As debate on Bill C-11 kicks off today, the Liberals have staked out their position , announcing their opposition to the bill due to the digital lock provisions. Industry critic Geoff Regan states:

“The Conservatives want us to believe that Bill C-11 will give Canadian consumers the right to take material they purchase – such as music – and transfer it onto different devices. But what they are not saying is Canadians can only do this if that content is not already locked. Breaking those locks under this legislation will be making Canadians into criminals for doing something the government has deemed lawful. Allowing digital locks to trump the rights of consumers is the complete opposite of balanced legislation. It’s contradictory and completely skewed. The Conservatives giveth and the Conservatives taketh away! They take away from Canadian consumers and they take away the abilities of innovators and creators.”

Regan continues by focusing on the U.S. influence over the legislation:

“It’s disturbing, but we all know why the Conservatives are force-feeding us one of the most restrictive digital lock provisions in the world. Diplomatic cables tell us that the Conservative government colluded with the US in their lobbying efforts, even going as far as to encourage the US to elevate Canada on the Special 301 Priority Watch List – a list of countries that do not provide adequate protection of intellectual property.”

The Liberal position is consistent with Bill C-60, their 2005 copyright bill that linked the digital lock rules to actual copyright infringement and did not establish a ban on the tools that can be used to circumvent digital locks.