The letters implied that it was unnecessary for the artists to ask for royalty fees for the reproduction of their work because the project was educational in nature.
This was a common claim used by galleries throughout the country in order to reproduce artists' works without having to pay to do so.
Jack Chambers, a painter from London, Ontario, received one of these letters and replied to the National Gallery of Canada with a request for fair treatment for the artists.
In tribute to the organization's founder, the Jack Chambers Memorial Foundation for Research and Educational Development Projects to Benefit Canadian Visual Artists was formed.
CAR began issuing minimum Copyright Fee Schedules which suggested how much artists should be paid when their art is exhibited or reproduced.
According to Jack Chambers in several interviews, the first fee schedule was met with great disbelief and hostility.
In 1988 CARFAC's lobbying with other similar arts organizations resulted in an amendment to the Canadian Copyright Act (R.S., 1985, c.