Post Tagged with: "prentice"

Senate Spam Bill Important First Step After Years of Inaction

The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly scourge that raises criminal concerns would seem like a no-brainer, successive Industry Ministers have failed to prioritize the issue.   The need for Canadian anti-spam legislation was the unanimous recommendation of the 2005 National Task Force on Spam, which included members from the Internet, marketing, and consumer communities (I was a member of the task force).  The final report, which was received with approval from the current Conservative (then Liberal) Minister David Emerson, noted that Canada was quickly becoming one of the only Western countries to neglect the issue and was at risk of developing into a haven for spammers seeking refuge in countries with lax anti-spam regulations.

While a government-backed anti-spam bill is still nowhere to be seen, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the fact that earlier this month Senator Yoine Goldstein quietly stepped into the policy void by introducing the Anti-Spam Act (ASA).  Modeled after widely lauded Australian anti-spam legislation, the ASA is the most comprehensive Canadian anti-spam proposal floated to date and even if it languishes in the Senate (private member's bill rarely become law) it promises to place additional pressure on the government to reveal its own anti-spam plan.

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May 19, 2008 3 comments Columns

Senate Spam Bill Important Step After Years of Inaction

Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 19, 2008 as Senator's Anti-Spam Bill is Welcome News The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly […]

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May 19, 2008 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Copyfight at the Library of Parliament Committee

It looks like Industry Minister Jim Prentice has yet another group that will be unhappy with his forthcoming copyright bill – the Library of Parliament.  Macleans Kady O'Malley live-blogged a committee hearing today (short summary here) during which a fight over copyright broke out.  The Library called for a special […]

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May 15, 2008 5 comments News

Angus Raises Copyright During Question Period

Fresh off the Canadian Press story that the suggests a copyright bill delay, copyright reform made it back onto the floor of the House of Commons.  NDP MP Charlie Angus posed two questions (audio) (video) (transcript) to Industry Minister Jim Prentice, packing in the LeBreton comment about the dangers of […]

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May 15, 2008 4 comments News

The Canadian DMCA Delayed Again? I’m Not So Sure

Ever since the government decided to delay Canadian copyright reform last December, Industry Minister Jim Prentice has relied on the same talking point – "When (Canadian Heritage Minister Josee) Verner and I have reached a consensus and we're satisfied, we will introduce a bill."  On Wednesday Prentice was asked about […]

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May 14, 2008 4 comments News