SENATORS’ STATEMENTS — Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada

Honourable senators, this Friday, November 7, the Canadian Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers, or SOCAN, invites everyone to celebrate the first Canadian Music Creator Day in honour of the birthday of the renowned Alberta-born singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell.

This date aims to recognize and honour the outstanding work of all those who, through their talent and creativity, shape the soundtrack of our nation.

SOCAN boasts 200,000 members and is celebrating its one hundredth anniversary this year. It campaigns for the fair compensation of its members so that music creators are duly paid for their work.

The statistics are very worrying. Less than 10% of the music streamed in Canada on digital online listening platforms comes from Canadian creators.

However, a recent poll conducted by Pollara on behalf of SOCAN found that 81% of Canadians believe it is essential to support local music creators to ensure that our culture remains vibrant and thriving for future generations, and 87% of respondents said it is important that the music they listen to is created by humans, not artificial intelligence.

In an article published in Words & Music on October 14, 2025, Howard Druckman wrote the following:

SOCAN and other industry leaders recently spoke before the House of Commons heritage committee . . . . It was suggested that the government require AI companies to be more transparent about exactly what copyrighted music they are using. This transparency will help rights holders identify when their music is being used, and allow us to move to a proper licensing system for AI, so that creators are rewarded for their work.

Honourable senators, if we truly care about our cultural and economic sovereignty, we must do more to support our local creators and legislate and regulate appropriately to maintain a sustainable, innovative and inclusive music industry.

From Indigenous artists like Dominique Fils-Aimé, Jeremy Dutcher and Elisapie to francophone singer-songwriters such as Ariane Moffatt, Pierre Lapointe, Lisa LeBlanc and Les Hay Babies to the legendary icons Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan and Édith Butler, all of these artists create works that make Canada shine on stages around the world.

The Greek philosopher Plato said, “Music gives soul to the universe and wings to the mind.”

People also say it has extraordinary healing powers. With that in mind, I invite the people of our country to listen to, share and celebrate our very own music on November 7 and all year long.

Supporting our artists means supporting our culture, our creative economy and the living heritage of our country. By celebrating our creators, we affirm who we are: a country that believes in the power of art and artists.

I wish everyone a happy Canadian Music Creator Day this Friday.

Thank you. Meegwetch.