A plea from one consumer to the people of Calgary Centre-North

To the constituents of Calgary Centre-North:

In the last federal election you elected Jim Prentice (Conservative), who went on to become Minister of Industry. In that capacity, he introduced a controversial piece of legislation, Bill C-61, which has become known by its critics as the Canadian DMCA.

As the people who voted for this MP, you should be fully aware of the laws your representative is trying to get passed. The press is doing an incredibly lousy job showcasing what is wrong with this law and how strong the opposition towards it is, but thankfully, there are dozens of informed online resources that indicate what the deal is with this bill and its ramifications. Bill C-61 is flawed in a variety of ways. It was created with no consultation with the people it represents or affects. It changes some reasonable consumer activities into illegal consumer activities.

The implications of such a bill being passed are:

• Citizens cannot retain recorded programs for extended time.
  
• Consumers cannot make backups of DVD's.
  
• Consumers cannot circumvent any digital locks.
  
• Transferring of media owned by the purchaser allowed only once per device.
  
• Consumers cannot record shows broadcast with "no recording" flags.
  
• Consumers cannot unlocking their cellphones for any reason.
• Teachers and other education professionals can no longer guarantee fair dealing use.
• So much more.......
  

If you re-elect Mr. Prentice, you are sending a message that you are OK with this. I am convinced that if you understood the proposed law fully, not only wouldn't you support it, you would make sure your MP understood your position clearly too.

Please keep this in mind when you vote October 14.