Canada's DMCA was designed to "satisfy US demand"

Michael Geist sez,

The Canadian government will introduce its DMCA this afternoon, leaving some to wonder why a U.S. style approach to digital locks is being implemented when so many Canadians spoke out against it. The simple answer may be revealed from a former Minister of Industry chief of staff, who told a PhD candidate researching copyright policy that the Prime Minister required that the U.S. be satisfied with Canadian copyright reform as the only mandate for a bill.

In a paper being presented this week in Montreal, Blayne Haggart writes that according to the former chief of staff to Maxime Bernier, the decision to introduce U.S.-style DMCA rules in Canada was strictly a political decision, the result of pressure from the Prime Minister's Office desire to meet U.S. demands. She states "the Prime Minister's Office's position was, move quickly, satisfy the United States." When Bernier and then-Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda protested, the PMO replied "we don't care what you do, as long as the U.S. is satisfied."

"We Don't Care What You Do, As Long as the U.S. Is Satisfied"

• [SkullHyphy]

  Dang, I forgot to send back my Canadian opinion poll to register my dissatisfaction w/ the DMCA! Maybe it would be easier if Canada sent absentee ballots to everyone in the States for their next election.

• [Patrick Dodds]

  Welcome to the world of the UK, Canada: US says jump, we want to know not just how high but how often.

• [coop]

  Not a surprise. The Tories have always been happy to bend over for US interests, especially if it coincides with general business (rather than citizen) interest.

• [hassenpfeffer]

  It’s the same old story
  Everywhere I go,
  I get slandered,
  Libeled,
  I hear words I never heard
  In the Bible
  And I’m one step ahead of the shoe shine
  Two steps away from the county line
  Just trying to keep my customers satisfied,
  Satisfied.

  • [bbbaldie]

    You have just violated copyright law. Your choices are to pay us $1500 per violation, or we’ll see you in court.

    The MAFIAA

• [legionabstract]

  It really is a heck of an attitude to have in a country where the prevailing opinion is that it would be just fine for the U.S. to seize any and all opportunities to explore new avenues of intimacy with a rolling donut.

  And I hope Harper ends up paying for it. There’s really no excuse.

  • [EH]

    You think he cares? He has a fine post-whatever career ahead of him. He’s taken care of.

• [ryanrafferty]

  American foreign policy… the American government’s dirty little secret, and the root of most anti-american terrorism.

• [calvert4096]

  Go figure. For what it’s worth, I apologize to the Canadian people on behalf of my government.

  • [Laurel L. Russwurm]

    Most Canadians who know about this understand that most Americans don’t want the American DMCA either. After all, your government is just as busy selling you down the river to the media corporations.
    Electronic Frontier Foundation: Unintended Consequences: Twelve Years under the DMCA

    So thanks for the apology.

    What would help us even more would be if you were to write letters of protest to your government; and work toward American electoral reform http://www.fairvote.org/ the way many Canadians are working toward Canadian electoral reform
    http://www.fairvote.ca/

    And in the meantime, Canada don’t need no stinkin’ DMCA (or DCMA).

    The real irony is that the same movie companies that spent the last hundred years selling the world on the idea of democracy are the ones working hardest to subvert it now.

    Most surprising is the American government’s willingness to do the bidding of corporate special interests.

  • [Anonymous]

    “For what it’s worth, I apologize to the Canadian people on behalf of my government.”

    I don’t. As embarrassed as I am about much that is wrong with US policies, it is up to Canadians to draft their own legislation. And that’s really the heart of this story: that legislators elected by Canadians are paying no attention to Canadians when drafting legislation. In fact, they’re disregarding the only notable public reaction, which is one of opposition. We can criticize the US government all we’d like, but unless it’s demonstrated that the US government is threatening Canada in some way, the problem is in Ottawa, not Washington.

    (Note that the paper Michael Geist links to does say that “[f]or several years, Canada has faced “considerable” American pressure to ratify the treaties quickly.” But it doesn’t specify what this pressure involves, aside from ambassadors twisting arms.)

• [twiggy_trippit]

  Canadian sovereignty? Who cares! *sarcasm*

• [MrJM]

  That’s funny… I’m an American, but I don’t find this turn of events very satisfying.

• [TimDrew]

  re. Stephen Harper:

  Christ, what an Asshole!

• [CG]

  Media companies would do well to remember that they need us; we don’t need them.

• [Anonymous]

  This legislation doesn’t represent the will of Canadians. It doesn’t represent the will of Americans, either. This is the will of corporations, stuffing enough money into our lawmakers’ pockets to buy their support.

