Canadian copyright lobby scoreboard
p2pnet news view | P2P | Politics:- With the Canadian mainstream media featuring prominent coverage of the Conference Board of Canada’s decision to recall its now discredited IP reports (Globe and Mail, CBC, Montreal Gazette, IT Business, Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Toronto Star, Chronicle of Higher Education) it is worth remembering why the copyright lobby funded the Conference Board to produce the report in the first place.
I believe the answer is fairly clear – the plan was to use it for media coverage, to support its conference (chaired by the Canadian Recording Industry Association’s Graham Henderson) and to provide in the regular meetings between the lobbyists and Canada’s politicians and policy makers.
The media and conference side of the story is obvious. The degree to which these lobbyist meetings occur, however, may come as a surprise.
I’ve been tracking the monthly lobbyist reports and offer up the following scorecard, which covers just the first four months of 2009.
It shows that the movie and music industry lobbyists meet with either politicians or policy makers roughly twice per month with access at the very highest levels of government.
Note as well the breadth of the meetings with meetings extending beyond Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, to the Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Affairs, Justice, and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
| Lobby Group | Number and Dates of Meetings (Jan – April 2009) | Details |
| Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association (CMPDA) | 8 (April 28, 28, 17, March 27, 26, 20, Feb 2, Jan 8 ) |
Meetings with Industry Minister Tony Clement, Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, chiefs of staff, senior officials at Heritage and Industry |
| Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) | 7 (March 24, 23, 12, 10, Feb 3, Jan 23, 8 |
Meetings with Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, chiefs of staff, senior officials at Prime Ministers Office, Heritage, Industry. No registration for Juno Awards, which Moore attended. |
| Microsoft/Entertainment Software Association | 4 (April 2, March 30, 5, Feb 18) |
Meetings with senior officials at Prime Minister’s Office, Justice, Heritage, and Industry. No registration for ESA sponsored event attended by Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore and Industry Parliamentary Secretary Mike Lake. |
| Canadian Chamber of Commerce | 3 (April 20, March 18, Feb 12) |
Meeting with Industry Minister Tony Clement, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart (DRM and privacy), and senior official at Department of Foreign Affairs |
Michael Geist
[Geist is the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa. He can be reached by email at mgeist[at]uottawa.ca and is on-line at www.michaelgeist.ca.]
May, 2009
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May 31st, 2009 at 8:52 am
The Future of the Internet: Access, Openness, and Inclusion
A Town Hall Discussion
Until now, Canada’s Internet has been an open network — and a level playing field for free speech, innovation, and free market competition. All that is now under threat.
A handful of companies are threatening to change the way Canada’s Internet works. They want to replace the open network Canadians enjoy today with a discriminatory or “gatekeeper network” — where they decide which content and services get the fastest access to our homes.
These companies have been caught:
- throttling or slowing Internet traffic to businesses and consumers;
- blocking access to web sites that criticized them;
- crippling consumer devices and applications.
This threatens Canada’s free speech and economic competitiveness.
SaveOurNet.ca is launching a series of Open Internet Town Halls across the country to engage citizens in discussions about the future of the Internet:
***Open Internet Town Hall Meeting (TORONTO)
Monday June 8, 2009, 7:00pm â The Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St. West)
Speakers include:
Mark Surman â Executive Director, Mozilla Foundation
Steve Anderson â Co-founder, SaveOurNet.ca
Rocky Gaudrault â CEO, Teksavvy Solutions Inc.
Derek Blackadder â National Representative with CUPE
REGISTER TO RESERVE A SEAT: http://saveournet.ca/toronto
***Open Internet Town Hall Meeting (Ottawa)
Wednesday June 10, 2009, 7:00pm â Ottawa Public Library Main Branch (120 Metcalfe St)
Speakers include:
Michael Geist â law professor at the University of Ottawa where he is Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, blogger
Charlie Angus â NDP MP, Heritage and Culture
Rocky Gaudrault â CEO, Teksavvy Solutions Inc.
Bill St. Arnaud â Chief Research Officer for CANARIE Inc.
Introduction by Steve Anderson â Co-founder, SaveOurNet.ca
Discussion Facilitator: Marita Moll â TeleCommunities Canada
REGISTER TO RESERVE A SEAT: http://saveournet.ca/ottawa
***Open Internet Town Hall Meeting (Vancouver)
Saturday June 20, 2009, tbd â Session at Vancouver ChangeCamp, BCIT Downtown Campus (555 Seymour St)
Speakers include:
Rocky Gaudrault â CEO, Teksavvy Solutions Inc.
Steve Anderson â Co-founder, SaveOurNet.ca
**More to comeâ¦
REGISTER TO RESERVE A SEAT: http://vanchangecamp.eventbrite.com/
****SaveOurNet.ca Internet Dance Party (Vancouver)
Saturday June 20, 2009, 6:00pm â 2:00am â Location to be revealed soon.
Canada’s FIRST live Internet Dance Party will hit Vancouver on Saturday June 20, 2009!
SaveOurNet.ca is hosting an Internet Dance Party as both a fundraiser for SaveOurNet.ca and the official after party for VanChangeCamp http://vanchangecamp.eventbrite.com/
6:00pm – 8:00pm – Social & Film Screening
8:00pm – 2:00am – Internet Dance Party
Special Guests:
Quest Poetics feat: Mello Black, Mario Vaira, & DJ Hayze
More guests to be announced soon!
ONLINE REGISTRATION: http://internetdanceparty.eventbrite.com/
http://saveournet.ca/townhall