Copyright the Next Step

First, thank you to all of the bright, engaged folks that have taken an interest and made a stand against abusive, anti-Canadian copyright legislation. You people are amazing and you deserve a round of applause. For the moment we have held back the corporate barbarians at the gate but they will not be stayed, they will keep coming. So we must remain vigilant and we must be ready to carry this fight forward in the long term. Now it is imperative that we make our voices heard, we must demand broad public consultation. We must also let our elected representatives know that we are paying very close attention and that we are only beginning to organize. We will not disappear. We will not forget. We will continue to fight for fair and equitable legislation. To do less would be to fail our beautiful nation and a disservice to future generations (are you listening Blogging Tories?). Here's what I sent off to the Minister a moment ago:

Minister Prentice,

Allow me to thank you for not tabling your copyright legislation at this time. As I am sure you have noticed, a great many Canadians are very concerned about the protection of fair dealing in our copyright laws. At this point in the process, you have the opportunity to win over a lot of public good will. I urge you to engage the concerns of Canadians from the educational sector, Canadian artists and musicians (whose interests have been sorely misrepresented by organizations like CRIA) and consumers. Sir, as a member of ACTRA and SOCAN, I can assure you that the lobbying end of the arts community is not in step with the concerns of the creators they represent.

I have been assured by a friend, an author and veteran, that you are a man of honour. So i will extend the benefit of the doubt. I will presume that you have been misled by the high pressure tactics and misinformation of the CEOs and lobbyists that have spent so much effort and money trying to shape this legislation to their own benefit. It is time for you to hold open public hearings and enact a consultation process that includes Canadians. Any bill that you bring before the house will have an enormous impact on the fabric of Canadian culture. We are in an era of epic change in terms of the nature of information storage, use and transmission. It would be unwise to move hastily toward a bill that satisfied only the powerful media giants.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this vital area of Canadian law. Copyright has an enormous effect on education, freedom of speech, privacy issues and consumer rights. Please do not let Canadians down, we are watching and we will spare no effort to protect our rights and freedoms.

Sincerely,
Lindsay Stewart
Kitchener, Ontario