Fall election not expected to minimize impact from nationwide consultations on copyright reform

As Canada’s main political parties jockey for an anticipated fall election, there are fears that plans to table a new copyright bill later this year will once again be delayed. However, analysts are optimistic that the nationwide consultations currently underway will continue to play a key role in shaping any new legislation. “If there is an election call, the timeline for getting a bill out will be pushed back,” says Michael Geist, an Internet law professor at the University of Ottawa, who closely follows copyright issues. Last week, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff upped the election ante when he announced that his party would no longer support Stephen Harper’s minority government when the House of Commons reconvenes on Sept. 14. Early this week, , Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe was quoted in the national media saying his party considers a fall election inevitable and the party is preparing for it. The Conservatives have reportedly paid a deposit that will allow them to charter a plane on short notice and have ramped up hiring of staff at their campaign war room in Ottawa. The threat of a fall election comes in the midst of a major public consultation process on copyright reform which ends Sept. 13, one day before Parliament reconvenes. The process was launched in July and was envisaged by the Conservatives as the basis for a new copyright bill to be tabled this fall or before the end of the year. It has captured the attention of thousands of Canadians who have been actively contributing their opinions on what a future copyright bill should contain. Geist says while the bill itself may be delayed, the consultation process will still prove valuable in drafting new legislation “Regardless of the political situation, whether we have an election in the fall or one in 2010, the results of this consultation will go a long way to providing the framework for a bill, whenever that bill happens to arrive,” he says. “Even if we move into an election soon afterwards, by that time the result of the consultation will largely be in the hands of bureaucracy and policy makers who will presumably be studying what they heard at the round tables, the submissions they received and begin work on a public document and report what the public has said.” Tamir Israel, a staff lawyer with the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) at the University of Ottawa says the consultation process cuts across the political divide as all parties are keen on a new ‘balanced’ copyright bill. “What will come out this discussion is not a partisan view. It is the view of Canadians and I don’t think any government can ignore that,” he says. He adds that the thousands of Canadians who participated in the consultation process effectively ensures that any future government and minister will have little choice but to incorporate some of the review’s findings into a new copyright bill. The main concerns voiced by participants included pressing issues such as fair-dealing and anti-circumvention legislation that strikes a balance between user rights and the rights of originators. And if any government goes against what the public has said, Geist hints that this could raise a public outcry just like what happened when the now defunct Bill C-61 was introduced in June last year. But while the delay might not be viewed kindly by stakeholders, especially those in the music recording business, Israel says he doesn’t see anything in the intended legislation that’s a quick fix for their problems.

Fall election not expected to minimize impact from nationwide consultations on copyright reform

News | 09/09/2009 2:01 pm EDT

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