Canadian Copyright Official Dumped Over MPAA Conflict

An anonymous reader writes "The Canadian government's top copyright policy maker has been moved aside after revelations that she was in a personal relationship with Hollywood's top Canadian lobbyist. The development is raising questions about how the MPAA got an anti-camcording bill passed in only three weeks and what it means for the introduction of a Canadian DMCA."

Comments

Will he dump her now?

[garcia]

According to multiple sources, the personal reason involves a personal relationship with one of Canada's leading copyright lobbyists.

While Neri's personal life is no one's business but her own, this does raise troubling questions about the quick passage of Bill C-59, the anti-camcording legislation, since Neri appeared as a witness before a Senate hearing on the bill with the lobbyist in the room.

I'd be interested in watching the speed at which she is "dumped" by the lobbyist now that she has no power to help advance his career.

Re:Will he dump her now?

[MicktheMech]

Well yeah, but the point is that she's now a sleazy, corrupt EX-politician, so the situation has changed for the lobbyist.

Sleazy or not, she's wasn't a politician. She was a Director-General, part of the civil service; a bureaucrat. She's not even an appointee, order in council doesn't kick in until ADM.

Re:Will he dump her now?

[badfish99]

Neither is there an inherant right for business models to be propped up by government legislation, especially when there is already the remedy of breach of civil contract.

Re:Will he dump her now?

[k8to]

If a site is anti-copyright it must be wrong?

Sorry it still isn't theft, no matter how many times you say it so. The term in both vernacular and legalese is incorrect.

Not what I was expecting....

[downix]

I was expecting some kind of payola, maybe free vacations, a car, ya know, the usual. But when the Canadian Lobbyist told his bosses he'd really give it his all...

No Surprise

[Ethanol-fueled]

Given that the lobbyists are always in bed with the lawmakers ;)

Duties to be Determined

[loid_void]

From the article, "has been removed from her position to become a special advisor to Assistant Deputy Minister Jean-Pierre Blais with "duties still to be determined."

I see a follow-up article here.

I didn't even realize that law had passed

[freeweed]

Funny, I figured that legislation had no hope in hell of going anywhere.

So there I, after paying my $15 to watch a movie this weekend, and this commercial comes on. Guy in a prison cell. Looks hardcore, like a gang thug or something. The tag line is to the effect of "cameras can watch this dude all day long now... because he DARED bring a camera into a movie theatre".

I just about bust a gut laughing, then realized it was serious: there's a "Operating a recording device in a movie theatre is now illegal in Canada" message at the end.

How fucking pathetic.

Fuck them. I'm officially downloading from here on in. HEY SHITHEADS: I JUST PAID TO SEE YOUR FUCKING MOVIE. PLEASE STOP THREATENING ME WITH A FUCKING PRISON TERM.

Yes, I'm that angry. Even having a minority government didn't stop this horseshit from passing.

Re:I didn't even realize that law had passed

[ceoyoyo]

Well, remember that when you vote next time (which probably won't be long from now, seeing as it's a minority government and all). Contrary to what our American friends think, it's MUCH easier to vote out a government that's doing things you don't like than it is to conduct an armed revolution.

Re:What it means...

[SpottedKuh]

[Re: Whether 2nd Ammendment rights protect citizens' other rights in the U.S.]: Actually, it works well. We still have them. So we have one final defense.

I gave a lot of thought to your answer. In the end, what puzzled me was how you treat the right to own guns as an end in itself, rather than as a means to an end. What I mean is this: your reply seems to indicate that even if you lose all of your other rights, except the right to own guns, that this is somehow still a small victory for you. But, it seems to me that the original intention of your 2nd Ammendment was to be proactive -- namely, that the right to own guns should prevent your government from ever taking away your rights (fearing rebellion from an armed militia). At least in my opinion, as a non-American observing your politics from afar, this has failed (beating the Patriot Act example to death, here). What victory is there for your rights if you have a complacent (but armed!) population?

You just don't hear about how many crimes are actually prevented by guns.

Indeed, this is a very good point. It is much easier to produce statistics on how many gun deaths occured, rather than on how many crimes were prevented by guns. This argument seems to be a cornerstone of people who support arming the population.

Unfortunately, your statement was more accurate than you intended, perhaps. I don't hear about how many crimes are prevented by guns. In order for me to consider your argument that guns prevent crime as a valid argument, I would need at least some indication that the number of crimes preveted is large.

The only "indication" that I've ever seen produced is a thought game, which I've only ever heard as some variant of: "Would you rob that liquor store, if you knew the clerk was packing?" Yet, were that rationale valid, there would be far fewer liquor store robberies per capita in parts of the world where people are armed to the teeth (all other factors being equal, to rule out secondary causes of crime such as poverty, etc.). If I could see that evidence, or if anyone could point me in the right direction to it, then I would be able to assign a lot more weight to your argument.

Re:the hilton effect

[Pig Hogger]

I want her hung.

Not hung. Have her walk the plank. Arrrrr!!!!!

Re:the hilton effect

[alshithead]

Okay, I posted just last night that I try to not put on my grammar Nazi hat as frequently as I used to...

However...

"I'm a Canadian, not a copyleft movement. She's a traitor. I want her hung."

You want her hanged if you want her executed by hanging. You want her hung if you want her be a hermaphrodite. :)