Tracey Arial

The key issue for creators in Canada has been the copyright reform process that has been going on in Canada since 1995.

The Federal Government will pass another bill this spring, and lets hope that this time they get it right by including several "creators' rights clauses" that give the initial creator of any work more rights than other copyright owners. This compromise is the only thing that can connect the needs of creators, who need economic viability, and internet freedom advocates, who want to limit commercial copyright exploitation in favour of a public domain.

• For a summary of this idea, please refer to my submission to the 2009 Copyright Reform Consultation, at Copyright Opinion, 2009.
• For more information about copyright and other political issues that apply to writers, refer to the Guide to Government Action for Independent Writers in Canada by Tracey Arial with Trudy Kelly Forsythe; Toronto: 2009; 169 p.: 30 cm; ISBN 9780981235202. For a copy of this book, refer to the web page at Guide to Government Action.