C-48 passes third reading

Bill C-48, the "JumpTV Bill", was hurried through third reading in the House yesterday. Since the regulations still haven't been written, it remains difficult to comment on whether it's a good Bill or not. The MPs who spoke in the debate mostly spoke in generalities, and the debate was shorter and generally less interesting than that on second reading from February.

Ms. Christiane Gagnon (Québec, BQ) impressed me again with her attention to the comment process. Ms. Wendy Lill (Dartmouth, NDP)'s speech was a bit of a disappointment. At second reading she sounded really clueful, speaking strongly in favour of fair dealing. But in the more recent speech, although she didn't really take a definite position on anything, her general tone seemed to be in favour of stronger copyright. She said, "We will give our endorsement to Bill C-48 as a tiny step along the route of copyright protection.", and made comments that could well be interpreted as in favour of DRM and other things I oppose. What went wrong? Why has she changed her priorities?

Also in yesterday's Hansard: lots more about the firing of Russell Mills, which I discussed yesterday, including statements from Mr. Philip Mayfield (Cariboo--Chilcotin, Canadian Alliance) and Mr. John Bryden (Ancaster--Dundas--Flamborough--Aldershot, Lib.). Then in Question Period Mr. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, Canadian Alliance) went on the attack with this story, backed up by Mr. James Rajotte (Edmonton Southwest, Canadian Alliance). The Government response was more or less what you'd expect: evasion and denial. Of course the internal affairs of CanWest Global have nothing to do with us. Then Ms. Alexa McDonough (Halifax, NDP) and the Right Hon. Joe Clark (Calgary Centre, PC) weighed in. Politics sure does make strange bedfellows.

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C-48 passes third reading

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