Election 2004: Internet Issues
Federal legislators are facing many important issues involving the Internet and new technologies at this time. For example, many people are concerned about proposed expansions of copyright law in the digital domain, and the impact of such expanded copyright protection on research, education, and public access to information. Efforts to make music file-sharing illegal are opposed by many musicians as well as consumers and computer users. The growth of spam is jeopardizing electronic mail as a reliable and efficient medium of communication. And citizens across the country are worried about the impact on individual privacy and civil liberties of new national security measures.
How the next federal government deals with these issues will shape not only the way we use the Internet, but also the kind of society we live in. CIPPIC has asked each party (and most candidates) for their views on the issues set out below. Their answers will be posted here when we receive them.
Summary of Issues and Questions
- Music File-sharing
- What is your position on the issue of file-sharing in Canada– should it be illegal?
- Technological Protection of Copyrighted Materials
- What is your position on prohibiting the circumvention of Technological Protection Measures?
- Educational Use of Internet Materials
- Do you support an amendment to the Copyright Act to allow for the use of freely available materials on the Internet by participants in an educational program?
- ISP Liability for copyright infringement
- Should ISPs be protected from liability for copyright infringement when others merely transmit copyrighted materials over their facilities, or when others post copyrighted works on websites that the ISP merely hosts?
- What is your position on the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage's proposed "notice and takedown" scheme requiring ISPs to remove content on the sole basis of alleged copyright infringement?
- Open Source Software
- What is your position on increasing or mandating the use of open source software in government operations?
- Spam
- How do you propose to approach the problem of spam?
- National ID cards
- What is your position on National ID cards?
Responses from the Parties
For responses from individual candidates, by Riding, see Digital Copyright Canada.
Related Initiatives and Links
- Digital Copyright Canada - information on copyright law (e.g., glossary of terminology); Petition for Users Rights, forum for discussion, questions for electoral candidates, and electoral district look-up.
- The Canadian Teachers' Federation has posted party responses to its question on educational use of Internet materials.
- Joint response by CIPPIC and PIAC to the Heritage Committee's Interim Report on Copyright Reform.
- Michael Geist's columns for the Toronto Star on copyright law reform. Special column on results of CIPPIC's election survey.
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This page last updated: June 2, 2007