Here in the United States, entertainment industry lobbying groups such as the ESA, RIAA and MPAA have wielded the Digital Millenium Copyright Act like a club against consumers. A member of Canada's Parliament does not want to see the same thing happen north of the border.

As reported by Boing Boing, New Democratic Party member Charlie Angus (left) has ripped Industry Minister Jim Prentice over Prentice's push for a DMCA-like law in Canada:
 

Prentice has consistently refused to allow public consultation into his bill, and instead has drafted a kind of wish-list representing the fondest fantasies of US entertainment giants.

Instead of marching off the same cliff that the US fell off of in 1998 with its DMCA, Canada could adopt a balanced copyright approach that will pay artists without criminalizing the public...

Indeed, Angus pulls no punches:
 

We are in no way obligated to go down the same dead end road as the United States with their restrictive legislation... However, if Mr. Prentice is going to let Canadian copyright legislation be written by U.S. trade interests he will certainly face a major backlash from both artist’s organizations, consumers and Canadian business groups.