mike the mountain

I may not have had much to say on this site lately, but once again I feel that I have to at least make one more try to add my voice to the outcry against the blatantly harmful, invasive, unfair, and obviously corrupt influence on our copyright and privacy legislation. Bill C-11 this time (a turd by any other name…) has at least stumbled slightly, and is being offered for discussion. Below is the email I sent to my MP and the Bill C-11 committee members.

james.rajotte@parl.gc.ca, laurie.hawn@parl.gc.ca, Christian.paradis@parl.gc.ca,  James.Moore@parl.gc.ca,  Dean.delmastro@parl.gc.ca,  mike.lake@parl.gc.ca,  Phil.mccoleman@parl.gc.ca,  Peter.braid@parl.gc.ca,  Paul.calandra@parl.gc.ca,  Rob.moore@parl.gc.ca,  Scott.armstrong@parl.gc.ca,  Paul.calandra@parl.gc.ca,  Glenn.thibeault@parl.gc.ca,  Charlie.angus@parl.gc.ca,  Tyrone.Benskin@parl.gc.ca,  Pierre.Nantel@parl.gc.ca,  Pierre.DionneLabelle@parl.gc.ca,  Andrew.Cash@parl.gc.ca,  Geoff.regan@parl.gc.ca

Good day to you all.

My name is Michael Lawton. I am a 34 year old business owner (third-generation with our financial services company) living in Edmonton, Alberta. I vote consistently at all levels, and speak often and passionately about politics in our country.

A strong passion of mine is, and has been for a long time, communication technology. I.e., the Internet. I believe it is the most vital and influential invention since the printing press for education, entertainment, and entrepreneurship. As such, I am deeply troubled by the direction that the Canadian government has been attempting to take over the past few years. There is an obvious and powerful influence on Bill C-11 and its predecessors coming from sources that are not in the best interest of Canadian citizens, and actually serve cause immediate and significant harm on those you have been asked to represent.

I urge, beg, and, with all the power I hold as a voting citizen, demand the following three principles be introduced into Bill C-11 and any other future attempts to change our copyright, communications, and privacy legislation:

1. No SOPA-style amendments. That means no website blocking, no warrantless disclosure of subscriber information, no expanded enabler provision, no unlimited statutory damages, no iPod tax, and no content takedowns.
2. Maintain the fair dealing balance found in C-11 by expanding the provision to include education, parody, and satire and relying on the Supreme Court’s six-factor test to ensure that the dealing is fair.
3. Amend the digital lock rules by following the Canadian Library Association’s recommended change linking circumvention to actual copyright infringement.

This debate has been intentionally mislabelled as “suffering businesses versus thieving criminal” by a small but extremely wealthy and influential group with much to gain from limiting our abilities to create, innovate, and compete. Please recognize that this characterization is intentional, and serves to distract from the real damage these proposed changes would have on Canadian business and people. The list of groups, representing millions of fellow citizens, that are against unfair practices like the unlimited digital lock superiority include:

• Retail Council of Canada
• Canadian Bookseller Association
• Association of Canadian Publishers
• Writers Guild of Canada
• ACTRA
• Canadian Consumer Initiative
• Public Interest Advocacy Centre
• Canadian Teachers’ Federation
• Council of Ministers of Education Canada
• Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
• Canadian Council of Archives
• Canadian Library Association
• Canadian National Institute for the Blind
• Canadian Civil Liberties Association
• Canadian Bar Association
• Privacy Commissioner of Canada
• CIPPIC

Please side with Canadian citizens, our rights, and our entrepreneurial ambitions. Canada needs to foster freedom and creativity if we hope to continue our contributions to the greatest frontier of global opportunity ever seen by humankind. I urge you to not go down in history as the people who stood in the way of our future.

Sincerely and hopefully,

Michael Lawton