• [shawnhcorey]

  The truly sad part is that digital locks don’t work. They have been tried since the days of the Apple ][ and have been abandoned by the industry as unworkable. It would take a politician to create a law that requires 40-year-old technology that doesn’t work. Sigh.

  • [Rob]

    Abandoned? Since when?

    Windows Genuine Advantage, Assassin’s Creed 2 protection, Bandai saying AC2 protection was a good idea…

  • [kevinsky]

    Digital locks don’t have to work in this case, they just have to be present.

    The point is that content producers can render any and all provisions under Fair Dealing null and void, simply by adding a flimsy layer of DRM.

    Doesn’t matter how easy it is to break the lock, the point is that your satire, research, lesson plan, or criticism is illegal if you broke the lock to create it.

    In short: The Corporation can simply decide whether or not they want people to be able to legally criticize their content. And what do you think they’ll choose?

    (FYI Fair dealing is similar to Fair Use in the US)

• [ArnoDick]

  We know that what was said in this article is a horrible, leftist lie, because Stephen Harper recently displayed that he is “down” with recording artists by posing with the incredible and tastefully facially-hirsute Chad Kroeger.
  http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/04/11/your-new-governor-general/

• [sdmikev]

  “desire to meet U.S. demands”?
  well, that’s all we need to know..

• [Anonymous]

  Lets see how this tallies with some of the the lyrics to our national anthem:

  O Canada! (more like “Oh Canada… *sigh*)

  True patriot love in all thy sons command. (not much of a a patriot there Mr. Harper if you are selling the country out from under us)

  The True North strong and free! (not free if we let other countries dictate our laws)

  O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. (nope, not exactly standing on guard, more like seeling out from under us)

  God keep our land glorious and free! (prayer might be our only option with Mr. Harper at the helm)

  • [2hirondelles]

    Well, if Right Wing Harper has his way, we will all be praying, in school, at work, at hockey games, etc., women won’t be getting abortions anymore and gays won’t be getting married or even equal or protected anymore, either. Oh, we’ll also be busy dealing with oil spills in the arctic and off the NL coast, too.

    Harper is Bush’s wannabe little brother. The only reason he got voted in is because the Liberals can’t find a leader that appeals to enough people, and support is split between them and the NDP.

    He is dragging us back into the 50′s and selling us off to big business, Family Values and US interests.

• [Snig]

  I, for one, feel welcomed to be your new American overlords.

• [Anonymous]

  This is just our way of getting back at you for sending us Celine Dion and William Shatner.

• [Anonymous]

  The problem most Canadians have with the current US regime is (ironically?) the problems the founders had with British governance — namely, control without influence (cf. taxation without representation)

  We have a prolific media industry of our own that we do not protect (to the point where CBC DVDs are region-free) yet we are signing on to defend American media controls? Why?!

  As a Canadian, I’d much rather be able to buy Canadiana, in French or English, for $20, than support Hollywood crap any day. Since I can’t, I have no sympathy. (Neither do our government, I suspect)

• [turn_self_off]

  crazy, pure and simple crazy. Is the us dollar really that powerful still?

• [Baldhead]

  again: baffled why anyone voted for him. He made his intentions to suck american.. er.. wallets from the beginning and yet people still thought he wasn’t going to and voted. Are people really this naive?

  • [Ugly Canuck]

    Only some first-past-the-post “plurality” (not necessarily identical with “majority”) of the people resident & voting in his little patch (or Riding) in Canada voted for “him”: last time I checked, “he” does not command a majority of the votes in our Lower House of Parliament: whilst “he” has stacked the Upper with “his” well-heeled friends.

    One wonders how much longer “his” Party shall abide the rule of “the one” who has consistently FAILED to conduct them to a control and command of a Majority of those Seats in Parliament….that is, the part of Parliament that people actually get to vote for, not the part “he’s” been appointing “his” friends to.

    Last I heard, “he” says that Parliament has not the power to Subpoena & Compel without “his” Consent granted to such beforehand: “we shall see”.

• [Anonymous]

  Regarding sovereignty and America, Alexander Muir wrote:
  At Queenston Heights and Lundy’s Lane,
  Our brave fathers, side by side,
  For freedom, homes and loved ones dear,
  Firmly stood and nobly died;
  And those dear rights which they maintained,
  We swear to yield them never!
  Our watchword evermore shall be
  “The Maple Leaf forever!”
  I hope our government still lets me quote him when all this is through.

• [Anonymous]

  This is just typical of Harper and his government. They are perfectly happy to bend the entire nation of Canada over and let the US give it to us up the butt. Its really the biggest embarrassment that my fellow Canadian citizens were stupid enough to vote this bastard into power and that he remains there. He doesn’t have the interests of Canadian’s in mind, he has the interests of Big Corporations and in kowtowing to whatever the US wants in mind. His conservative predecessor Mulroney was the same way.

