Our Man Mark: How MP Mark Warawa is fighting to make his people heard

I recently took my first step into political activism. I was moved to act in protest to the much talked about Bill C-61. C-61 is an amendment to Canada's copyright act which was apparently "made in Canada". The problem is, nobody seems to be able to identify which Canadians actually participated in the forming of the Bill or how it will actually benefit Canadian consumers, artists or business owners. The only thing that is clear is how it will empower US-owned multi-nationals to perpetuate a depricated business model and provide them the tools needed to repeat the show they've put on in courtrooms down south.

As I learned more about the Bill and became more and more concerned, I decided it was time I learned to use the voice I have been gifted by our Charter of Rights. I wrote to Mark Waraka, the MP who works so hard to represent my community in Ottawa. Surely he would listen. Afterall, I voted for him.

Just a couple days after I tossed my bottle into the digital ocean, I was delighted to see the little red star on my blackberry indicating our man Mark was earning his keep. I had been heard! I share with you, the deeply touching and heartfelt response: BillC-61-June19.pdf

// end sarcasm

The canned message Mr. Warawa sent out regarding Bill C-61 clearly indicates he has not heard the unified voice of the Canadian public and that he and his contemporaries have a very distorted perception of today’s marketplace and emerging technology. It is obvious he is not aware of the issues at hand and has not taken the time to form his own opinion.

The letter claims the new Act will provide consumers with rights for "everyday use". What does that mean? Today's everyday use means when I buy a CD (still my preferred method of acquiring music), I promptly fire it into my computer and load up my iPod. If the major record labels decide to throw in some flimsy digital projection, which my CD copying software might not even recognize, my "everyday use" quickly exposes me to litigation! In the last paragraph, the letter goes on to tell us how C-61 will bring us "fairness and clarity". The fairness is, at best, debatable. The clarity, down right laughable.

I congratulate you Mr. Warawa on being such a faithful lapdog. I hope you enjoy your ride on the party line, you’ve certainly earned your place; You have paid for it with whatever confidence I might have had in you. If this Bill goes through, it will be a sad indicator that we will likely have to wait for the next generation to arrive in office before Canada will truly embrace the digital marketplace.

Now where did I put my copy of the Charter?....

Canadian Copyright Bill C-61: Why I'll be voting Liberal next time around

Industry Minister, Jim Prentice made clear today that he's not interested in what Canadian citizens have to say. Despite massive protest, Bill C-61, An Act to Revise the Canadian Copyright Act, was tabled in Ottawa yesterday.

There's been extensive coverage over the bill and I think Micheal Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, does a great job of summarizing how the proposal will be most damaging to Canadian society, industry and education.

In addition to the concerns expressed by Mr. Geist, I forsee additional collateral damage even beyond his long list of betrayals. I argue that this protection will be profoundly damaging to independent Canadian artists and labels. You see, the act will make it illegal for you to copy music that has been digitally "locked", also known as DRM. Now I don't see anything wrong with that in itself. If the major record labels want to put barriers between themselves and their customers, who am I to deny them their right to ballistically perforate their own feet? However, I believe this will create the perception in the marketplace that it's illegal to copy all music. It wil certainly send the world the message that Canada puts US industry's needs before it's own.

Ask yourself this, "How can I tell if my music is DRM protected?" If you don't know the answer to that question, you'd best play it safe and keep your music to yourself. But having grown up surrounded by musicians, I've never met an emerging artist or struggling label that didn't want someone to copy a song they love and pass it on to their friends. That's how bands grow! Nettwerk Music, Canada's largest independent record label (disclosure: my company has entered into contracts with Nettwerk), by way of their copyright notice, clearly encourages us to copy their music and pass it on. But you'd never know this unless you read the fine print. When was the last time you read a copyright notice? If this bill is accepted it will send a false message to the uneducated consumer that they're no longer empowered to evangelize the bands they love. In effect, this could cripple the most powerful marketing tool available to our melodic small business owners.

So back to Mr. Prentice. Who's interests does he have in mind? Who has he consulted with? Where's he getting his information? From the extensive protest and outrage, it doesn't seem he's very tuned in to his "people".

First you should pop over to Mr. Geist's blog and take 10 minutes to get the goods from someone who really understands the dangers here. Then I encourage you to participate in the grass roots campaign initiated at Copyright for Canadians and help send the message to your MP that Mr. Prentice needs to pull his head out of his ass, clean the brown stuff out of his ears and start listening to the people who pay the bills around here.