Health policy experts pushing for change in feds’ funding for research and development
Health policy experts are pushing for changes to the federal government’s system of funding the research and development of new pharmaceuticals in the hopes of making drugs that are necessary to patients’ health more affordable. Federal and provincial governments currently give pharmaceutical companies tax breaks and subsidies to encourage them to devote more of their […]
Federal biotech regulation challenged by rapid innovation in life sciences
While the federal government maintains strong oversight over consumer products developed by the life sciences sector, industry leaders say the rapid advancement of biotechnological innovation requires reforms in the approval process and regulatory harmonization with foreign markets. Canada’s life sciences sector encompasses an array of sub-sectors that apply branches of chemistry, biology and engineering in […]
Ottawa emerging as a centre for biotech innovation
Ottawa continues to grow as a national life sciences and biotechnology centre, but while companies credit strong ties to federal agencies and research institutes for providing an ideal base for start-ups, recruitment of internationally experienced experts remains an obstacle. The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) economic development corporation estimates that the national capital […]
Canada risks becoming a pirate nation, says Clement
Canada risks becoming a “pirate nation” if it does not modernize its copyright laws to reflect the 21st century, says federal Industry Minister Tony Clement. “The fact is that our copyright law, as it currently exists, was written at a time of VHS, prior to iPods and tablets and all the things that are able […]
Heritage, Industry committed to balanced copyright legislation, ‘clear wins’ for both creators and consumers, says Moore
Canada’s string of minority Parliaments has prevented MPs from tackling copyright reforms seriously, says Heritage Minister James Moore, and it’s time now to update intellectual property rights to reflect new technologies. Mr. Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.), along with Industry Minister Tony Clement (Parry Sound-Muskoka, Ont.), is responsible for reforming Canada’s outdated Copyright Act, which […]
Time to ‘get it right’ with copyright and digital locks
Updating Canada’s copyright regime must be a central plank in Canada’s innovation agenda. The Conservatives have a golden opportunity to “get it right” when it comes to copyright. However, if Bill C-32 is going to get through the legislative process the government will need to show some badly needed political maturity. This bill will survive […]
Liberals’ copyright position may provide roadmap to C-32 compromise
The last week of Parliamentary activity in 2010 struck many as a new low point for Bill C-32, the Copyright Reform Bill. The legislative committee examining the bill met only once, maintaining the lethargic meeting schedule that at the current rate could run into the fall if all stakeholders are given their moment in the […]
The A2K problem: copyright, accessibility and the future of copyright in Canada
Remember Y2K? It was the year 2000 that kicked off the new millennium—an age that could potentially become a new era of access to knowledge (A2K)—an age of wider, broader and more universal access to many types of knowledge than ever thought possible. Yet, there are many obstacles to a broad and egalitarian access to […]
It’s time to find a balance between new media and copyright
Thanks to a decade of hard-hitting anti-piracy campaigning, Canadians are all too familiar with the destructive potential of new media. The copyright lobby in Canada encourages the view that “digital piracy” will end careers, topple industries, lead to mass “theft” of intellectual property and undermine Canadian culture. Although updated and Canadianized, copyright owners have been […]
Copyright needs to be amended to do justice to artists, copyright holders, says Bloc MP Lavallée
The following is an edited excerpt from Bloc Québécois MP Carole Lavallée’s speech in the House on Nov. 2 at second reading of Bill C-32, the Modernization Copyright Act. P ARLIAMENT HILL—The Bloc Québécois believes that Bill C-32, whose goal is apparently—I repeat, “apparently”—to update the Copyright Act, does not achieve that objective. The Bloc […]
