Canadian Bill Made In The USA

The Harper government is set to introduce their newly ‘Made-in-the-USA’ Copyright Bill before the House stands for the summer.  While the majority of hard-working Canadians concerned with copyright are not privy to either the contents or the scheduling of this Bill (User groups , Librarians, Federation of Students, Academics, Appropriation Art etc)  it appears that the same cannot be said for Industry. Over the past weeks (and indeed months) a well choreographed series of scheduled ‘events’ has taken place by pro-American influenced organizations, Lobbyists, American Government officials and even President Bush himself. 

First indication to “outsiders”.  This occurred on April 28 at a  conference entitled Intellectual Property Reform: Innovation And The Economy at the Public Policy Forum (PPF).  James Rajotte, Conservative MP and Chair of the Standing Committee on Industry stated that the Harper Conservatives planned to introduce a Copyright Bill before  summer.  Rajotte assured the audience that the government was working toward a balanced approach in the forthcoming bill. 

This week.   A new coalition of Pharmaceutical, Tobacco  and Entertainment companies and lobby groups step forward. This coalition, which also includes Microsoft ( no surprise) and ebay (big surprise), was organized by the Chamber of Commerce.  The group is calling for more restrictive copyright, more privatization of IP and fewer rights for users. Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer is longtime Conservative insider Perrin Beatty. The announcement of this new coalition days before legislation is to be introduced signals that at least some groups are being briefed on both content and scheduling of the new bill.

May 16, 2008.   The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus puts Canada on a Priority Watch List along with Russia and China. 

The Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus is a bipartisan and bicameral group committed to protecting American intellectual property and reducing the scourge of piracy abroad.

Data available on OpenSecrets.Org.    Career total contributions to Congressional Anti-Piracy Caucus Member Campaigns from the TV, Film and Music industry are in excess of $19 million.  The four Co-Chairs alone have received $1,260,676.    Congressional Co-Chairs Senators Joe Biden ($381,266.00), Gordon Smith ($255,439.00), Congressmen Bob Goodlatte ($209,886.00) and Adam Schiff ($414,085.00).  Clearly when a group of politicians so dependent on a single industry unveils a “Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus 2007 Watch List.” the notion of an ‘ unbiased and independent report’ becomes meaningless. 

May 15, 2008.    The Watch List is pre-released on the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) website the day BEFORE it appears on the Caucus website.   This leaves  little doubt as to the relationship this caucus has with the Entertainment industry. According to the RIAA website:

Joining China and Russia in “the ignominious three” is Canada which, notwithstanding numerous public announcements, has failed to join the rest of its partners in the developed world in modernizing its copyright laws to address the challenges — and to seize the opportunities — of the digital age.

May 07, 2008.  Canadian Parliamentary IP Caucus meets with Americans…but where are the Canadians?   The IP Caucus, co-chaired by Liberal MP Dan McTeague  and Conservative Gord Brown accepts presentations from four representatives.  These presentations are from the U.S. Embassy as well as speakers from the Entertainment Software Association.   The IP Caucus have yet to  invite representatives from the canadian education or canadian consumer communities.  (the lone voice being Michael Geist, who gave a presentation on May 15).

Ambassador David Wilkins confirms that copyright was discussed at the North American Leaders Summit meeting in New Orleans  on April 21, 22.  He states   “it’s not been a secret we’ve been advocating stronger copyright, that’s been an ongoing discussion.” By advocating, he clearly means pressure. By ‘stronger copyright’ he means ‘American-style’ copyright  replete with the mandatory DMCA legislation. 

In his Speech from the Throne Stephen Harper promised to defend Canada’s sovereignty. It is becoming all too clear that to the Harper Government ‘Canadian sovereignty’  simply means a piece of (valuable) real estate; real estate worth defending to the tune of billions.  Canadian Cultural Sovereignty clearly has no value to this government. When our neighbours to the south attack with rhetoric and exaggeration the Harper government falls silent.