Canadian MPs who are vulnerable on copyright -- how we'll win the war on the Canadian DMCA

As Canadian copyfighters gear up to fight the reintroduction of Industry Minister Jim Prentice's new copyright bill -- which imports the American-style Digital Millennium Copyright Act into Canadian law, despite the DMCA's widespread abuse and total failure to reduce piracy over the past ten years -- Michael Geist has given us all a powerful weapon.

Geist has produced a list of Members of Parliament in "unsafe seats" (seats won on narrow margins) whose electoral ridings include a university or college, where one might expect to find a lot of opponents of a copyright law that makes research, development, and scholarship into legally risky activities.

As Geist points out, it's one thing for Prentice -- who has a very safe seat indeed -- to introduce legislation on behalf of American entertainment industry giants without even consulting Canadian stakeholders, but it's another thing entirely for Members like Rod Bruinooge, who owes his seat to 111 voters, and who represents the 30,000 students at the University of Manitoba.

When push comes to shove, Prentice is going to have a damned hard time getting his bill through if he doesn't talk to Canadians about what they want before he crams EMI, Universal, Sony and Warner's agenda down our throats.

Want to get involved? Join the tens of thousands of Canadians who've signed up for local Fair Copyright for Canadians groups and let your MP know what side you're on. Link

See also: Canadian Privacy Commissioner rejects DRM: don't give spyware legal protection!

[Powers January 23, 2008 12:03 AM]

I'm in Stephen Harper's riding...wish that meant I have a voice instead of having none at all! :(

[porn for creative souls January 23, 2008 12:51 AM]

Let's get the committee caller software people to do one for canada...or anyone who knows how to use asterisk to simulate a pbx....

we can have thousands of college students calling MPs....

if that insult of a legislation stands a chance, I'd be very surprised.

[Lady Cooper January 23, 2008 4:54 AM]

Hah! I did not know that Pete Mackay had such a narrow win! Since the Liberals aren't running a candidate in that riding in a deal with the Green Party, a lot of former Liberal votes may go NDP, and ol' Pete might lose his seat. Which would be HILARIOUS since he's basically Deputy PM.

Also, I went to grade school with Jim Prentice's daughter, who's just a bit of a spoiled brat. Jim himself isn't actually that bad a guy as an individual, but this new copyright crap is going a bit too far. Hopefully another election will be called over the Manley Report, killing any copyright legislation that hasn't gone though the Commons AND the Senate.

And #1, I hear you. I'm in Calgary Centre and I work for the Liberals. Being an Alberta Liberal basically sucks and sometimes is genuinely dangerous, but at least you know the election results before they come out...they're just not in your favour.

[Idealistic Pragmatist January 23, 2008 7:11 AM]

Thanks for this! Readers in Edmonton-Strathcona will be interested to know that Linda Duncan, the NDP candidate who came closer to beating Rahim Jaffer than anyone has since he was elected in 1997, is running again this time, and has been campaigning hard since December 2006. Please visit her website and get involved with her campaign if you're interested in helping us unseat him!

[Alys January 23, 2008 8:29 PM]

@ Powers (#1) - I'm in Rob Anders' riding, where a lamppost with a Conservative sign on it could win the election. Nevermind that we're also the riding of the University of Calgary. Too many stalwart Tories here.

[Lady Cooper January 24, 2008 6:28 AM]

Rob "Nelson Mandela is a terrorist and a communist" Anders?