I want to remind Canadians why it is that the cartels are not suing people in Canada.

a) Unlike the USA, Canada has privacy legislation (PIPEDA) that disallows the ISPs from disclosing the names of their customers without a court order. In order to get a court order some minimum level of evidence (and I mean minimum) needs to be brought in front of a judge. The cartels have been unwilling to collect any evidence, and thus they have not been able to get over this minuscule hurdle.

b) The cartels are far more interested in encouraging the Canadian government to pass draconian laws than to win in the courts. They know that if they provide evidence of infringing activity that not only will they get past PIPEDA but they would also win their copyright case. Their lobbying of the Canadian government to pass draconian laws is largely based on the myth that current Canadian law doesn’t provide them the tools to sue, and successfully suing would destroy that myth.

The same major labels that make up the RIAA in the USA make up the CRIA in Canada and the IFPI internationally. The cartels are already here, but because of the legal and political climate here they have a different strategy than in the USA.

Canadians should do their part to ensure that politicians understand this, so that the cartels won’t win. As important as it is for Americans to not settle out of court with the cartels, it is important for Canadians to engage with candidates during elections and elected representatives between elections.

Please sign the petitions and send the sample letters at http://digital-copyright.ca