Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that is not what I said or implied. However, that is his modus operandi, so we will let it pass.
The bottom line is the NDP is not as convinced, and certainly not as principled, on the issue of cracking down on piracy. It does not accept that artists would be the ones to benefit first and foremost from an industry that is regulated by the rule of law, from an industry where artists are able to reliably protect their creations under a modernized law. The artists agree with this. Loreena McKennitt said that the changes proposed in the government's copyright bill were “fair and reasonable”.
Michael Geist, someone with whom I am sure the member opposite sympathizes, said:
The bill will require careful study, but the initial analysis is that there were some serious efforts to find compromise positions on many thorny copyright issues.
We stand with the balance we have struck.