[d@DCC] Hill Times article

From: ag737 _-at-_ freenet.carleton.ca (Wallace J.McLean)
To: discuss (at) digital-copyright.ca
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 12:22:02 -0400 (EDT)

There is an excellent article at 

  http://www.thehilltimes.ca/2003/june/9/malley2/

concerning the brewing storm over the Copyright Act amendments included in
the Trojan Horse bill C-36.

I attended the Heritage committee today, and officials from Heritage were
put on the spot trying to defend the unpublished works and the internet
sampling provisions contained in C-36.

I also overheard Heritage's legal counsel, Mr. Jeff Richstone, in response
to the Hill Times article, plead "we had consensus [on the issue of term
of copyright in unpublished works]." After the hearing broke, I furnished
both him and Bruce Stockfish, Director General Canadian Heritage Copyright
Policy, on this point. I gave them th excerpt of every submission from the
2001 Submissions Received Regarding the Consultation Papers which
addressed the point on term of copyright. With TWO exceptions that I could
find (Writer's Union and one private individual) every submitter was
opposed to extending the term of copyright.

Mr. Stockfish responded that this consultation wasn't with regards to term
of copyright in unpublished works. I pointed out that most comments
against term extensions were WRT **ALL** classes of works. He does not
accept this.

I would also have liked to ask Mr. Stockfish why no open and public
consultation process was engaged in on the issue of term of copyright in
unpublished works, and why the "consultation" took place not with the
general public, but with a handpicked group of four organizations, three
of which have alienated many of their own members and clientele by not
standing up more vigourously for the public domain. I would also have like
to ask why their submissions were not, unlike the 2001 review, made public
on the web for response from members of the general public. I didn't
because my temper was beginning to rise.

The Copyright Act amendments contained in Bill C-36 have been the subject
of sham public reviews, IF they have been the subject of public review at
all. However, the Committee seems disinclined to give C-36, and especially
its troublesome copyright amendments, the rubber stamp.

We have an opening to kill the copyright amendments of C-36.

There is still time to oppose this measure, which has no chance of
becoming law before the fall. Please register your concerns:

FIRST AND FOREMOST, with your own Member of Parliament. If you do nothing
else, please email, fax, or write your Members. It is very important that
you register your objections in writing, to your own Memebrs, identifying
that you are a constituent in their riding.

SECOND, with the responsible Ministers:

Minister Sheila Copps: coppss@parl.gc.ca AND Min.Copps@canadianheritage.gc.ca
Minister Allan Rock: rocka@parl.gc.ca AND Minister.Industry@ic.gc.ca

THIRD, with the Copyright Reform Process: copyright-droitdauteur@ic.gc.ca

FOURTH, with Jeff Richstone of Heritage Canada: jeff_richstone@pch.gc.ca

FIFTH, with the Canadian Heritage committee:

CHAIR
  Clifford Lincoln (Lib, QC): lincoc@parl.gc.ca

VICE-CHAIRS
  Jim Abbott (CA, BC): abbotj@parl.gc.ca
  Paul Bonwick (Lib, ON): bonwip@parl.gc.ca

MEMBERS
  Carole-Marie Allard (Lib, QC, Parliamentary Sec., Canadian Heritage):
   allarc@parl.gc.ca
  Sarmite Bulte (Lib, ON): bultes@parl.gc.ca
  R. John Efford (Lib, NF): efforj@parl.gc.ca
  Liza Frulla (Lib, QC): frulll@parl.gc.ca
  Christiane Gagnon (BQ, QC): gagnoc@parl.gc.ca
  John Harvard (Lib, MB): harvaj@parl.gc.ca
  Wendy Lill (NDP, NS): lillw@parl.gc.ca
  James Lunney (CA, BC): lunnej@parl.gc.ca
  Dennis Mills (Lib, ON): millsd@parl.gc.ca
  Gary Schellenberger (PC, ON: schelg@parl.gc.ca
  Alex Shepherd (Lib, ON) shepha@parl.gc.ca
  Caroline St-Hilaire (BQ, QC): sthilc@parl.gc.ca
  Chuck Strahl (CA, BC): strahc@parl.gc.ca


WJM
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