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Music Media Your Rights Online

Blank Media Prices Could Soar In Canada 85

Posted by timothy from the going-up dept.
kidlinux writes "The Canadian Coalition for Fair Digital Access (CCFDA) composed of businesses like HP, Apple, Best Buy, and Costco may consider pulling recordable media products like mp3 players, digital cameras, and associated media if a recording industry backed media levy is ratified. From the article "if the proposed levy is approved MP3 players such as Creative Labs's Nomad, RCA's Lyra, and Apple's Ipod will increase $112 or more on average". Blank CDs will go up from $50 (on which we already pay $21 in levies) to $88 dollars per pack of 100. The media levies have been getting worse and worse here. Personally, I think sales of above mentioned items will speak for themselves, however, the CCFDA's website has contacts for the Government of Canada's representatives - contact them with your objections!"
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Blank Media Prices Could Soar In Canada More

Blank Media Prices Could Soar In Canada

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  • Mail order. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by GMontag451 ( 230904 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @07:33PM (#4858974) Homepage
    Just buy them mail order. $50 per 100 is already incredibly expensive. You can get 400 for $60 at places in the US.

    • Re:Mail order. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by roseblood ( 631824 )
      Well, I can see this as a nice opportunity for profit. Let the smuggling begin!
      • I just bought a whole bunch of 50 packs from frys electronics for $4 each, we could make alot of money shippin them over. Is there any laws on purchasing from ebay and shipping blank media to canada? smuggling blank media sounds good.
        • Nope, it's legal to bring recordable media into Canada to avoid the levy as long as you don't resell it. It is illegal to not declare the items you bring through the border, though.
    • Unfortunatly, there is some law that specifies all US companies must use UPS when delivering to Canada. Of course, UPS is not going to waste such an opportunaty, so in addition to 15% taxes we must pay on imported items, we must also pay a *UPS tax* which can sometimes be as high at 100% of the value of the item being shipped!

      My family has bought things online in the US for say $50 and in the end payed > $100 for it thanks to these taxes/corporate levies.

      It's so bad in fact, that some of my freinds who are into DJing buy their vynl from europe because it's actually *cheaper* to have items shipped overseas rather than pay the UPS tax.

      So unfortunatly we cannot just buy stuff in the US. :( Unless we drive there I suppose, but there are numerous problems with that.
      • Hmmm. Looks like a good opportunity here. You pay someone to bring the stuff over the border and mail it to you. The CD runners are on the loose!
      • Unfortunatly, there is some law that specifies all US companies must use UPS when delivering to Canada.

        This is completely false. I live in Canada and have had things shipped here by several different methods, UPS being only one of them.

        we must also pay a *UPS tax*

        Again, that's bullshit. In some cases you may need to pay a broker's fee to get it through customs, but it doesn't usually apply to individuals (as opposed to corporations), although if you have to pay it once you'll have to pay it each future time you receive a shipment via UPS.

        Try checking your facts before posting such nonsense.

        • This is completely false. I live in Canada and have had things shipped here by several different methods, UPS being only one of them.

          How recently? I've had many things shipped via other means as well. But starting maybe end of last year or beginning of this year suddenly all companies are telling me they must ship via UPS since there was some problem with using the regular post. So now the regular post apparently won't carry packages from companies in the US. For some reason all the companies said it also *had* to be UPS, no FedEx. Don't remember the reason, but supposedly they had no choice. And this is more than one company doing this.

          Again, that's bullshit. In some cases you may need to pay a broker's fee to get it through customs, but it doesn't usually apply to individuals (as opposed to corporations), although if you have to pay it once you'll have to pay it each future time you receive a shipment via UPS.

          The extra charges *may* be a brokers fee, but UPS certainly wasn't up to explaining it. It wasn't customs, customs were a separate charge. And this charge is nothing a corporation can pay. I did look into this. The companies I was dealing with all said that they paid UPS for all the charges they could. UPS told me that this extra charge was levied by UPS, and there was no way for any company to pay it. It's always the individual. Not to mention it's around $50-70 US and I've had to pay it for items that were valued at around $50. Just silly. Again, this is a recent change. I've ordered things in years past and never had such problems. And if you said this fee isn't usually applied it individuals, it's funny that at least two people I know (the only two to order anything recently) got nailed on this fee. It's just not worth ordering things from the US with rates like that.

          • Amazingly I've ordered things over the summer from various online retailers and not one order was shipped via UPS (one was sent FedEx)
            • Ditto here. Fedex last week, Canada Post parcels(from USPS) several times over the last year.

              Merdark, I don't know where you're getting your info, do you live in Quebec or something (sometimes strange regs there)? I'm in Vancouver. No such regs here.
              • Really? I live in Ontario. Maybe this is an Ontario thing? Maybe the companies I've been dealing with are ripping me off somehow?

                I honestly don't know. It's good to know that this isn't the case across Canada though. Next time I need to order something I'll try and find out more. But I know for a fact that two companies both said they can't ship to me via Canada Post and for some reason (I don't remember anymore) they couldn't use FedEx, only UPS. Weird.

                At any rate, I clearly stand corrected. ;)

                • Ah, I've double check edmy sources. Apparently it is the companies I'm dealing with that refuse to ship with Canada Post. And UPS and FedEX both charge brokerage fees that is often close the price of the item. My mistake. Sorry. Should check facts before let lips flap.

