MP James Moore seems to be angry. He has begun lashing out at people–the self-same people he wanted to work with only a year ago. He is claiming that we don’t know what we’re talking about, that we need to be confronted, that we need to be defeated. He makes claims that we do not believe in copyright (which is wrong) and that we do not want copyright reform (which is also wrong).
Mr. Moore, you’re a coward. Anyone who would rather block debate than engage in it has no place in parliament in my books. Mr. Moore, you’re a fear-monger: suggesting that we’re radical extremists is the worst kind of polarizing politics. Mr. Moore, you’re wrong: we don’t want to eradicate copyright reform, we want the best copyright bill for artists and consumers.
We want to talk. We want to work together with you and with the industry. We want things to improve. We will not, however, stand idly by as you malign us, nor will we stand by as you hand Canadian rights, lock and key, over to massive media conglomerates.
Your about-face is fascinating. Perhaps you can explain why it happened. Maybe you can tell us why you’re so angry and why you refuse to listen to people.
Or maybe you’re happy in your new position, parroting talking points for an industry that’s so very frightened of change. Which is it?
The HST might just save you some money… if you shop across the border in Washington State. The Washington State Department of Revenue issued a press release today that clarified a portion of their tax law that will be advantageous to British Columbians and Ontarians as of July 1st. Put simply: when shopping in Washington State the residents of those provinces will no longer have to pay sales tax.
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Fellow Canadians: we’re going to have to make another push to kill the government’s efforts to restrict our digital rights, and we’re going to have to do it soon. Ottawa is abuzz with the news that the resurrected Bill C-61 will be making its way to parliament within the week.
We’ve defeated this beast before and we can do it again. Here are some resources:
Mr. Prentice spends a great deal of time trying to convince the press that bill C-61 will limit damages to $500 total for a violation of this new act.
What, then, is the point? If a user downloads 20 or 30 films or 10,000 songs that’s $500 spread between the ALL of the artists – not quite worth it, is it?
In relation to digital locks Prentice refused to acknowledge or answer any questions. He did not seem to care that Canadians have paid for material that may be locked and would be prohibited from using that media in any way other than the methods prescribed to users by the media industries.
Josee Verner inspires a complete lack of confidence. When asked about a mashup of music (a teenager – or anyone for that matter – remixing video and music to create something new with existing work – something that is legal right now if attribution is given and the mashup is not created for profit) Josee was unable to either comprehend or answer the question. The answer is that yes, posting a mashup video to YouTube will now be illegal and could run Canadians $500 per offence. Imagine that – post a video to YouTube, get a bill for $500.
Josee went on to talk about respecting digital locks – completely ignoring the fact the government is ignoring that users have PAID FOR the material that is locked.
Jim acknowledges that the industry will indeed be pursuing teenagers for $20,000 per offense. He keeps saying balance – that balance doesn’t exist to my eyes.
