[d@DCC] Re: The Copyright bill - C-60

[Charles MacDonald]

Gordon Oconnor wrote:
> Dear Charles,

> 
> In June, Mrs. Oda sent out a statement on this bill, urging that educational
> amendments be made to safeguard educational use of the Internet, allowing
> teachers, researchers and students access to publicly available material
> online.

Hi John, thanks for your reply.

I went to Carleton U for my degree.  The slogan of Carleton is "ours the 
task Eternal" and a major theme of the culture of that school has always 
been that everyone has a duty to continue with lifetime learning.

This concept of a requirement for an educational exception quite frankly 
has two worries for me.  The first is that when something is put into a 
law, it is interpreted that it is needed for a reason.  If educational 
uses NEED an exemption to freely use the public part of the web, then it 
implies that everyone else may need to make some sort of payment or 
other special permission to use it?

I publish some rather esoteric information myself on the web. (See 
http://telecomottawa.net/~cmacd/tubes.html )  I Really don't want anyone 
being in a position where they are expected to pay anyone for my page.

The second concern is since I do believe that everyone should be 
involved in lifelong learning, that setting up institutional learning as 
a "special case" is discriminatory for other forms of learning.


> The Conservative Caucus will review this bill in the fall and possibly
> making more recommendations regarding this bill.   

I have always associated a conservative position as taking a long term 
view of life, and attempting to create balance of various interests.  As 
it stands this bill seems to be giving unlimited powers to a few 
intermediaries, while preventing innovative business from developing.


-- 
Charles MacDonald      cmacd at TelecomOttawa.net     Stittsville Ontario
1800+ Canadians oppose Bill C-60 which protects antiquated Recording,
  Motion Picture and "software manufacturing" industries from change...
                    http://www.killbillc60.ca