Heritage, Industry committed to balanced copyright legislation, ‘clear wins’ for both creators and consumers, says Moore
Canada’s string of minority Parliaments has prevented MPs from tackling copyright reforms seriously, says Heritage Minister James Moore, and it’s time now to update intellectual property rights to reflect new technologies. Mr. Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.), along with Industry Minister Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.), is responsible for reforming Canada’s outdated Copyright Act, which […]
Time to ‘get it right’ with copyright and digital locks
Updating Canada’s copyright regime must be a central plank in Canada’s innovation agenda. The Conservatives have a golden opportunity to “get it right” when it comes to copyright. However, if Bill C-32 is going to get through the legislative process the government will need to show some badly needed political maturity. This bill will survive […]
Liberals’ copyright position may provide roadmap to C-32 compromise
The last week of Parliamentary activity in 2010 struck many as a new low point for Bill C-32, the Copyright Reform Bill. The legislative committee examining the bill met only once, maintaining the lethargic meeting schedule that at the current rate could run into the fall if all stakeholders are given their moment in the […]
The A2K problem: copyright, accessibility and the future of copyright in Canada
Remember Y2K? It was the year 2000 that kicked off the new millennium—an age that could potentially become a new era of access to knowledge (A2K)—an age of wider, broader and more universal access to many types of knowledge than ever thought possible. Yet, there are many obstacles to a broad and egalitarian access to […]
It’s time to find a balance between new media and copyright
Thanks to a decade of hard-hitting anti-piracy campaigning, Canadians are all too familiar with the destructive potential of new media. The copyright lobby in Canada encourages the view that “digital piracy” will end careers, topple industries, lead to mass “theft” of intellectual property and undermine Canadian culture. Although updated and Canadianized, copyright owners have been […]
Justice system contributes to new confidence: Minister Cauchon
Recently, a reporter asked me a simple question: What was the most important issue that I had dealt with since I had the honour of becoming Justice Minister and Attorney-General in January of 2002. The answer is far from easy. I may be tempted to respond with the obvious. After all, the government’s decision to […]
Paul Martin, architect of social inequality? Yes, says MP Davies
VANCOUVER EAST, B.C.–The same day Paul Martin became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the next Prime Minister, I held a townhall meeting in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in my riding of Vancouver East to discuss the looming impacts of some very nasty welfare cuts in B.C. Paul Martin was very much on our […]
Canadian taxpayers deserve fair and honest EI program
PORTAGE-LISGAR, MAN.–The new Liberal leader owes a lot to working Canadians; modest calculations put the bill up around $45-billion. As finance minister, Paul Martin kept EI premiums unnecessarily high and used the excess to create the false impression of balancing the books. In fact, 70 per cent of the so-called budgetary surplus in the past […]
Breaking ‘knowledge barrier’: the renewal of human sciences
When the first plane broke the sound barrier in 1947, scientists learned something surprising: the controls didn’t work as expected. Flying at the speed of sound required new understanding, a new approach to aerodynamic design and controls. Failure to adjust to the supersonic speed paradigm would lead to serious trouble, loss of control and potential […]
Social policy in the 21st Century
REGINA-LUMSDEN-LAKE CENTRE, SASK.–Governments must address at least two basic components. One is fiscal and the other is social. The challenge is to balance these two competing components. In this regard, the fiscal responsibilities must not be so conservative as to fail to address the social needs of our families and our communities nor should the […]
