Semantic Werks

I wrote Peggy Nash, MP for my riding of Parkdale-High Park, about the proposed “Canadian DMCA” legislation. Here’s her response:

Dear Neil,

Thank you for your recent letter about copyright legislation in Canada. Let me state at the outset that copyright is always a difficult balancing act between the fair use of the consumer and fair remuneration for artists. What has made the issue more difficult is the explosive growth of digital technologies in recent years.

In attempting to update copyright legislation, the previous Minister of Canadian Heritage tabled bill C-60. The NDP felt there were significant problems with this legislation. We had serious concerns about the lack of discussion on the potential impacts of providing the legal sanction of digital locks. These digital locks, also known as Digital Rights Management (DRMs) and Technological Rights Management (TPMs) could seriously impact consumer rights as well as the fair use of materials.

Concerns were also raised about placing electronic toll booths on the development of digital education opportunities. The NDP felt then, as we feel now, that legislators need to become aware of the evolving complexities of cyberspace, so that any new legislation will be relevant both to the present and the future. New legislation must also balance the rights of individual creators with those of industry and the public.

The NDP is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that artists receive fair remuneration for their work. But we must not blindly accept restrictive copyright legislation that could be used to quash the development of new digital distribution models, sue kids who share music files, impose tollbooths on the educational use of the Internet, and limit important research & innovation.

Please rest assured that I am studying all recommendations and am developing positions on the many facets of potential copyright legislation. There are no simple answers to this very complex issue, but I will do my utmost to ensure the government brings forward copyright legislation that is both comprehensive and balanced.

Thank you again for sharing your concerns.

Sincerely,

Apparently this is an NDP talking point-style form letter. That’s a little disappointing given Peggy was elected largely due to her opposition to Sarmite Bulte’s love-in with the Canadian record industry.

Someone made an interesting point: when the Conservatives withdrew their legislation after the public outcry, the media labeled them ‘weak’. This person found it odd that listening to the public was considered a sign of weakness.  I guess years and years of political mandarins running the show from the Prime Minister’s Office has conditioned us to Chretien/Putin-style government-by-fiat.