Last Friday we wrote on the imposed changes to Canadian copyright law coming from the United States Trade Representative (USTR). In short, they feel we (as well as China, Russia, India and Thailand, among 42 other countries on the list, for which Canada has the lowest piracy rate by far) are too lenient and as such, would like us to adopt much stricter regulations; evidently what's bad for Canada is bad for the U.S., but never the other way around.
As it turns out, the 301 watch list Canada is now on "lacks reliable and objective analysis" and is "driven entirely by U.S. industry," according to University of Ottawa law prof Michael Geist.
This has all happened before, and Canadians still aren't having it, this time going beyond our stereotyped letter-writing and making a protest film. Check out "C-61", named after the proposed bill:
Lauded Canadian journalist-activist Cory Doctorow provided some narration in the film, and commented further via boingboing:
Previous attempts to pass this bill have been a disgrace -- famously, former Industry Minister Jim Prentice refused to discuss the bill with Canadian record labels, artists, tech firms, or telcos, but did meet with American and multinational entertainment and software giants to allow them to give their input. In the bill's earlier incarnation as C-60, its sponsor, Sam Bulte, was caught taking campaign contributions from the same US and multinational entertainment companies...
It's always bigger than they tell you.
