Despite the tremendous opposition to SOPA and PIPA in the United States, lobbyists are pushing Canada to incorporate SOPA-like provisions into Bill C-11, Canada’s latest attempt to toughen their copyright protections. Michael Geist, a Canadian law professor and leading scholar on intellectual property on the Internet, has compared the lobbying efforts of industry groups to amend Bill C-11 – and its predecessor, Bill C-32 – and found that the groups were recommending many of the provisions people found most objectionable about SOPA.

The Canadian Independent Music Association submitted a list of provisions it wanted in Bill C-32 that included the ability to block users’ access to individual infringing sites, using The Pirate Bay as an example. This provision would be directly analogous to SOPA’s Section 102, which included the DNS blocking provision that was the first part of SOPA to crumble to public pressure. CIMA, along with the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, also called for an enabler provision similar to Section 103 of SOPA, which targets sites that facilitate infringement. Geist argues that such a provision could be used to against sites like YouTube, and that while established sites with the resources to defend themselves would be protected under safe harbor exceptions, the threat of lawsuits would have a chilling effect on technological investment and innovation.

Also like in the U.S., Canadian lawmakers have had trouble practicing what they preach. While SOPA author Rep. Lamar Smith was being accused of using an unattributed image on his campaign website, people using the internet in the Canadian House of Commons were downloading copyrighted music, movies, and software over BitTorrent. Canada’s Pirate Party, which made the discovery, noted that this was not evidence that MPs were pirating content but rather that it “demonstrates how easy it could be to be accused of downloading content even if you are innocent.” Indeed, the more draconian regulations become, the more difficult it will be for ordinary citizens to comply. Legislators in both Canada and the U.S. should consider whether such frustration is really something they want in their constituents.