Sam Bulte, Canada's Liberal MP who takes giant campaign contributions from the entertainment industry in exchange for delivering US-style ridiculous copyright laws, is a lot dirtier than previously suspected.
Michael Geist has published an investigation into the sources of funding for Bulte's election campaigns, and shows that Bulte — who wrote a report advocating the most extreme copyright restrictions imaginable and championed the Canada's Bill C60 copyright law proposal — receives funds from across the copyright industries. What's more, she's the only candidate in the country who is funded in this way.
Canada doesn't have the same sad tradition of corporations buying laws through campaign contributions that the US has, except in Bulte's case. Not only is Bulte importing the worst of the US's failed copyright system (when the best remedy a copyright system can offer to file-sharing is suing fans and putting locks on music, that's a failure), she's also importing the worst of US electoral politics.
As with the January fundraiser, it is becoming increasingly clear that the pro-stronger copyright lobby is a major Bulte backer. From what I can find on the Elections Canada site, consider that Bulte's riding association received contributions during this period from the following groups:
* Access Copyright
* Association Of Canadian Publishers
* Canadian Film & television Production Association
* Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency
* Canadian Publisher's Council
* Canadian Non-Theatrical Film & Video Corp.
* Professional Association of Canadian Theatres
* Professional Photographers of Canada
* SOCANWhat makes the thousands of dollars raised from these groups particularly noteworthy is that Bulte's riding association was the only one to receive such contributions. In other words, at a time when the publishing, music, movie, and photographer industries and collectives were concerned with copyright reform, they chose to provide campaign contributions to just one Member of Parliament – Sam Bulte (or at least only one chose to accept such contributions).
Bulte's NDP opponent is Peggy Nash, and from what I hear, she stands a good chance of being elected in Toronto's Parkdale/High Park riding, where I lived for ten years.
Update: Digital-copyright.ca has a wiki page for Bulte's riding for those who want to organize to campaign against her.
Update 2: Terry sez, "Rob Rishchynski is the Parkdale/High Park candidate for The Green Party of Canada."
