The following message was received from Damien Fox who has been helping to coordinate this alliance.
Dear CSIA members,
CSIA is live!
The Canadian Software Innovation Alliance is now live and finally has a web site! Our new temporary home is at www.softwareinnovation.ca, or directly at www.linux.ca/csia. Many thanks to the people at CLUE, the organization formerly known as the Canadian Linux Users Exchange, for their hard work putting together a completely open source content management system, and letting the CSIA borrow a slice. Also many thanks to the Canadian open source business community, who have almost all stepped up and signed on to be members of the CSIA. Together, we are going to make sure our elected politicians understand that open source software and the open source industry are important to the Canadian economy and help make sure our information infrastructure is reliable, secure, and competitive.
Copyright Reform Is Coming
We understand that the Conservative government is looking at putting together a copyright bill, and that it could focus on US-style anti- circumvention laws à la DMCA. We're working on pulling together a quick letter to the Ministers of Industry and Heritage reminding them of why the DMCA – and any circumvention law – is a bad idea. Don't be afraid to voice your own concerns about this development. Feel free to write your member of parliament. For contact information go to:
http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx or
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp
The Conservatives had lots to say about government accountability during the recent election campaign, and rightly so. We need to remind our politicians that Canada's copyright laws need to work for all creators and innovators, and not just foreign content distributors.
White Paper Is Coming
We're working on a White Paper for the CSIA outlining why open source software and the open source industry are important, and how copyright law needs to keep supporting open source. This is a collaborative Creative Commons Canada document with input from many members of the open source community. If you're interested and providing your comments, get in touch with David Fewer at CIPPIC (dfewer -at- uottawa.ca).
Ask Your Friends and Colleagues If They Have Joined
Lots of Canadian open source businesses have become members, but we haven't been able to get in touch with everyone. In fact, there is no central listing of open source developers and service providers for Canada. As the CSIA membership grows, it will also become a great resource for people to learn more about their open source computing and service options. Numbers gives us credibility and a strong voice. We need to recruit, and we need your help. Send ideas and contacts our way – damien -at- wirelessnomad.com or dfewer -at- uottawa.ca.
The Future of Computing is Being Decided
The future of computing is being decided. Content distributors are seeking new laws to give them greater control over both content and the tools used to distribute and use content. The kinds of laws these interests are seeking aim to restrict openness and control innovation – values that define the open source community. We have both the opportunity and the responsibility to provide a reasonable voice to counter the content industry rhetoric. We at the CSIA are pleased to be able to do our part with your support.
Sincerely,
The Canadian Software Innovation Alliance