April 7th, 2011 at 5:12am
- 1. Copyright Law
- Reinforce and protect fair dealing.
- Decriminalize non-commercial file sharing, and prohibit statutory damages for non-commercial sharing.
- Allow content creators to explicitly dedicate material to the public domain.
- Reform crown copyright to ensure open access to Canadians.
- 2. Patent Law
- Reduce patent terms to 5 years, and require a higher standard of originality.
- Eliminate patents on genes, organisms, software, and business models.
- Reallocate funds saved in health care due to patent reform to public pharmaceutical research, the results of which are to be made publicly available.
- 3. Privacy
- Enforce the same privacy laws on electronic communication as the traditional postal service.
- Strengthen the powers of Privacy Commissioner.
- Fight bills and regulation that violate your right to personal privacy.
- 4. Neutrality
- Reform the CRTC to prevent abuses by limiting the telecom industry executives to a minority, and include consumer advocates on the board.
- Fund undersea cables to Europe and Asia rather than relying on American bandwidth and thus being subject to American regulation, including wiretap laws.
- Ensure unfettered access to telecom infrastructure for independent service providers, in order to foster broader competition.
- 5. Open Government & Open Access
- Create a combined approach of proactive release of information to the public while easing access by request.
- Expedite freedom of information requests and reduce costs by sharing information digitally.
- Lower or eliminate the cost of filing of FOI requests.
- Increase the power and scope of the PSIC, and establish an anonymous online dropbox system.
- 6. Whistleblower & Journalist Protection
- Introduce legislation to provide or reinforce protection for journalists and whistleblowers, to encourage the exposure of corruption.
- 7. Protecting Canadians’ Charter Rights
- The Pirate Party will stand up against violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly infringement of freedom of expression and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.
