Talk:Georgia Straight Publication

“Here there be Pirates” -
You may not think we have the most serious name in global politics, but the international Pirate Party movement that has been making waves has finally landed on Canadian shores. The Pirate Party of Canada (PPoC) began as a loose network of individuals across the country, and has since begun to catch the eyes of the media.

The Pirate Party is not advocating for the creation of a freeloading society that can hide behind the veil of the internet, as some would believe. Instead we strive for a reasonable balance between the creator and consumer, where a creator has the ability to reach a larger audience with new business models stemming from ideals such as Creative Commons and CopyLeft.

The Pirate Party, consisting of citizens from all of Canada, is fighting to safeguard our right to privacy, increase transparency in government, and prevent the introduction of restrictive legislations which could potentially criminalize 90% of Canadians.

In 1928, Canada ratified the Berne Convention and set copyright terms to be the life of the author plus 50 years. We ask, ‘who does this benefit?’ Not the consumer, and certainly not other artists who are prevented from reinventing or remixing the copyrighted materials. The answer is quite simple, it benefits a minority of rights holders whose creative works have commercial value for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, creativity and innovation is being stifled by preventing creators and innovators from 'legally' accessing existing creative material, and expanding upon it.

An open and transparent government is also a big issue for the PPoC. If we are truly a democracy, why is it that our elected officials see fit to close their doors during discussions and draft international treaties without public consultation? Why must it be so difficult to acquire government reports, for both research and oversight?

If our government accedes to the interests of major media corporations instead of the average Canadian, pushing through restrictive copyright legislation and forcing Internet Service Providers to spy on the activities of average citizens without warrants, can it really be said that they are doing their job?

Intellectual Property laws no longer serve as methods of promoting the progress of science and the arts. Instead IP laws have become a weed, intent on choking away at our rights, both digital and tangible. As we have seen in other countries, IP laws such as copyright have become a weapon, used against the consumer to line the pockets of distribution companies, giving little back to the artists who's rights are supposedly being defended.

Join us. Together with the Pirate Party of Canada, you can help modernize copyright, you can fight for open government, and you can stand up for your right to privacy. Please visit http://www.PirateParty.ca to join or email PublicRelations@PirateParty.ca for more info.

There is also an open meeting in Vancouver, held at The Grind Cafe on King Edwards and Main on the 19th of each month, the next being September 19th at 6:00 PM