News

Liberal MP McTeague Pushing New IP and Anti-Counterfeiting Caucus

As MPs prepare for a new Parliamentary session next week, sources indicate that Liberal MP Dan McTeague is promoting a new IP and Anti-Counterfeiting Caucus.  In a letter to MPs, McTeague points to the recent Committee reports on counterfeiting and argues that:

From the findings of these reports and from the views held by most independent observers; industry representatives; IP experts; and law enforcement officers, if Canada does not take action to protect IP and  combat the growing increase in counterfeiting and piracy throughout all sectors of our economy, then we will face very serious consequences.  Canada's domestic economy will suffer; jobs will be lost; our ability to attract foreign investment will be impacted upon; our innovative capacity will be severely undermined; public safety will be compromised; and Canada's image in the global community will be tarnished. 

McTeague's solution is to create a new IP Caucus to promote WIPO ratification and IP reform.  Indeed, his first order of business is a trip to Washington to meet with the U.S. Congressional IP Caucus to "to exchange ideas and gain additional insight on this serious issue."

This proposal is both misguided and dangerous.  Has McTeague actually spoken to independent observers and IP experts (registered copyright lobbyists don't count)? Has McTeague – who is the opposition critic for consumer affairs – considered the impact of these reforms on consumers?  Most academics and independent observers would strongly disagree with his assessment of the state of Canada's IP laws and their impact on our economy.  Canada needs a dialogue on copyright and UP reforms that meet our national interest, not a new forum for the U.S. copyright lobby. 

7 Comments

  1. Another successful lobby
    Another MP has fallen for the lobbyists’ favourite tactic: “Because I hear a lot about it, it must be true!” This is similar to a couple other “calls to action!” we’ve been hearing from MP’s over the last year or two.

    As you continue to point out, we’ve been hearing a lot about it because the U.S. copyright lobby has been running a strong anti-Canada PR lobby as of late and using the U.S. “owned and operated” WIPO as the explanation.

  2. Sam Bulte Part Deux
    An effort should be mounted to throw him out on the next elections, which might actually be soon!

  3. Chris Charabaruk says:

    As one of his constituents, I like the idea of voting him out over this latest bit of idiocy… The problem is that mine is a very NDP-unfriendly riding so the only other possibility is the Conservatives, which is worse.

  4. Tired Taxpayer says:

    From the Bed to the Bill
    When is the Canadian Government going to begin representing Canadians instead of U.S. interests? A good start would be to stop listening to lobbyists who have sold themselves to the highest bidder.

    Talking of lobbyists, I would be interested to know how much our government’s position, or for that matter any possible bill concerning WIPO has been influenced by Frith (and therefore the mighty Hollywood machine) via his liason with Patricia Neri. Ms. Neri was Director General of Copyright (which includes IP) until just a few weeks ago, was responsible for briefing the new minister, and is still a “special advisor” for Heritage.

    Instead of paying our representatives to sleep with the enemy, why don’t we just elect George Bush and have done with it.

  5. Russell McOrmond says:

    Not about parties but about individuals
    To those who think the Conservatives will be worse: this is an issue that crosses party lines and really focuses on individuals. The NDP were opposed to our rights until they changed Heritage critics from a playwrite who was fearful of digital technology to an independant musician who understands the democratic and economic benefits of digital technology.

    The same is true of every other party. Please join me at http://digital-copyright.ca to seek out individual candidates in each riding who understand the issues, regardless of what party they happen to be from.

    I actually have far higher hopes at the moment for some Conservative caucus members. I’ll hopefully have something interesting to report later this week.

  6. Russell McOrmond Wrote,
    \”The same is true of every other party. Please join me at http://digital-copyright.ca to seek out individual candidates in each riding who understand the issues, regardless of what party they happen to be from.\”

    That is the true spirit of our political system, to elect those who will locally best represent our collective intrest. Sadly, we have been lead to believe for so long that we need to elect a particular party and not only is that is simply not true at all, it is also quite detrimental to the longevity of our sovereignty and way of life. Vote for person who you want representing you – end of story!

    Now, all we need to do is compell the average person to give a damn…

  7. Russell McOrmond says:

    Average person
    We don’t need to compell very many people. The reality is that few people take the time to engage in politics, meaning it only takes a small number of very dedicated people to make very important changes.