With ever-present news of a possible election in Canada coming, the death of the current incarnation of the Canadian DMCA is no longer a question of if, but when.There's been no shortage of coverage on the very real possibility that Canada will be headed into an election very soon. We've covered the issue before when the possibility that the Canadian DMCA (Bill C-61) might be dying on the order-paper just like the first Canadian DMCA, Bill C-60 in 2005. Back at that point, it was only a distinct possibility that the Canadian DMCA would die on the order-paper. Now with extensive coverage suggesting that Canadians will know for sure next week if an election is called, it seems that the fate of the Canadian DMCA has been sealed at this point. Still, is it the end of the Canadian DMCA? Maybe as we know it today, but the copyright debates are far from over. The Canadian DMCA of 2005 had numerous provisions that concerned Canadians went up in arms over. While the debates were very present back then, the debates were smaller when compared to a much more organized opposition of the Canadian DMCA of 2008. While a succession of minority governments have spared Canadians of some of the most controversial copyright reform proposals, it may be proof that the Canadian DMCA never really died in the first place, just the paper it was printed on. There are many differences between the Canadian DMCA of 2005 and the Canadian DMCA of 2008, but there are also many similarities such as the controversy surrounding "lessons" for teachers for instance as well. While some of the debates focus primarily on file-sharing, many other less publicized debates swirl around copyright reform such as the of copyrighted content for fair dealings purposes (examples: viewing DVD movies on a Linux box, quoting from an e-book with DRM, and time-shifting TV shows) It's copyright reform that has been quite a political sore-spot for the governing party. With the arts community already outraged at the cuts to artistic programs like the most recent axing of the $14.5 million Telefilm New Media program, which is a program to digitize Canadian culture to keep pace with the 21st century, very few credit the government for a job well done on copyright related matters. It's probably a good thing the topic hasn't been brought up in recent days for the party pushing for an election. While nothing is a sure thing in politics, the death of Bill C-61 may be close to a sure thing if what every indication is true about the possibility of an election. |
 
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