Other News 
The Government of Canada has launched national consultations on the development of a Canadian digital economy strategy. The consultation includes a Consultation Paper, an online "ideas forum", and a call for "formal submissions" (due July 9, 2010).
Michel Geist is reporting that the Prime Minister's Office has ordered the crafting of a copyright bill featuring American-style anti-circumvention laws and ignoring the need for flexible fair dealing. The decision runs flatly counter to the bulk of public submissions to the copyright consultation of 2009. Geist states that the government intends to introduce the bill in June before the House rises for the summer recess.
- Crooks v. Newton (BCCA)
- Crooks v. Wikimedia (BCSC)
- BBC News, Google bosses convicted in Italy
- Google Policy Blog, Serious threat to the web in Italy
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is holding public consultations on the privacy implications of the online collection of personal information by commercial entities for the purpose of tracking, profiling and targeting individuals in the home computing and mobile device environments. Submissions are due on March 15, 2010.
A leaked draft of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement's intellectual property chapter indicates that, as in ACTA, Canada appears to be negotiating away control over domestic IP policy. The draft chapter covers copyright, patents, plant production, geographical indications, industrial designs and trade-marks, greatly expanding on standards set by existing international law.
The federal government has introduced Bill C-58, legislation requiring Canadian Internet intermediaries to report suspected offences involving child pornography. The Bill applies to Internet Service Providers and hosting businesses, social networking sites and other providers of online services and imposes penalties for failing to report, including imprisonment for multiple failures.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has affirmed, in a divided decision, a lower court decision that merely linking to a webpage that may contain defamatory content does not amount to "publication" and so cannot support a claim for defamation. The majority characterized a browser's active decision to click on a link as a "barrier" between the linking and linked sites that the overcome reader overcomes, not the linking site.
Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore have announced the launch of cross-country consultations on copyright law in the form of a series of round tables taking place between July 20 and September 13. The round tables will be supplemented by an online consultation, open to all Canadians, and also starting July 20. Anyone may participate in the online discussion forum or post a formal submission. More information, including dates, locations and live streaming of hearings is avialable at the government's consultation site.
The government is indicating that lawful access legislation will be introduced in the House of Commons this week.
Update: The government has introduced two bills:
- Bill C-46, the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century (IP21C) Act, and
- Bill C-47, the Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Act.
Government backgrounders:
- Backgrounder: Public Safety Canada, Technical Assistance for Law Enforcement in the 21st Century Act
- Media Release: Public Safety Canada, Government Of Canada Introduces Legislation To Fight Crime In The 21st Century
- Backgrounder: Department of Justice, Investigative Powers for the 21st Century (IP21C) Act
The CRTC released Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-329, stating that content broadcast over new media such as the internet should remain exempt from the regulations it would be subject to were it broadcast under traditional means such as television. The CRTC has, however, taken steps to address undue preference and the role of ISPs as broadcasters and has called for a national digital strategy to address new media in the future.
Industry Minister Tony Clement has introduced the Electronic Commerce Protection Act, Bill C-27, offering a legislative approach to combating spam, counterfeit websites and spyware.
The Canadian Identity Forum - a partnership of researchers and privacy advocates - will host a national public forum on “enhanced” drivers licences (EDLs), privacy and state surveillance under the new Canada-U.S. border regime. These new licences raise important civil liberties and privacy-related concerns, as they include radio-frequency identification (RFID) and biometric capabilities.
- When: March 24, 2009 from 9:00 to 12:15
- Where: Ottawa Library Auditorium, 120 Metcalfe

