Bill C-209 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill C-209 amends the Copyright Act to eliminate copyright protections for works prepared or published by the Crown or government departments, while preserving any other rights or privileges the Crown may have.
Bill C-209 changes Canadian copyright law so that the government (the Crown) and government departments cannot hold copyright in works they create or publish. This means that documents, reports, and other materials prepared by or under the control of the federal government would not be protected by copyright, making them available for wider public use. The bill includes a transitional provision stating that any copyright the government currently holds in such works would end when this bill comes into force. The bill is careful to note that this change does not affect any other legal rights or privileges the Crown may have under other laws.
- Replaces section 12 of the Copyright Act with a new provision stating that no copyright can exist in works prepared or published by or under the direction or control of Her Majesty or any government department
- Declares that any existing copyright held by the government in such works ceases to exist when the bill comes into force
- Preserves the Crown's other rights and privileges beyond copyright
- The federal government (the Crown)
- Government departments
- The public (who may benefit from unrestricted access to government-created works)
- Anyone seeking to use or reproduce government documents and publications
- The government cannot hold copyright in works it prepares or publishes
- The public gains the ability to use government-created works without copyright restrictions
- The Crown retains any other rights or privileges it may have under law
- The bill takes effect on a day to be determined (the day on which the bill comes into force) — the specific date is not stated in the bill text
- The exact date when the bill comes into force is not specified in the bill text
- The scope of 'rights or privileges of the Crown' that are preserved by the bill is not defined in this bill and would depend on other laws
- The bill does not define what constitutes a work 'prepared or published by or under the direction or control' of government, so interpretation of these terms may be necessary
Changed the rule about copyright for government works from the previous version to a new version that prohibits copyright from subsisting in any work prepared or published by the Crown or government departments
Source: Section 1
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
Bill C-209 has not yet reached its First Reading in the Senate and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-209, an Act to amend the Copyright Act concerning Crown copyright, has not yet reached the First Reading stage in the Senate. The bill's latest activity was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 19, 2020. The bill is currently outside the Order of Precedence, meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps in the Senate. A similar bill, C-440, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-209 has not yet reached the Senate Second Reading stage and is currently outside the Order of Precedence, having previously passed First Reading in the House of Commons.
The provided text indicates that Bill C-209, concerning Crown copyright, has not yet reached the Second Reading stage in the Senate. It is currently outside the Order of Precedence. The bill was first introduced and read in the House of Commons on February 19, 2020. A similar bill, C-440, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-209 has not yet reached the Third Reading stage in the Senate and is not currently scheduled for debate.
The Senate has not yet reached the Third Reading stage for Bill C-209. The bill is currently outside the Order of Precedence, meaning it has not been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps in the Senate. The latest activity recorded for this bill was its introduction and first reading in the House of Commons on February 19, 2020. A similar bill, C-440, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-209, aiming to amend the Copyright Act regarding Crown copyright, was introduced and received first reading in the House of Commons on February 19, 2020, and is now outside the Order of Precedence.
This record indicates that Bill C-209, an Act to amend the Copyright Act concerning Crown copyright, completed its first reading in the House of Commons on February 19, 2020. At this stage, the bill was formally introduced and given first reading. It is currently listed as 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps.
On February 19, 2020, Bill C-209, concerning Crown copyright and amending the Copyright Act, was introduced in the House of Commons.
On February 19, 2020, during the first reading stage in the House of Commons, Bill C-209, an Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright), was introduced. The Hansard record for this day shows proceedings including Statements by Members, Oral Questions, Routine Proceedings, Government Orders, and Adjournment Proceedings. Within Routine Proceedings, under the heading 'Copyright Act', a motion was moved to introduce Bill C-209. The motion was deemed adopted, the bill was read the first time, and ordered to be printed. The rest of the sitting involved debates on other matters and procedural business.
Bill C-209, concerning Crown copyright amendments to the Copyright Act, has completed first reading in the House of Commons but has not yet reached the Second Reading stage and is not currently scheduled for debate.
This record describes the status of Bill C-209, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright), at the Second Reading stage in the House of Commons. It indicates that this stage has not yet been reached. The bill was introduced and received first reading on February 19, 2020. It is currently 'Outside the Order of Precedence', meaning it has not yet been scheduled for debate or further procedural steps.
Bill C-209, concerning Crown copyright amendments, has not yet reached the committee stage in the House of Commons, having only completed first reading.
This artifact indicates that Bill C-209, an Act to amend the Copyright Act concerning Crown copyright, has not yet reached the stage of 'House of Commons Consideration in committee'. The bill was introduced and received first reading on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, and its current status is 'Outside the Order of Precedence'. A similar bill, C-440, was introduced in a previous Parliament.
Bill C-209 concerning Crown copyright has not yet reached the Report stage in the House of Commons and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This artifact describes Bill C-209 at the Report stage in the House of Commons. The bill has not yet reached this stage, as it is currently "Outside the Order of Precedence". The last recorded activity for this bill was its introduction and first reading on February 19, 2020. The summary also notes a similar bill, C-440, that was introduced in a previous Parliament with the same purpose.
Bill C-209, concerning Crown copyright amendments to the Copyright Act, has not yet reached the Third reading stage in the House of Commons and is currently outside the Order of Precedence.
This artifact describes the status of Bill C-209, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (Crown copyright), at the "House of Commons Third reading" stage. However, the stage has not yet been reached, and the bill is currently "Outside the Order of Precedence". The latest activity noted for this bill was its introduction and first reading on February 19, 2020. The artifact also references a similar bill, C-440, introduced in a previous Parliament.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced