Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights
 

As if the pressure from US based lobby groups and trade organizations like the USTR and the MPAA wasn’t threatening enough to Canadian sovereignty, it now appears that the European Union has decided to throw its weight around in an effort to influence Canadian policy. Canada and the EU are in the midst of negotiating the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The virtues of such Agreement are being bestowed by Industry Canada as:

Liberalizing trade in goods and services could bring a potential 20% boost to bilateral trade and GDP gains of up to $12 billion (or €8.2 billion) for Canada by 2014. A CETA with the EU could deliver commercial benefits across many goods sectors, including aerospace, chemicals, plastics, wood products, aluminum, fish and seafood, light vehicles and automotive parts, and agriculture products such as wheat, beef, and pork; it could also deliver benefits across services sectors such as transportation, engineering and computer services. The study also shows potential for enhancing the relationship in areas such as investment, labour mobility, regulatory cooperation, environment, and science and technology.

However, as the omnipresent Michael Geist and The Wire explain, the devil is in the details. While this new trade agreement may indeed be beneficial to boosting bilateral trade and providing all the economic advantages that come with it, it also provides a conduit to shaping and influencing Canada’s domestic IP polices. A recently leaked document outlines plans for increased political pressure against Canada and dismisses the 2009 consultations on copyright as a “tactic to confuse”.

Now a second document has leaked, though it is not currently available online. The Wire Report reports that an EU document dated November 16, 2009, features candid comments about Canada and the EU strategy. The document, called a “Barrier Hymn Sheet” leaves little doubt about the EU’s objective:

“Put pressure on Canada so that they take IPR issues seriously and remedy the many shortcomings of their IPR protection and enforcement regime…”

The document states that the trade negotiations are a “unique opportunity [for Canada] to upgrade its IPR regime despite local anti-IPR lobbying.” It includes an assessment of recent copyright reform efforts, noting that two bills have died due to “political instability.” The document adds that the copyright reform process was revived in 2009 with the national copyright consultation, but notes dismissively it may have been a “tactic to confuse.”

CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes offers its take on Canadian copyright reform as they explore the historical struggle between technology and the content industry.

Unfortunately the search function on the official Government website for copyright reform has been broken since the day the site launched. The Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights is proud to announce the launch of its own copyright consultation search tool aimed at filling this void.

Our copyright consultation search engine is currently limited to searching official submissions however we plan on adding the ability to search submissions and discussions independently as well as viewed cached pages of the Government website in the coming days.

With less than 5 days remaining in the Canadian Government’s consultations on copyright reform (ends Sep 13, 2009) all Canadians are encouraged to speak out this crucial issue now while the opportunity exists. To that end the Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights has updated its position on copyright reform in Canada (PDF). This position statement has also been formally submitted to the consultations on copyright reform.

The CCER physically mails a copy of every letter submitted via our letter wizard to each of the ministers responsible for copyright reform in Canada

TorrentFreak has posted an article entitled: Prevent Canada from Becoming a Copyright Police State. In this article, Ernesto details how the old guard of corporate interests and lobby groups are threatening to direct copyright legislation in such a way to protect their antiquated and outmoded business models.

Well, TorrentFreak appears to have struck an especially sensitive chord amongst Canadians as the CCER has seen a tremendous boost in its Letter Writing Wizard submissions. Less than 24 hours ago @copyrightcanada tweeted “We’ve received over 1000 formal submissions!” Since this tweet went out CCER has received more than 1300 submissions to the official consultations on copyright via our letter writing wizard, more than doubling the number of submissions to the Government consultations on copyright thus far.

Although it is the middle of summer, and the Government’s Copyright Consultation website has not been well advertised and the Round Tables have been criticized as closed door and imbalanced, the opinions and passion of average Canadians cannot be ignored.

As a consumer of digital media and electronics you stand to be greatly impacted by changes to Canada’s copyright regime. Fortunately, the Government wants to hear from consumers and creators alike so that the interests of all Canadians can be taken into account. Until September 13, 2009 you can participate in the recently launched government consultations on copyright by visiting www.copyrightconsultation.ca and registering for an upcoming townhall meeting, webcast or by making a submission via email.

