Artist Paddy Lamb is pictured in his studio in Edmonton, Friday, July 29, 2022. There is a proposed law change that would introduce a resale fee on an artist’s work. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson Artists should be paid when their work is resold in a twist on copyright laws that would give them a cut of collectors’ profits. Painters, sculptors and other visual artists are to be paid when their works are resold at auctions and galleries, in a government move aimed at supporting thousands of artists currently working below the poverty line. Under the copyright law reforms, drafted by Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champan and Cultural Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, artists will have a “resale right” giving them rights during the term of the copyright, according to Champagne’s office. Artists complain that they now earn nothing if paintings and sculptures increase dramatically in value. Montreal abstract artist Claude Tousignant, whose painting Acélérateur Chromatique 90 resold in 2012 for $110,000, is among the artists advocating reform of the law. It would have received $5,500 if ministers had prepared changes to copyright law when it was resold. The late Inuk artist Kenojuak Ashevak sold a work called Enchanted Owl in 1960 for $24 and later resold for $158,500. “Our government is currently advancing work on possible amendments to copyright law to further protect artists, creators and copyright owners,” said Laurie Bouchard, a spokeswoman for Champagne. “Resale rights for artists are indeed an important step towards improving the economic conditions for artists in Canada.” CARFAC, which represents Canadian artists, wants artists to receive 5% of the value of their work when it is resold and their estate to receive funds under copyright rules decades after their death. He says at least 90 countries, including the UK and France, already have artists’ resale rights, but Canada lags behind, leading many artists to abandon their art because they can’t make a living from it. There are over 21,000 visual artists in Canada and according to the 2016 census, their median income is $20,000 per year from all sources of income. “It’s important to really recognize that half of our artists live in poverty,” said April Britski, executive director of CARFAC. “We all benefit from arts and culture, and our creators deserve a better, more stable income.” The impending law change follows years of campaigning by Senator Patricia Bovey, the first art historian in the Senate. Bovey, a former director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, said France has had resale rights for more than 100 years and a change in copyright law is long overdue in Canada. The senator said she knew many artists who had sold works early in their careers for small sums and had seen them appreciate “10 times or more”. Inuit artists, who often live in remote areas and sell locally, are among those who would particularly benefit from receiving a piece of resale value at galleries and auctions. “Artists are the group in Canada that make up the largest percentage of the working poor — below the poverty line,” Bovey said. “Our artists are the ones who tell us who we are, where we are, what we’re dealing with as a society. If they can’t sustain themselves financially, we’re going to lose this really important window into who we are as Canadians.” Paddy Lamb, an Edmonton-based artist, said it’s very difficult to make a living in the arts even for established artists. He said he has seen works increase in value when artists become established and their art is sold to major galleries or auction houses. “For Inuit artists, once their work leaves Nunavut, it immediately appreciates in value … and (the artists) get nothing out of it,” he said. “This is a tool that enables artists to make a living.” He said Canadian artists know from artists in countries where resale rights already exist how important payments are to “helping people.” “Most of the payments in Britain are in smaller increments to non-A-list artists,” Lamb said. “In Australia, a lot of that goes to Aboriginal artists. What we’re asking for is a really good level of competition.” CARFAC vice president Theresie Tungilik, an artist who lives in Rankin Inlet, said it’s “unfair” artists who see work being resold don’t “get a dime out of it.” “I watch how people treat their artists,” he said. “France has done this over a hundred years ago and it is important that all Canadian artists, including Inuit artists, have the same right.”