The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE), representing more than 350,000 creators and over 3,000 cultural enterprises across Canada, has reviewed the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy jointly unveiled last week by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon. By focusing on digital sovereignty, the strategy unfortunately overlooks key measures needed to safeguard cultural sovereignty. The Coalition is calling for clear commitments to uphold copyright and to implement transparency measures.

Indeed, the growth of major generative AI companies relies on the unauthorized, uncompensated, and undisclosed use of high-quality, copyright-protected cultural content, including music, books, visual artworks, performers’ performances, audiovisual productions, and news articles. These works currently fuel the economic growth of some of the world’s largest technology companies.

“True innovation cannot be built on the unauthorized use of a resource as valuable as human creativity and intellectual property. The works of creators and other rights holders are strategic assets whose value must be recognized. This recognition is a fundamental prerequisite to Canada’s economic development and cultural sovereignty”, said Hélène Messier, Francophone Market, Co-Chair of the CDCE and CEO at AQPM.

The CDCE notes that, subject to limited exceptions, Canada’s Copyright Act already requires prior authorization from rights holders for the use of copyrighted works. Accordingly, the Coalition calls on the government to clearly affirm that Canada’s copyright framework is based on the principle of prior authorization and that it does not intend to introduce a broad text and data mining (TDM) exception for the benefit of AI developers. The governments of both the United Kingdom and Australia have recently abandoned proposals to introduce such an exception in response to the significant concerns raised by creators and cultural industries in their respective countries.

The development of generative AI systems grounded in this principle of prior authorization would foster the emergence of voluntary licensing markets—whether individual or collective—enabling the lawful and compensated use of copyrighted cultural content. In this regard, Canada can rely on the expertise of its well-established collective management organizations.

In addition, when the Government of Canada provides support to generative AI companies, that support should be tied to clear obligations to comply with copyright law.

In addition, the Coalition calls for mandatory measures requiring the identification of AI-generated content. This need is all the more urgent as AI-generated content has become increasingly prevalent across digital platforms. For example, Deezer reports receiving nearly 75,000 AI-generated tracks every day, representing approximately 44% of all new daily uploads. Similar trends are being observed in the publishing sector and across a range of other cultural industries.

“The cultural sector is not opposed to artificial intelligence. It is simply calling for its development to be guided by clear, transparent rules that respect copyright. Transparency regarding training data and the ability for rights holders to enter into licensing agreements are essential conditions for building an AI ecosystem that benefits society as a whole,” said Andrea Kokonis, Anglophone market, Co-Chair of the CDCE and Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at SOCAN.

Finally, the CDCE welcomes the creation of a $50 million Creative Technologies Program over five years to support Canada’s cultural sector in harnessing these new tools.

The Coalition will closely monitor the implementation of this strategy.