Tag: legislation

Copyright Lobby Zombies On

Michael Geist, as always, has our back on the comings and goings of those undead copyright lobby groups that just won’t die,

More than ten years of contentious debate over Canadian copyright law appeared to come to a conclusion in late June when Bill C-11 passed its final legislative hurdle and received royal assent. Yet despite characterizing the bill as a “vital building block”, the copyright lobby that pressured the government to impose restrictive rules on digital locks and tougher penalties for copyright infringement is already demanding further reforms that include rolling back many key aspects of the original bill.

Read Geist’s article for more details.

Motion 312 – Defining the fetus as human

Check out Pass 312.org, the central website for information about an MP Motion in Canada for changing the criminal code to identify an unborn child as human (contrary to what the law currently says). Here’s a little bit of info from the site,

1. Canada’s Criminal code defines unborn children as non human beings!

2. One brave MP Stephen Woodworth has brought forward Motion 312 in an attempt to evaluate that law and possibly change it.

3. Every political party in Canada is opposing Motion 312. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made it clear that he will vote against it.

4. An estimated 100,000 plus letters and emails have been sent to our MPs this summer urging them to support Motion 312. And yet the word from MPs is that it will not pass unless they hear more from Canadians in support of it.

5. There are over 4,000,000 evangelical Christians in Canada. That means 4 million people who have no excuse for ignoring the abuse of our unborn children (Psalm82:2-4). Nearly 4 million people, however, who have no idea what Motion 312 is and have not yet contacted their MP in favor of it.

Not sure if a fetus is a human? Check out this article.

Contact your MP. Who’s your MP?

For more third party information about the motion check this article.

Undead ACTA Still Thrashing

Check out Michael Geist’s latest update The ACTA Fight Returns: What Is at Stake and What You Can Do. Here’s an excerpt:

The reverberations from the SOPA fight continue to be felt in the U.S. (excellent analysis from Benkler and Downes) and elsewhere (mounting Canadian concern that Bill C-11 could be amended to adopt SOPA-like rules), but it is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement that has captured increasing attention this week. Several months after the majority of ACTA participants signed the agreement, most European Union countries formally signed the agreement yesterday (notable exclusions include Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia).

This has generated a flurry of furious protest: thousands have taken to the streets in protest in Poland, nearly 250,000 people have signed a petition against the agreement, and a Member of the European Parliament has resigned his position as rapporteur to scrutinize the agreement, concluding that the entire review process is a “charade.”

It’s a democracy folks. Let’s make our voice known.

PMO Issues The Order: Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks

PMO Issues The Order: Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks

PMO Issues The Order: Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks

Months of public debate over the future of Canadian copyright law were quietly decided earlier this week, when sources say the Prime Minister’s Office reached a verdict over the direction of the next copyright bill.  The PMO was forced to make the call after Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore and Industry Minister Tony Clement were unable to reach consensus on the broad framework of a new bill.  As I reported last week, Moore has argued for a virtual repeat of Bill C-61, with strong digital locks provisions similar to those found in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act and a rejection of a flexible fair dealing approach. Consistent with earlier comments on the need for a forward-looking, flexible approach, Clement argued for changes from C-61.

Join the Facebook group, Fair Copyright for Canada, and write your MP a letter!

Harper is not listening!

Harper is using dictatorship tactics to strong-arm in American DMCA style copyright legislation. Don’t let him get away with it!

A quick google for “dmca controversy” will get you all you need to know about why the American DMCA is bad for everyone involved.