Slashdot Mirror
U.S. Senators Pressure Canada on Canadian DMCA
An anonymous reader writes "The U.S. copyright lobby brought out some heavy artillery last week as
it continued to pressure Canada to introduce a Canadian DMCA. U.S.
Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins gave a public
talk in which he described Canadian copyright law as the weakest in
the G7, while Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Cornyn wrote to
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to urge him to bring in movie piracy
legislation."
"There's a lot of pirating that goes on, a lot of counterfeiting of movies and songs" and "it really does cost the Canadian economy a huge amount every year, estimated to be from some 10 to 30 billion (dollars) per year,"
30 million Canadians
$30 Billion per year
$1000 per Canadian
Seems a little excessive!
Also to claim that it is costing the Canadian economy is actually the opposite of the truth. If Canadians were spending that much and the money was going towards US companies, then the amount of money exported would increase and the value of the Canadian dollar would drop.
While if the money is spent on Canadian based items, or investments, it actually benefots the Canadian economy more than anything else.
Scary thing is that Stevie the Cowboy will likely agree to this...
The problem is that the response wont be. Steven Harper has a reputation for being a lap-dog of the US/UK.
The only way to stop Canadian copyright laws being perverted is by taking action. Send letters to your MP, if this becomes a bill in Parliament then see if there's a peaceful protest you can attend. Make the government clearly realise that voters do not want a Canadian DMCA and that current copyright laws (particularly the clauses for 'fair use' this threatens) are good enough.
There is no compelling reason to have a Canadian DMCA. Harper has been deterred from ditching Kyoto, he can be deterred from this too.
I'm going to transform myself into a mighty hawk. Either that or I'll just go and work at Dixons, haven't decided yet.
...please tell Senator Feinstein what you think of the DMCA and her support of it.
http://feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
Actually, I already did tell the politicians to do that.
But in nice language that they would actually read.
Oh, and the person to contact is David Emerson Contact Page
And remember kids, you can mail a letter FREE (no postage required) to the government if you want.
Not quite. Really close, but not quite. Dave's the Minister for International Trade. You'll want your local MP or the Heritage Ministry. Your local MP may not care that much about you. I'd write to them, sure, but CC them the letter that you're sending to the Heritage Critics.
In Canada, we actually have a group whose job it is to criticize the actions of the ruling party. We call them "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition". It is their job and duty to ensure that the ruling party doesn't get too far out of hand.
The Heritage Minister (for Copyright stuff, including CCRA fees) is The Honourable Beverley J. Oda. You know how we've got a minority government and a multi-party system? Well, poor ol' Bev has no less than THREE people watching and critiquing her every move.
Charlie Angus, NDP Heritage Critic
Ms Christina Keeper, Liberal Heritage Critic
M. Maka Kotto, Bloc Heritage Critic
You may want to let those critics know that:
1. You're concerned about the recent lobbying around Bev,
2. You feel that the critics should be ever watchful about how American interests are attempting to take over Canada's sovereign rights and heritage.
3. Having American companies dictate when Canadians can use their equipment or listen to Canadian music is unconscionable.
M. Kotto will likely set Bev on fire. Just make sure you write in French.
---
ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.