Canadian Gov't Considers Plan To Block Public Domain

An anonymous reader writes "Canada celebrated New Year's Day this year by welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Carl Jung into the public domain just as European countries were celebrating the arrival of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, 20 years after both entered the Canadian public domain. The Canadian government is now considering a plan to enter trade negotiations that would extend the term of copyright by 20 years, meaning nothing new would enter the public domain in Canada until at least 2032. The government is holding a public consultation with the chance for Canadians to speak out to save the public domain."

Comments

For me, this begs the question

[jtseng]

Who's paying for this legislation? Is it the same cast of characters that does the same shenanigans in the US?

Re:For me, this begs the question

[doconnor]

Corporate political donations are banned in Canada and individual donations are limited, so it's not the money. It's just that the elected leaders happen to believe corporations should get whatever they want.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[drunkennewfiemidget]

Wait, and you believe for a second that they change anything?

They can't make donations, but they can let politicians into their swanky dinner parties for free.

And they can let the politicians and their families borrow their stately manor in the Muskokas.

And so on and so forth. Don't think for a second our corrupt collection of assholes in parliament aren't still benefitting HUGELY from these corporations.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[SuricouRaven]

Plus this is a media lobby - they can offer discounted TV slots, or better slots, or favorable news coverage. It doesn't even have to be a shady under-the-table deal - any politician can work out that the media will be on good terms with him if he is with them.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[Anonymous Coward]

Language loses value as we stop using it correctly. People can no longer use the phrase correctly. Now politicians can give half answers and people don't know how to describe it. Thanks for making English suck.

You probably also think a "hacker" is a mean guy that steals money from your bank account too, don't you? And that virii is the plural for computer virus. And when you illegally download a Metallica song, you're a thief. I mean, language evolves. Get over it.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[ackthpt]

This raises a question. Unless you are down on your knees, pleading hopelessly with a language construct. I beg of you to please know what the phrase "begs the question" means. Please!

It beggars belief.

Re:For me, this begs the question

[Anonymous Coward]

Who's paying for this legislation? Is it the same cast of characters that does the same shenanigans in the US?

It's the Extreme Right of the Stephen Harper Conservatives. They are pro-corporate and anti-consumer. Some of the Harper Conservative initiatives:
- eliminate universal health care
- support warrantless internet surveillance
- support Internet Usage Based Billing (reversed stance do to public outcry just before election, though the government passed a watered-down UBB-type measures afterwords)
- increase criminal penalties for recreational drug violations (and spend billions of dollars on new penitentiaries during an economic crisis)
- eliminate and weaken gun control legislation (he stated, for example that people who refuse to register fire arms with the government will make criminals out of innocent citizens)
- supported increased censorship of the Internet and movie industries
- unequivocal support for the state of Israel and rejection of any Palestinian claims
- constantly campaigns to lower taxes on corporations
- wants to eliminate any form of social welfare
- took a leadership role in rejecting Kyoto
- is a global warming denier
- is anti-abortion (and of course, is pro-death penalty)
- likes to do business with the corrupt Chinese government and their corporations
- The Wikileaks people discovered that the Harper Conservatives secretly urged the United States to put Canada on a worst-offenders list of copyright violators and bittorent users (to help with the pro-copyright propaganda campaigns)

Here are some Stephen Harper quotes:

Human rights commissions, as they are evolving, are an attack on our fundamental freedoms and the basic existence of a democratic society... It is in fact totalitarianism. I find this is very scary stuff.

[Regarding the lies that the second Iraq War was based on, and the terrorism that resulted from it:]
On the justification for the war, it wasn't related to finding any particular weapon of mass destruction.

We should have been there shoulder to shoulder with our allies. Our concern is the instability of our government as an ally. We are playing again with national and global security matters.

===

I believe that all taxes are bad.

In terms of the unemployed... don't feel particularly bad for many of these people. They don't feel bad about it themselves, as long as they're receiving generous social assistance and unemployment insurance.

[S]ome basic facts about Canada that are relevant to my talk... Canada is a Northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term, and very proud of it.

Kyoto is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations.

Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status.

Same sex marriage is not a human right. ... [U]ndermining the traditional definition of marriage is an assault on multiculturalism and the practices in those communities.

These proposals included cries for billions of new money for social assistance in the name of âoechild povertyâ...

If Ottawa giveth, then Ottawa can taketh away⦠This is oÂne more reason why Westerners, but Albertans in particular, need to think hard about their future in this country. After sober reflection, Albertans should decide that it is time to seek a new relationship with Canada. â¦Having hit a wall, the next logical step is not to bang our heads against it. It is to take the bricks and begin building another home â" a stronger and much more autonomous Alberta. It is time to look at Quebec and to learn.

"activist judges" [I can't seem to find a direct quote, but there are references to Harper complaining about "liberal activist judges".]

And finally, not Harper himself, but one of his henchmen calling pe

Asking the public to save public domain

[Anonymous Coward]

The public domain needs to be defended from the government? That thing that supposedly represents the will of the public?

Holy shit, what a world we live in.

No, it IS the USA.

[bussdriver]

Wikileaks shows the US government and especially the State Dept. work on behalf of the big moneyed interests which historically were US organizations but not so much today. I'm just waiting for the day a leak shows them going to bat for Chinese interests.

Just recently we have news of them actually threatening Spain to be more draconian and not that many years ago they were threatening Spain again but that time it was to allow GM foods wholly "owned" by Monsanto to the point where they were directly planning with Monsanto execs on the maneuver.

Other nations do it a little but nobody has topped the USA at it; one of the few things we are still #1 at. (see France and the privatization of water.)

Sadly, this will pass

[sinij]

Sadly, this is all but done deal. Traditional Canadian values are being traded for closer ties with US. Conservative Harper government has an ability to pass this, in exchange getting border harmonization (less restrictions on shipping) with US.

It is the money

[betterunixthanunix]

It is the money being used to buy off US politicians, who then put pressure on Canadian politicians. The US is Canada's biggest trading partner and visa versa, so what the US wants has a big impact on what the Canadians do.

Speaking as a Canadian...

[jenningsthecat]

...I urge every Canadian reading this to send an e-mail expressing your (reasonably worded and well-considered) views to consultations@international.gc.ca. I also suggest that you write to or e-mail your Minister of Parliament, and any other MP's that are involved in the process of destrying the Public Domain in Canada.

In the past these letter writing campaigns have resulted in unfavourable and unfair Internet legislation in Canada being rejected, and although the current Conservative majority does not bode well for maintaining a healthy Public Domain, it's still worhwhile trying. In my view these issues are like elections - if you don't weigh in and make yourself heard, you have no right to complain about the outcome. So please raise your voices in an effort to stop this ill-conceived attack on the public good.

Re:at some point

[Nugoo]

America has forgotten something important about canadian parliament. Namely, that it is a wholly divorced entity from the united states and free to make laws, rules and regulations sans-input from it; which is coincidentally completely divorced from the concept of 'soverign nationality.'

More importantly, so has Canada.