On June 14th, 2011, Heritage Minister James Moore announced that the Conservative government will re-introduce its copyright bill this fall, in exactly the same form as legislation that died with the last Parliament [1]. Introduced alongside lawful access legislation (bills C-50, C-51, and C-52) this American-style copyright bill casts a dark shadow over the future of the Internet in Canada. This is not a bill to modernize Canada’s copyright laws, but rather one to mimic American copyright law. Bill C-32 will allow for copyright owners to seek statutory damages of up to $5000 in the instance of copyright infringement, in addition to treating consumers like criminals by introducing digital lock provisions (anti-circumvention rules) that take away freedom to back up, copy, or anything else restricted by digital rights management (DRM) tools [2].

While James Moore would have you believe that bill C-32 is balanced and that “Our approach is a uniquely Canadian approach…”, this is a lie. Recent Wikileaks cables show that copyright reform in Canada was driven mainly by US interests [3]. We at the Pirate Party of Canada also find it extremely difficult to believe James Moore’s statement that “… nobody saw Bill C-32 before Canadians saw it when we tabled it in the Parliament of Canada”, given Internal U.S. embassy cables posted by Wikileaks this year suggested former industry minister Maxime Bernier offered to show American officials a previous copyright bill before it was tabled in Parliament [4].

References:
1.http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/long-awaited-copyright-bill-returns-but-top-court-to-wade-in-too-129482508.html

2.http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5316/125/

3.http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110428/15020614073/latest-wikileaks-release-shows-how-us-completely-drove-canadian-copyright-reform-efforts.shtml

4.http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5986/135/

Anonymous network with built in torrent support, for those who may wish to legally share files while preserving what should be their right to privacy:
http://www.i2p2.de/

Write and email your MP to express your concerns about bill C-32. Find out who your MP is at this address:
http://parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC