I’ll be spreading that link around!

Except that questioners cannot present multimedia materials during Question Period, and they can (and often will) be ejected from the chamber for accusing another member of being a liar.

Ministers who lie on national radio, or TV, or in the papers, or anywhere else, actually do fare pretty well in Parliamentary democracies. And other democracies.

Seriously, Cory, evangelism is great and I oppose the legislation with every fibre of my being, but at least know what you’re talking about before you throw around stuff like this. It doesn’t serve the message.

I would agree that you can’t fault him for answering questions for 10 minutes.

This being said, Prentice also promised to talk to Canadians about bill C-61. By not agreeing to come on Search Engine again he broke that promise.

Despite Cory’s laudable efforts to keep us informed on the issue, I’m still yearning for a balanced “pros and cons” reading of the issue at hand.

I want to get this guy. How can we pin him down and actually get answers?

‘Let the market decide’? WTF? WTtGDMFKJFC?

Does he not realize that he was elected by the citizens? Isn’t his job to advocate the people who elected him?

On the question of overriding the locks on CDs to move jazz recordings to an iPod, I though he was being quite reasonable. He can’t just come out and say it’s OK to do that, because apparently under the legislation it is illegal, and no minister is going to say it’s OK to break the law. However, I though he made it quite clear that while it is illegal, the chances of being prosecuted for this kind of activity are minuscule if not zero.

On the matter of the cell phone, I thought he clearly said it was OK to unlock it if the intent is to make the phone functional, which is not a copyright issue.

Can someone point out to me the specific lies, evasions and other bad behavior this minister is being accused of?

I’m sorry. But come on…

Let me start by saying I don’t know the details of the legislation in question here, but as I listened to this interview, I did not get the sense that the minister was being evasive.

So you’re basically saying “I’m uninformed… but here’s what I think anyway”?

On the question of overriding the locks on CDs to move jazz recordings to an iPod, I though he was being quite reasonable. He can’t just come out and say it’s OK to do that, because apparently under the legislation it is illegal, and no minister is going to say it’s OK to break the law. However, I though he made it quite clear that while it is illegal, the chances of being prosecuted for this kind of activity are minuscule if not zero.

As #34 Madjo pointed out. Why spend time and taxpayer money writing the law that is basically a poke poke nudge nudge, sure we say you can’t do it but go ahead… That’s just insulting.

On the matter of the cell phone, I thought he clearly said it was OK to unlock it if the intent is to make the phone functional, which is not a copyright issue.

Prentice then went on to say that he’d misunderstood the scenario in question and that it’d only be okay if the cellphone were unlocked outside of Canada. Thank you Mr. Prentice for explaining that Canadian Laws only apply in Canada. Derp.

Can someone point out to me the specific lies, evasions and other bad behavior this minister is being accused of?

I’m not going to but perhaps taking the time and effort to inform yourself about the bill will help you.

Not everyone has experience with parliamentary process, or is a weirdo like me that has CPAC on a television beside me and watched Mr. Angus ask questions about Copyright during Question Period today.

I think Cory does a great job, given the time he has available to do all the stuff he is taking on. I also happen to think that Cory’s understanding of parliamentary process is far superior to Minister Prentice’s understanding of Bill C-61.

Basically, Minister Prentice was asked very specific questions about the legality of various behaviour, under the proposed law.

In each case, the answer would be “no”, but the minister didn’t want to admit that seemingly reasonable rights that we currently have would be illegal under the new law.

So, instead of saying “no, that would be illegal”, he instead answered “yes” to a different question. It went something like this…

Is it legal to do X + Y under the new law?

Yes, it’s legal to do X.

But is it legal to do Y?

OH, you want to know if it’s legal to do Y?!? Why didn’t you say so? I thought you wanted to know if it was legal to do X.

Most people don’t do Y. People haven’t done Y for years. Why would you want to do Y? Most people only do X now. X is totally okay.