  My only conclusion from events like this is that either Mr Harper would really rather Canada just became part of the US, or that the bribes he or his party are receiving are sufficient to buy any and all cooperation desired by US Corporations.

  The DMCA has been a disaster in the US, it arms the RIAA/MAFIAA with an easy means to blackmail people over digital rights violations. It doesn’t matter if there is any evidence of a violation, it doesn’t matter if there was any actual violation, they can sue people who don’t own a computer for illegal downloads and get away with it because they have the lawyers, and most of their victims can’t afford to defend themselves in response – or its cheaper to pay the fine rather than the lawyers required to avoid the fine. Its nothing more than an officially approved blackmail scheme, and its a shame to see that bullshit being brought to Canada by politicians who have no morale integrity, and no desire to see Canada retain its sovereignty.

  I sincerely hope we vote him out soon, any other option would be better for the country. I am ashamed of my country and its current government.

• [thinkforyourself]

  This is garbage. My dislike for Harper, I’m sure, will be worse for every moment he remains in power.

  If indeed this bill is passed, the mass civil disobedience that I encourage everyone to participate in will make theirs a victory in name only.

• [DarthVain]

  Wow, just wow. How undemocratic. Also here I thought Canada was its own sovereign nation? Do we make our laws or does the USA?

  If this is true I hope the other parties use this against him in an election.

  Harper is such a Douche. Why is he still running our country for Christs sake? I wish the Liberals would really grow a spine.

• [Anonymous]

  From reading these comments I tend to get the feeling that Canadians hate anything that’s associated with the US. I’ve always thought we were cool. Nevertheless, I do agree with you guys on this situation. Your government shouldn’t be creating and enacting a law to “satisfy US demand.” It’s especially not correct when many Canadians oppose it. But hey – the beauty of Democracy is that you’re allowed to vote this man out of office or hinder his ability to govern when election arrives. You can elect a leader that’ll follow a more Canadian policy.

  • [2hirondelles]

    re: Anon #36

    There are many Canadians who believe that Canada should aspire to be like her southern neighbour as much as possible, although personally I doubt that you’d find many of them here on BB.

    Then there are those of us who separate individual Americans from the collective American persona projected by the media, Hollywood, etc. and the government and its foreign policy. I personally reserve judgment on the former until I know them, and the latter, well, actions speak for themselves. I prefer the open, more liberal-minded Canada that is more at risk the longer Harper stays in power.

• [DrPretto]

  I feel sad for the Canadian people, giving up to U.S.A. petitions. This is a sad precedent because the rest of the world will follow like domino effect. We have to unite and show them that INDUSTRY NEED US, NOT VICE-VERSA, and SHOW THE GOV. they have to SERVE AND PROTECT THEIR OWN PEOPLE NOT FOREIGN PRESSURES. We have to wake-up of this drugged dream the industry and U.S.A Gov. is selling us in a DICTATORSHIP WAY.
  Why cant we have OUR OWN SERVERS (Internet Providers) and our own alternative entertainment industry? Arent you sick of the same recycled trash of hollywood?
  If we are together we can do it.
  I think we need with URGENCY an Organization to protect INTERNET NEUTRALITY, PRIVACY and USERS.
  UNION IS THE FORCE

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    DrPretto,

    You might want to lubricate your Caps Lock. It seems to be sticking.

    • [DrPretto]

      seems like my edit button (for my own comment) is not lubricated also. i will tell you something, dele it, i dont care.
      thanks

• [Anonymous]

  folks should maybe come to realize that Canada, one of the hallmarks of a well-functioning democratic society with seemingly socialist tendnecies and policies, has become a land of bad-coffee-drinking-pseudo-loyalists whose ‘vote’ is about as useful as a terd. Corporations are deeply embedded into the mainframe of governmental decision-making processes, and because the populace has a “high standard of living” (read as, everyone is in debt and the whole system is a house of cards, and are tacitly agreeing to ignore this fact), unlimited everything, bigbox rurban sprawl, and a safe bubble of illusion, they are NUMBED into full-belly submission.
  Do some research on how folks feel about the CRTC, and compare that to what they can ACTUALLY do about it. This is a cornerstone of democracy?
  I am ashamed to be one of them, and actively seeking a way to undo that.
  gtron
  http://vimeo.com/2170544

• [ill lich]

  USA! USA! USA!

  Oh wait, I usually do that when the USA does something stupid, do they ironically chant “CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA! CA-NA-DA!” up there?

  • [Anonymous]

    Apparently we ironically sing our national anthem and other songs.