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September 04 2009

The Honourable Tony Clement
Minister Of Industry, Science & Technology
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Honourable James Moore
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Ministers,

The proposal for copyright reform is far too arbitrary.

It replacing what is already a David & Goliath situation, with the might and money of the Canadian recording industry association against individuals, with a statutory penalty. Who exactly will police this and prevent abuse? I predict that an industry will develop around the widespread and wholesale prosecution and summary judgements against Canadians.

If you do not think it is easy to manufacture or misinterpret evidence in the cyberworld, let me disabuse you of this notion. Today, thousands of students use campus wireless to connect to the Internet. Thousands to hundreds of thousands of consumers sit in cafes, airports, libraries, and public areas connected, and it is completely trivial to wardrive and poach on both open and secured home WiFi. That so few do today is because it is so inexpensive and easy to connect legitimately, and if a few poach, who really cares. Throw in fines based on arbitrary judgements, and this all changes.

Who are we protecting exactly with this proposed legislation? The recording industry and the fortunate few very talented and established artists who really don't need help in protecting their interests. I really don't think they are in any danger of becoming impoverished, perhaps a little less fat than they are today. Are we really saying that we are more concerned about making it easy for the entertainment industry to reap maximum profits for frankly, a non-essential and ephemeral product, than we are for fairness and access to justice for a large percentage of Canadians?

In the end, I believe that summary judgement is a bad idea. In any situation where a large organization comes up against individual consumers, it is the duty and obligation of government to provide relief and protection to the individual, and to faithfully represent and provide a voice for him or her. Please do not forget who your constituents are.

Regards,

Carlos da Roza
Montreal
Quebec

cc: Marc Garneau — Official Opposition Critic For Industry, Science & Technology

cc: Pablo Rodriguez — Official Critic For Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

cc: Charlie Angus — NDP Digital Affairs Critic