

Claim: “Bill C-32 includes new rights and protections to enable creators to prosper in a digital environment.”

Truth: What Bill C-32 really does is include a myriad of new exceptions that takes away creators’ rights to claim compensation for their work, including: a broad expansion of fair dealing, the ‘mash-up’ provision, the elimination of the broadcast mechanical rights and more.

Claim: “Bill C-32 includes tough tools to help rights holders combat piracy.”

Truth: Bill C-32 specifically exempts illegal file sharing sites that facilitate online theft worth millions of dollars from statutory damages, that’s hardly getting tough on piracy.

Artists want Canadians to be able to access content when and where we want. But it can’t be for free. In an ideal world, content would be easy to access and creators would get paid. Unfortunately, instead of supporting the rights of creators the Conservative government’s Bill C-32 panders to big business by focusing on digital locks, already a failed business model in music. The government claims that it’s concerned about the economy, yet it appears more than willing to negatively impact the income of millions of creative workers whose industry contributes $85 billion to Canada’s GDP.

“Creators have a right to be compensated for the exploitation of their work. Period. I’m puzzled as to why a ‘conservative’ government wouldn’t get that,” said Ferne Downey, ACTRA National President.

ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is the national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 21,000 members across Canada – the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community.

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For more information:

Carol Taverner, Public Relations Officer, ACTRA, (416) 644-1519, ctaverner@actra.ca