My MP is James Rajotte. He is from the same party as Minister Prentice, but I’m sincerely hoping that he is more inclined to keep the party’s promise to openly discuss and debate matters like Bill C-61. Mr. Rajotte “…currently serves as the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry Science and Technology. Since being elected Chair, the Committee has conducted studies and produced reports on the Counterfeiting and Piracy of Intellectual Property;”. I hope this means that he is not ignorant of the potential impact of the new copyright bill on his constituents (like myself), and I really hope that he is of a higher ethical standard than Minister Prentice seems to represent.
Here’s what the letter from Copyright For Canadians looks like. It’s going in the mailbox right now.
June 13, 2008
Mr. James Rajotte
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6Subject: Please Stand Against the New Copyright Bill
Dear Mr. Rajotte,
I’m a constituent who has been following recent developments in Canadian copyright law. I’m concerned that the Copyright bill presented by the government on June 12th goes too far in outlawing the lawful use of copyrighted material, and does not take into account the needs of consumers and Canada’s creative community who are exploiting the potential of digital technology. I’m disappointed that this bill adopts an American approach to digital copyright laws, instead of crafting a Canadian approach.
Canada’s copyright laws need to advance Canada’s interests. This means copyright laws that respect ordinary consumer practices, such as unlocking cell phones and copying the contents of purchased DVDs for use in video iPods. The current bill outlaws these practices. This means copyright that facilitates the work of Canadian creators, such as documentary filmmakers, who instead find that this bill outlaws the use DVDs as source materials for their films. This means we find made-in-Canada solutions to the challenges of file-sharing, such as consideration of the P2P proposal of the Songwriters Association of Canada. Instead, this bill paves the road to importing the consumer file-sharing lawsuit strategy that has failed so spectacularly in the United States. Canada deserves better.
Please ensure that this bill really is made for Canadians by allowing all Canadian stakeholders a say in its final contents. That means meaningful consultation in the coming months, and opening up Canada’s copyright policy to more than just the special interests that lobbied behind the scenes for this law. As my MP, I urge you to represent my interests in the copyright debate.
Sincerely,
Michael Lawton