Madam Speaker, in fact, that is the case. As elected officials, we are deliberating over a piece of legislation that will be in effect for a long time and will have application potentially for at least a generation or longer. It is incumbent upon us in the House to do a wide range of consultation, to consult far and wide, and listen to as much input as we can. That is one of the shortcomings of the government here in terms of ignoring expert opinions, many of which were raised at committee, and even by the findings in its own copyright consultation in 2009.
I would like to quote one individual. Michael Geist is a renowned technology commentator and he puts it succinctly when he says:
The foundational principle of the new bill remains that anytime a digital lock is used -- whether on books, movies, music, or electronic devices -- the lock trumps virtually all other rights.
This means that both the existing fair dealing rights and Bill C-11’s new rights all cease to function effectively so long as the rights holders place a digital lock on their content or device. The importance of consultation is needed and then once we get that consultation, we need to listen to that advice.