It’s been a truly dramatic year and the cultural sector has had its share of ups and downs. Here are some of the sector’s high points and major challenges in 2020.

1. Exponential growth in online book sales

1297%: that was the increase in traffic on the website leslibraires.ca last April. There’s no doubt reading has been popular since the pandemic began.

Read the article from Radio-Canada (in French).

2. Bill C-10

In November, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault tabled Bill C-10 which will put the Web giants under the jurisdiction of the Broadcasting Act.

Read the article from The Globe and Mail.

3. Access Copyright v. York University

The case will be going to the Supreme Court of Canada. The dispute dates back to 2013 when York University decided to apply its own rules for fair dealing. Result: authors and publishers are no longer being compensated for the use of their content.

Read the announcement from Access Copyright.

4. Google offered $10 million per year to Canadian news publishers

That offer was considered clearly insufficient by the main publishers whose content is posted by Google without financial compensation. In Australia, the government is demanding $600 million for news publishers.

Read the article from La Presse (in French).

5. European reform: Google makes a step in the right direction

After months of negotiations, Google has finally reached agreements with a number of media organizations in France, and others are still to come. News publishers will be compensated for excerpts appearing in search results and for the content used on online platforms.

Read the article from Le Journal de Montréal (in French).