Michael Geist

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Conservative Majority Gives Ottawa A Crack At Breaking The Digital Logjam

My weekly technology column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) reviews many of the points raised in a blog post last week on the future of digital policies in Canada given the majority Conservative government. It is hard to project precisely what will happen; given the number of open cabinet positions it is not known whether Industry Minister Tony Clement and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore will remain in their portfolios or move elsewhere. If they stay the course, the Conservative digital policies are strong in a number of areas.

May 10, 2011 — 10 comments — Columns

Government Reaffirms Plans for Lawful Access

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews yesterday re-affirmed the government’s commitment to passing lawful access legislation within 100 sitting days.

May 10, 2011 — 5 comments — News

New Zealand Angry Over US IP Watch List

Add New Zealand to the growing list of countries upset over this year’s USTR Special 301 list. Opposition politicians and independent academics view the placement as gearing up for the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations and an attempt to increase drug prices in the country.

May 10, 2011 — Comments are Disabled — News

Billboard Article Changes Tune on Canadian Copyright Reform

Last week, Billboard ran an article on what the Conservative majority government might mean for copyright reform. The article placed the spotlight on the sharp divide between the Canadian Recording Industry Association on one side and much of the remainder of the music industry on the other. While CRIA was one of Bill C-32’s most vocal supporters (aided by its Balanced Copyright for Canada site), many other music associations including collectives, songwriters, and publishers were sharply critical. This divide came through in the original article, noting that CRIA’s Graham Henderson told Billboard.biz that “he believes 90 percent of C-32 was agreed upon by members of the music industry ‘with just a difference of opinions on a couple of things'”.

That comment led to a sharp rebuke from Catherine Saxberg of the Canadian Music Publishers Association:

May 9, 2011 — 7 comments — News