Canada's DMCA was designed to "satisfy US demand"

Michael Geist sez,

The Canadian government will introduce its DMCA this afternoon, leaving some to wonder why a U.S. style approach to digital locks is being implemented when so many Canadians spoke out against it. The simple answer may be revealed from a former Minister of Industry chief of staff, who told a PhD candidate researching copyright policy that the Prime Minister required that the U.S. be satisfied with Canadian copyright reform as the only mandate for a bill.

In a paper being presented this week in Montreal, Blayne Haggart writes that according to the former chief of staff to Maxime Bernier, the decision to introduce U.S.-style DMCA rules in Canada was strictly a political decision, the result of pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office desire to meet U.S. demands. She states “the Prime Minister’s Office’s position was, move quickly, satisfy the United States.” When Bernier and then-Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda protested, the PMO replied “we don’t care what you do, as long as the U.S. is satisfied.”

“We Don’t Care What You Do, As Long as the U.S. Is Satisfied”