Look what landed in my e-mail box today, in re: ACTA (and its equally scuzzy Canadian equivalent):
Dear Sabina,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your electronic correspondence dated May 15, 2012 regarding bill C-11: The Copyright Modernization Act.
The Government of Canada reintroduced the Copyright Modernization Act without changes on September 29, 2011. This fulfills the government’s commitment from the 2011 Speech from the Throne to reintroduce and seek swift passage of the Copyright Modernization Act.
Since 1997, three attempts have been made to amend Canada’s Copyright Act. During the last Parliament, Bill C-32 was introduced by the government in June 2010 but died on the Order Paper. The Bill passed Second Reading and was being reviewed by a legislative committee when an election was called. The legislative committee received over 150 written submissions from stakeholders and heard from over 70 individuals and organizations that appeared as witnesses.
A part of Canada’s Digital Economy Strategy, the Copyright Modernization Act is designed to address the interests of Canadians, from those who create content to the consumers who will benefit from it. Combined with the other legislative initiatives under the Digital Economy Strategy, the bill will contribute to a well functioning digital economy by instilling trust and confidence in the online marketplace and electronic commerce. For creators, the bill proposes strong measures to help them protect their work in the digital environment, notably by implementing the rights and protections of the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization Internet treaties, including strong legal protections for digital locks, a new liability for those promoting infringement online and making available rights to ensure control of material over the Internet. For users, it provides new and updated exceptions to promote the benefits of new technologies. For intermediaries (e.g., Internet service providers), the bill outlines their responsibilities and potential liability with respect to copyright protection.
In fact, recently, the Government of Canada struck a special committee that would examine all aspects of bill C-11 to ensure that the proposed bill is in the best interest of industry and Canadians alike. If you have further comment or wish to make a submission to the committee, I would encourage you to write to the committee clerk at: CC11@parl.gc.ca.
I would like to once again thank you for your letter and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.
Yours truly,
Rick Norlock, MP
Northumberland-Quinte West
Well, he’s polite, I’ll give him that.
Now, can anybody make heads or tails of that? Because it sure sounds to me like “Thanks for your concern, you’ve been heard but you’re still being disregarded. Our minds are already made up, so please don’t try to confuse us with the facts. Yours truly, etc.”
I’ll just let the LOLcats do the talking from now on, how ’bout that?
