Canada Officially Joins Trans Pacific Partnership Talks
October 9, 2012
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Episode 278: Ben Waldman on Gander Social and the Challenges of Building a Sovereign Social Network
byMichael Geist

August 10, 2026
Michael Geist
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What did we agree with re: IP
Any leaks as to what we capitulated on, especially regarding IP, given the US hijacking of the agenda.
You stated in an earlier post that American lobbyists were pressuring the US gov’t to recommend additions to Canadian Copyright right after Bill C-11 was finalized. Do we know if that was part of Canada’s joining?
TPP
Wooohooo! Let’s all party!
Cons out 2015, yes we can!
TPP – prepare to mobilize
The problem with these international secretive trade agreements is that some, or often just one, of the parties will try to advance it’s own agenda and force it upon the others; these can then use the “international obligations” excuse to force unpopular legislation on its own people. We all know that in Canada and other first-past-the-post democacies this won’t be a problem at all.
Case in point: the IPR Chapter, carefully crafted by the USTR with plenty of creative input from the usual suspects (names ending in AA). Of course the usual: copyright term extensions (from 5 to 7 decades after the last co-creator dies), a copyright militia, ISP liability, etc. etc. You’d think with the defeat of ACTA and SOPA/PIPA before that these things would stop. But, as did The Terminator, it will not stop. It will continue and try again, and again, and again. It will not grow tired. It will not lose focus. It has a single objective in mind. It hopes one single bullet will pass through the shield and score a hit. That is all it needs to complete its mission.
Don’t think it’s just the Conservatives.
Did you hear anything from the Liberals or the NDP about changing C-11 if/when they got in power? No. And they likely won’t.
The can be vocal now. Announce that C-11 is the line in the sand and that the MPAA/RIAA Shall! Not! Pass! Do you hear that? I don’t. It’s all quiet on the Eastern and Western fronts.