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PIPEDA Review Underway Today

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) examines the PIPEDA review which begins today. Representatives from Industry Canada will lead off, followed over the next week by privacy experts and the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.  With the hearings expected to extend into mid-December, I argue that it […]

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November 20, 2006 Comments are Disabled Columns

CRTC Chair Candidates Canvassed

CTV reporter David Akin provides an inside perspective on the current round of interviews for the next chair of the CRTC.

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November 17, 2006 Comments are Disabled News

Quebec and Copyright

Today's Le Devoir features a noteworthy op-ed on copyright from many of Quebec's leading publishers.  The gist of the op-ed is that copyright is crucial to Quebec culture, the educational exception proposed by Canadian Ministers of Education would have a devastating effect on that culture, and the Conservatives seem ready to support the education exception without any public debate. 

Given the transparent efforts of the minority Conservatives to court the Quebec vote – this week alone Industry Minister Bernier gave two speeches in Montreal on economic development and the environment, while Heritage Minister Bev Oda opened an OAS conference on culture – it is worth considering how copyright reform will play in Quebec. 

The working assumption is generally that culture is major issue in Quebec, that copyright is viewed as an integral part of cultural policy, and that therefore stronger copyright laws are an election winner in the province.  Yet if the rumours about the contents of the forthcoming copyright bill are accurate, the Conservatives are about to fundamentally misread where the support for copyright reform lies.  The bill is likely to contain two pillars – anti-circumvention legislation and the education exception (there will obviously be other provisions but these are the two issues designed to address the loudest lobby groups, namely CRIA and CMEC).  Both issues are losers in Quebec.

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November 17, 2006 6 comments News

The E-Voting Aftermath

With the municipal elections in Ontario now concluded, supporters of Markham's Internet voting service (namely the service provider) are trumpeting the outcome, arguing that an increasing percentage of voters used the Internet.  A press release from Delvinia suggests that this is "a victory for busy people" and encourages other municipalities […]

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November 17, 2006 17 comments News

PIPEDA Review Schedule Unfolds

The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Ethics, and Privacy launches the PIPEDA review next week with three hearings now on tap.  Representatives from Industry Canada will appear on Monday, Richard Rosenberg and Colin Bennett, two B.C. experts appear on Wednesday, and Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart is scheduled […]

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November 16, 2006 Comments are Disabled News