Proposed Canadian DMCA
This is way off the map of my normal entries here, but I’m so angry about the way that this proposed legislation is being pushed through that I’m going to post a mini-rant.
The proposed Canadian DMCA is a copyright law that’s more stringent than the ten-year-old American version that resulted in lawsuits against over twenty thousand Americans and didn’t stop infringement or pay anything to artists. No similar legislation is to be found in any other Western Nation.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice has been noticeably reluctant to discuss the DMCA and has refused to address the over 250 questions that were gathered by the CBC, and we now hear that the proposed legislation is on the Notice Paper for the Canadian Parliament for next week. Jim Prentice is hosting an open house at his constituency office in Calgary tomorrow, I hope that lots of people drop by to ask him “Why is it that the US is allowed to dictate Canadian policy?”
One of the questions on the CBC list is quoted below:
I’d like to remind Mr. Prentice that he was elected by individual Canadians not by US Corporations, and that his actions should be for our best interests and not for the benefit of foreign groups, be they government or private sector.
Stand up for Canada!
Posted by: Alan Brand | November 29, 2007 02:33 PM
UPDATE : 10 December, 2007
A report of the protest meeting at Jim Prentice’s constituency office on Saturday can be found here and here. It would appear that the Minister was more interested in talking at the media cameras than with the concerned citizens.
Word is that the Minister and his advisers were surprised by the public outcry and are scrambling to rethink the entire issue.
UPDATE : 11 December, 2007
Both CBC and CP carry reports that the Bill will not be tabled this week as originally announced.