Take A Stand Against The Forthcoming Canadian DMCA Bill

The Canadian equivalent of the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) will be announced in Parliament in January. It was originally slated to be tabled this week, but has been postponed after Industry Minister Jim Prentice received thousands of letters, emails and calls from people concerned that there has been absolutely no public consultation. I was discussing the situation with Retro Thing editor Bohus Blahut this morning (he's American, I'm Canadian), and he eloquently asked, "Do you think the idea of a record button is going to become Retro?"

Copyright for Canadians reports, "Unfortunately, all reports indicate that this law will not reflect Canadian interests and will tip the balance inherent in copyright irrevocably towards the interests of copyright owners at the expense of Canadian consumers, creators, educators, students, and innovators. 

The Government of Canada has been under pressure from the American government and from big foreign copyright interests to adopt extreme copyright laws similar to the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  When faced with a choice, Canada’s Conservative government chose to put Canada’s interests after American and foreign business interests.  Worse, reports indicate that the Government intends to fast track the bill."

If you're Canadian, please take the time to write to your Member of Parliament and Industry Minister Jim Prentice to keep the pressure on. You don't even need a stamp:

Mr. Jim Prentice
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

It's not too late to make a difference to ensure that you have the legal right to transfer your record collection to your iPod, timeshift a television show, or photocopy a couple of pages from a book for research use.

Read Dr. Michael Geist's commentary on the recent delay
Get the latest information at Copyright for Canadians