Y is… well… technically… illegal under the proposed law… but… uh… no one would ever sue you for it… so don’t worry your pretty little head over it.

BTW, you’re 10 minutes are up. I gotta go… CLICK

Here’s an abridged, Non-Evasive English translation of what was said…

Am I allowed to by-pass a digital lock on a CD that I’ve purchased, in order to put it on my iPod?

Blah, blah, blah… Yes, you are allowed to copy a CD onto your iPod.

But, am I allowed to by-pass the digital lock?

Blah, blah, blah… No, you’re not, but the consequences for breaking the proposed law are minimal.

I’m a little confused. Do you mean, I should break the law because the record companies won’t sue me? I thought I could be sued for upto $20,000?

Um… Er… Uh… Blah, blah, blah…

It might be $20 or $500 or $20,000… It depends on how much they sue you for… You only need to pay if they sue you and win…

If it makes you fell any better, the police would’t be allowed to raid your house to see if you have stolen music.

If I’m successfully sued for breaking a digital lock, how much of the money I pay will go to the actual artist?

All the money with go to the record company.

Are you doing anything to make sure the artist gets any of the money?

Blah, blah, blah… No, the record company gets all the money. It’s up to them to give it to the artist, if they feel like it.

If someone unlocks their cellphone, so that they can use it in another country, is that illegal?

It is totally legal if you unlock it in another country.

What if I unlock it in Canada?

Under the new law, it MIGHT be illegal. It depends on what you do with the phone.

I gotta go now…

It looks like the anti-lock breaking provisions of the law make it illegal to record TV shows and watch them later, like what people have been doing for years with VCRs.

What’s to stop the cable companies (Rogers and Bell) from putting a lock on EVERYTHING?

That’s up to them to decide.

If they do that and lose all of their customers as a result, then they’ll have learned not to do that.

But if they want to try, just to see if their customers fall for it, then the proposed law will enforce their right to try.

I gotta go now… CLICK

My apologies for any misrepresentation of what was said. Deciphering political double-speak is tricky business.

As for the interview – though he did give the 10 minutes, he spent most of his time doing exactly what politicians do – dancing around questions, interjecting useless information, and just generally decrying the questions as ‘too technical’.

What I would like to say to him is ‘If the questions being asked were too technical, then why are you Industry minister?’ It’s his job to understand all of the legislation he’s wanting to pass, and of its possible effects.

PS: “Let the market decide”? Then why on earth would we ever require any legislation regarding standards for products sold in Canada? Malware on the new Hip CD? The market’ll sort it out. Lead paint on children’s toys? Someone’ll put together a boycott eventually.

“I’m gonna have to run here… uh..”

I’m curious, mrdroctopus: how did you know that Prentice didn’t go to a cabinet meeting after the interview?

Ha! Good one.

I’m chalking this line up to the fact that I suspect you figure if you say it aloud enough, it just might come true.

And those people shouldn’t make assertions about it from a soapbox.

Anyhow. By all accounts, this bill is opposed by the Liberals and the NDP. If’n we want this bill to fail, it’s the Bloc that we need to convince.

He didn’t actually go to a cabinet meeting like he said he did.

Or, better yet, one of the bright sparks at the CBC will hold on to choice sound bites, and drag them back out again when the bill goes to a vote in September (assuming it doesn’t get withdrawn before then).

Don’t let the Cons bury it over the summer and slip it through in the fall session! Keep reminding everyone how ridiculous it is!

I listened to the whole show and discovered that this was the last episode of the award winning, widely popular Search Engine radio broadcast. It will continue as a podcast, web forum, and from time to time on the CBC TV news.

“Mr. Prentice has specialized in property rights, focusing on relocations, environmental protection suits and restricted development areas.”

Someone want to explain to whoever placed this guy in office what the difference is between intellectual property and land property? Oh shoot, that would be our PM wouldn’t it. Bloody hell.

Also, think about this, in the interview the H. Minister of Industry HANGED UP on the CBC. Imagine how he would react if you, a common citizen , write to his office.