Parliament is back this week and there are a lot of important issues on MPs' and Senators' agendas  —  from infrastructure disruptions to medical assistance in dying and the new NAFTA. Indeed, the House of Commons Trade Committee — and now possibly others — is studying the implementation bill for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA) and it should be top of mind for all Parliamentarians. It's a critical discussion not only on Canada's trade and export future, but also goes to the heart of how the small businesses that make up our country's economy are able to thrive in the interconnected global market.I've had the pleasure of leading a Canadian-owned independent music publishing business for almost two decades. As committee chair Judy Sgro and committee members like Randy Hoback, Daniel Blaikie, Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay and their colleagues study C-4, it's important to consider the urgent need to implement the copyright term extension provisions under CUSMA immediately and with no conditions to ensure that small businesses like mine and others' thrive.These provisions already apply to sound recordings under C-4 and committee members should amend the bill to include all works. This simple amendment would align Canada with its global trading partners. Commercial users that license songs typically do so worldwide and already have to secure a  license for the rest of the world, so in fact  having Canada continue to be out of step with the rest of our international trading partners continues to complicate licensing for users, instead of providing any relief. Championing innovation, entrepreneurship and Canadian songwriters in global markets Music publishers are innovators and their strong export strategies have allowed entrepreneurs like myself to better compete internationally. Two-thirds of music publishers' revenue now come from foreign sources. This is a dramatic change from 2005 when only 28 per cent was from these same foreign sources. The key to dealing with changes in technology has been our ability to expand globally.Music publishing is about championing a songwriter and a song through the lifetime of their career and that song's copyright. We take a long-term perspective and work a lot behind the scenes to create value. The most valuable songs can be covered over and over again by different artists and continue to be heard in audiovisual productions long after that first recording.The strongest and most stable publishers are those who own a balanced portfolio of songs including older recognizable songs and newer creations. The revenues from those tried and true songs allow a music publisher to take a risk to invest in an emerging songwriter.For example, we arranged co-writes for Dan Davidson in London, England  and China and financed radio promotion, which led to a top 10 Canadian country radio hit. We helped Jeen O'Brien secure J-Pop releases in Japan, as well as various placements in TV and ads for Capri Sun and Google  —  all because of the success of other songs, for example, Imagine, by John Lennon, What a Wonderful World, My Way, YMCA, Start Me Up, by the Rolling Stones, Skinnamarink by Sharon, Lois & Bram,  and even the theme to the The Simpsons, that I could create value from. No reason to wait on extending term The federal government should be applauded for agreeing to extend the term of copyright by 20 years. It is critical that this be implemented immediately, and with no conditions, rather than wait the 30 months allowable under CUSMA. The government has already committed to extending term and there's no reason to wait. Those  who oppose it clearly only want to water down the provisions and risk stifling innovation,  creativity, export potential and growth for small businesses.For instance, a number of Red Brick's titles will come into the public domain soon. Holding on to this copyright over an extra 20 years could translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars that pays for good middle class jobs, reinvestments in the Canadian economy and in Canadian songwriters and the ability to scale and export to international markets. That's just for one business. Catching up to our international trading partners is long overdue.When CUSMA was first signed in principle, it was lauded as a deal that would offer “crucial predictability and stability for Canadian businesses, investors, traders, workers, and innovators.” It's  clear this discussion matters to SMEs not only in the music sector but creative industries across the country — I hope Parliamentarians are listening.Jennifer Mitchell is president of Casablanca Media Publishing and Red Brick Songs and is a member of the board of directors of Music Publishers Canada.