If we do not voice our concerns en masse we run the risk of having a draconian system of copyright rules imposed upon us. Imagine living in a country where corporations dictate how you consume information and media and utilize technology. Canadians need to speak out against such proposals and push for greater flexibility in the law to provide a balanced, fair approach on digital reforms. To that end, Michael Geist has just launched www.speakoutoncopyright.ca. The site is designed to inform and help foster greater participation by bringing together online discussion (ie. the Twitter #copycon stream), postings, videos, news reports, etc.

The Canadian Coalition for Electronic Rights has also updated its letter wizard allowing you to easily submit your concerns in both official languages directly to the government copyright consultations as well as those minsters responsible for modernizing Canada’s Copyright Act.

En tant que consommateur de médias numériques et électroniques, vous serez directement affectés par les changements du régime de droit d’auteur canadien. Heureusement, le gouvernement désire entendre la voix des consommateurs et des créateurs, afin que les intérêts de tous les canadiens soient pris en compte. Jusqu’au 13 septembre 2009, vous pouvez participer à la consultation publique sur les droits d’auteur que le gouvernement vient de débuter, en visitant le site http://droitdauteur.econsultation.ca. Vous pouvez aller en personne dans les assemblées publiques ou être présent durant les diffusions en simultané sur le web, ou à tout le moins exprimer votre position par un message ou email.

Si nous n’envoyons pas un message clair au gouvernement en exprimant notre opinion, nous risquons de nous faire imposer un système de droits d’auteur draconien: Imaginez vivre dans un pays où les corporations seraient en mesure de dicter comment vous pouvez utiliser vos médias et les technologies qui s’y rattachent…. Les canadiens doivent se lever pour s’opposer à l’approche proposée dans la réforme des droits d’auteurs, et exiger des lois flexibles pour un obtenir un juste équilibre. À cette fin, Michael Geist a fait le lancement du site www.speakoutoncopyright.ca. Ce site ontient une foule de renseignements et encourage les participants à discuter en ligne (par le flux Twitter #copycon), rapporter des nouvelles, écrire des commentaires, poster des videos, etc.

La coalition canadienne pour les droits numérique a aussi mis à jour la lettre que vous pouvez envoyer en français ou en anglais, directement au comité de consultation des droits d’auteurs et aux ministres responsables de la modernisation des droits d’auteurs canadiens.

As promised the Canadian Government has put into place some details for its nationwide consultation on copyright modernization. The official website has been launched, ironically running on open source software, reminding one of the old idiom, actions speak louder than words. Not the most pleasing website ever seen, nor the most technically advanced, lets hope what it lacks in usability is made up for in content and effectiveness.

The website proves to be a decent clearinghouse for its calendar of events, most notably the Round Tables and Town Halls. While criticism is emerging regarding the closed-door, invitation only Round Table sessions, one can only hope the audio and video from these sessions will be released in their entirety to make up for this lack of transparency. Regarding the Town Halls, while Clement had indicated that the consultations would be coming to ‘a pasture near you’ turns out that unless your pasture backs onto Toronto or Montreal, the Town Hall will not be so near you and your only option will be an email submission or webcast participation.

Although the Conservative Government is to be commended for seemingly making an effort to consult on copyright, a number of concerns remain. For instance reports that the government intends on fast-tracking this legislation is very worrisome. There is word that the Government is looking to get a copyright reform bill signed into law before Christmas. Seeing as parliament will not be sitting again until Sept. 14, 2009 this bill would need to successfully navigate multiple readings and committee hearings in both the house and senate prior to being given royal ascent all in less than 3 months, whereas most legislation takes an absolute minimum of 6-8 months.

So the time is nigh to mobilize the troops. Be sure to post your responses/comments to the topics, register for the Town Halls (Toronto, Montreal) either the webcast or actually attending and submit your formal submission here. Time will tell if Clement and Moore are truly committed to doing things differently, however, if we all speak out we cannot be ignored.