Sam Bulte dines out
p2p news / p2pnet: Do you want the entertainment cartels to have a seat in the next Canadian parliament?
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives look set to win the election on January 23. But you never know. And if Paul Martin’s Liberal squeak back in, Sam Bulte, dubbed Hollywood’s Canadian MP, might go with them. And if she does, there’s a chance she might become the new heritage minister.
To that end, the Canadian Recording Industry Association of America (CRIA) and pals are tonight (January 19) backing a $250-a-plate bash aimed at raising cash for Bulte.
As Online Rights Canada (ORC) says, it’s, "copyright interests contributing thousands of dollars to a politician who sets policy for their industry" and accordingly, is organizing a bash of its own also slated for tonight.
Bulte’s entertainment cartel event is at The Underground at The Drake, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, two blocks east of Gladstone at Beaconsfield.
The ORC do is at The Corner Cafe at The Drake, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto, two blocks east of Gladstone at Beaconsfield.
Meanwhile, as professor Michael Geist wrote recently:
"First, she [Bulte] tried (unsuccessfully in my view) to distinguish between the hosting of a fundraiser and the sponsorship of a fundraiser. She argued that CRIA, CMPDA, et al are merely hosting the event, rather than sponsoring it. I don’t think the argument did much for host Alan Neal as it feels like a Canadian version of "weapon of mass destruction related programs". The problem here is holding a fundraiser directly linked to industry lobby groups four days before an election. Whether sponsored or hosted, the concern remains the same.
"Second, Bulte demonstrated the danger of drawing directly from the CRIA playbook. She professed to represent the interests of artists in her riding, yet again made a point of raising the downloading issue. The problem with this approach is that downloading has little to do with the interests of those same individual artists. Fighting for Canadian artists is admirable but Bulte is seemingly using that support as a cover for advocating U.S. backed policies and organizations that contribute very little to the development of new Canadian music much less Canadian culture.
"Third, Bulte made the startling claim that while artists were not well represented, Internet users have great support coming from Industry Canada. This will be news to Industry Canada and once again does not stand up to scrutiny. Consider the hearings before Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in the spring 2004 which led to the Bulte report. Bulte chaired that committee and certainly could have ensured that the hearings were balanced. Unfortunately, user groups were scarcely heard from and there was no government ministry there to defend user interests. On the other hand, the copyright industries were out in full force with the music industry and collectives represented by CRIA, SOCAN, ADISQ, CMRRA, and the CPCC among others."
If you’re in Canada and you can get there, be there.
If you can’t, spread the word on- and offline.
Also See:
Hollywood’s Canadian MP – The Bulte CRIA saga continues, January 12, 2006
