The Globe came out strongly in favour of an end to what it calls a “hidden subsidy” to Canadian publishers, arguing that the strength of the art will prevail over any damage to the sector. Not really sure where I stand on this. But one thing’s for sure: we all know the Globe doesn’t benefit from any hidden subsidies.

The Canadian Booksellers Association met with James Moore, the Minister of Heritage, on April 29, asking the federal government to reconsider the provisions of the Copyright Act that it says, rightly, are no longer commercially reasonable and should be removed.

The present regime favours both branch plants of foreign-owned publishers and Canadian-owned publishers that are also distributors for foreign firms under agency agreements. The Canadian-based publisher can charge up to 10 per cent more than the American price; if they charge more, then what the Copyright Act calls “parallel importation” is permitted – the same is true if a specific book is simply not being distributed.

In effect, this is a subsidy in favour of Canadian publishers, including the subsidiaries of American and other non-Canadian publishers – at the expense of book-buyers. No doubt, this has encouraged the publication of Canadian books, but in recent decades the success of Canadian literature has shown that the rationale for this trade barrier has withered away. Moreover, book-buyers can buy online from the United States and other countries.