Canada was headed into political uncertainty with copyright legislation being successfully pushed under the rug throughout the election this year.
Note: This is an article I wrote that was published elsewhere first. It has been republished here for archival purposes
For those hoping for a minority government to stop the Canadian DMCA really got their wish at this point in time.
Just minutes ago, the CBC has projected that Canada will be headed into a Conservative minority government. As we noted earlier, a minority government may be instrumental in keeping the Canadian DMCA out of the law books for another little while.
For the last two governments, Canada was faced with a possible Canadian DMCA. This time around, Canada will be headed into a third minority government in a row which could easily keep the Canadian DMCA off the law books because every time, the copyright legislation faced fierce opposition from non-government parties every single time.
Meanwhile, the NDP, the party that supported net neutrality and the internet, has definitely picked up seats, but the number of seats is currently in the air between around 1 – 8 seats. Previously, the NDP won 30 seats, but the numbers are currently showing anywhere between 31 and 38 seats. Obviously, great news for the party. It may be a good news story for people who are in to technology that hasn’t been seen since the Sam Bulte story. While it may be a crawl, the momentum may be seen as growing for those who are concerned with these issues.
If history repeats itself more, the Canadian DMCA will be tabled (since the Conservatives promised to re-table the much despised legislation among copyright law watchers), fiercly fought and die on the order paper as opposition rises to fight it off. Nothing is garenteed, but it seems likely what will be seen in the coming year or so much like the previous Conservative minority government.
This could shape up to be another eventful year before Canada heads back to the polls a year or two from now.
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
