Special envoy to the American Entertainment Industry, Jim Prentice introduced Bill C61 on June 12th that proposes new amendments to Canada’s copyright law. The copyright legislation was introduced after careful consultations with various American lobbyist groups and entertainment industry executives.
Provisions in the bill include $500.00 fines for copyright infringement and up to $20,000 fines for cracking DRM controls which include unlocking cell phones. The bill also includes anti-circumvention provisions that place almost crippling restrictions on format shifting.
Want to rip that Sloan DVD that you purchased at one of the four concerts you attended, onto your Ipod? Sorry about your luck, that’s a no go under the provisions in the new legislation. You could face litigation from an American corporation for your lack of judgement.
Want to watch a television program over an internet stream at your convenience after missing the original airing on television? That is not allowed, especially if downloading the program from something like Bit torrent. That would be a Herculean infraction with major infringement penalties attached to it.
This is the second time in six months that the federal government has tried to pass new copyright legislation as the first bill was struck down amidst major public opposition. Prentice has assured us that this time around, “he believes that he has found a Made in Canada balance for Canadian consumers who use digital technology and for everyone who creates material that becomes digitally accessible.”
You have to be kidding me?! Our beloved Industry Minister must be receiving some consultation on the science of spin from our southern neighbours! Made in Canada??… by American industry lobbyists and greedy, grey haired old boy, entertainment executives who are desperately trying to hang onto a failed business model.
Canadian consumers do not want this legislation nor do Canadian musicians and artists; even the Canadian Internet Service Providers are opposed to this so the million dollar question that needs to be asked is who is this bill made for?
It doesn’t take a Software Applications Engineer to figure out that Prentice is in the back pocket of the American entertainment industry. The Conservative government has unabashedly shown once again who they truly work for. Jim Prentice is a liar and a thief; a traitor and has backstabbed the people he is supposed to work for.
Professor Michael Geist, Cory Doctorow of Boingboing.net and numerous other Canadian citizens (71, 593 on Facebook as I write this) are vehemently opposed to the new amendments under the Copyright Act.
While the Conservatives drafted up the legislation with the American Entertainment industry as the main beneficiary, the revolution to put this bill on its deathbed will be “Made in Canada.”
Max De Luca is a freelance writer who lives in London, Ontario Canada. His short stories and articles have appeared in such publications as the Istanbul Literature Review, Inscribed Magazine and Mobius: A Journal for Social Change. He is influenced by the work of Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Hunter S Thompson and Howard Zinn. Read other posts by Max De Luca.
