Michael Geist has just published an extensive report on the impact of lobbying on copyright policy in Canada. The Canadian elections are next week, and one of the candidates standing for re-election is Heritage Minister hopeful Sam Bulte, who takes large sums of money from the entertainment industry and then delivers laws that sell out the public interest to line its pockets.
Geist's research goes beyond Bulte's impropriety and investigates the systematic way in which entertainment companies are convincing Canadian politicians to sell out their constituents:
Using lobbyist registration records, campaign finance returns, and documents newly obtained under the Access to Information Act I reveal for the first time the degree to which this issue has been taken over by lobby pressure. This includes:
– large number of registered lobbyists including former MPs such as Liberal Paul Bonwick, a Bulte contributor
– consistent campaign contributions that increase following favourable legislation
– close ties with government ministers, including the former Heritage Minister Sheila Copps
– regular meetings — the copyright lobby has met with officials dozens of times over the past year, while education and user groups have barely merited any time
– government contracts, including a $20,000 contract to the Canadian Publishers Council (a Bulte fundraiser host), for a "copyright awareness initiative"