  • In that case... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by digerata ( 516939 )
    I live in the US and since our prices aren't going up...

    Send me a check in the mail for whatever you want plus 5% commission and shipping charges and I'll send you back your buy.

    • in cananda it's called a cheque

      • A few years ago at a prior employer I had written a specification for an enhancement to a large financial application. It had much to do with cheque printing.

        Just prior to printing multiple copies of this document for a meeting that was about to start while the printouts were still warm. I did a spell cheque on a machine that obviously had MS Word configured differently from mine

        As the various copies are just about finished being passed around to the upper brass of my company and the client 's top brass; One of them asks "What are Tax Remittance Cheeses?"

        At this point I was rather worried about my next payroll cheese

    • Send me a check in the mail for whatever you want plus 5% commission and shipping charges and I'll send you back your buy.

      You are aware, of course, that packages are opened and searched at the border [freedomsite.org], and your Canadian friends would probably end up paying the tax anyway.

  • Incomplete link. (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dr Caleb ( 121505 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @07:36PM (#4858991) Homepage Journal
    It should be: http://canada.gc.ca/ [canada.gc.ca]

    The actual place to find MP's emails is here. [canada.gc.ca] Imagine that, an editor not checking the links.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @07:38PM (#4859006)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • It's only a matter of time... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by HotNeedleOfInquiry ( 598897 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @08:00PM (#4859117)
    Before they levy a media charge for pencil and paper.

  • I may start ordering CDs from Canada... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lightspawn ( 155347 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @08:28PM (#4859250) Homepage
    Since they're music-industry prepaid, I can record any (RIAA) music I like legally on them, right?
  • I live in Canada. Unless you buy your blanks at chain stores like Future Shop, you won't pay 50$ for 100 blank CDs. I just bought a bundle of 100 for 18$ (all Canadian prices).

  • I hope it does pass! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dimwit ( 36756 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @09:32PM (#4859597)
    The whole point of this "tax" is to cover the supposed cost of piracy. With money like that, they have no right to say you can't pirate - "Of course I can pirate, the cost to the recording industry was covered when I bought the blanks!"

    • Re:I hope it does pass! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Screaming Lunatic ( 526975 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @10:32PM (#4859858) Homepage
      That is not the whole point. RTFL (Read the fucking legislation) It's called the "Private Copying Tariff".

      A "private copy" is a copy of a track, or a substantial part of a track, of recorded music that is made by an individual for his or her own personal use. A compilation of favorite tracks is a good example of how people typically use private copies. In contrast, a copy made for someone else or for any purpose other than the copier's own use is not a private copy.

      So I'm paying a levy because my Matt Good CD is in my CD player at home, but I have a copy sitting in my car, so I won't lose it, scratch it, etc.

      And 75% of that levy is marked for "record publishers" which may be national corporations. 25% is marked for artists and local record companies. So Matt Good or Battle Axe Records won't be seeing squat compared to what Sony would get.

      • And why do I have this ugly feeling that publishers get a 95% cut out of the artists' 25%, too.

        Maybe I'm all wet on this, but it's perception, and I'll bet it's not limited to me. In the computing and software industry, we unfortunately know how perception is sometimes more importatnt that reality, though we also lament it.
      • The thing you should note is that, according to the current legislation, you can make a (legal) 'private copy' of someone else's music (i.e. a friend's Sneaker Pimps CD) for your own use. The distinction is that they cannot legally make one for your use, you have to make it yourself. Thus, you can borrow and burn all you want, but do it from the originals.

        Your point, therefore, is moot, however I do not entirely disagree with you. CD-Rs today are classified as 'Audio' or 'Data', and both are tariffed, albeit not as much. I suggest that data CDs be not tariffed at all, and then people who wish to borrow 'n' burn can do so by buying Audio CD-R discs, knowing that artists are being compensated to some extent (moreso than if there was no tariff).

        Just a thought.

        --Dan
    • Hang on a minute... Do we honestly believe that the music industry doesn't take into account the lost revenue from piracy in its pricing structure, at least to some degree?

      Surely an industry of this size would build compensation for 'shrinkage' (i.e. theft) into its prices just as supermarkets do? And what of software companies for that matter?

      Dr. Matt.
    • The same goes for the CD-R "tax" in the United States, by the way.
  • Why are there not lawsuit against the RIAA and other "publishers" who are collecting money from these fees and making copy protected media.

    If they are getting money, they should either get the fees or copy protection. Not both!

  • Email your MPs (Score:5, Informative)

    by Screaming Lunatic ( 526975 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @10:36PM (#4859877) Homepage
    Here's the email is sent to my MP, the Industry, Heritage, and Finance Ministers. I encourage other Canadian /.ers to do the same.

    Dear Sirs and Madam,

    I am very concerned about the Private Copying Tariff that I am forced to pay every time that I purchase recordable media. I am enraged that the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) and the Copyright Board are proposing to increase the tariff.

    First and foremost, the CPCC is responsible for collection, distribution and enforcement of this tariff. However, the CPCC is not an arm of the government and therefore is not accountable to voters and taxpayers.

    Secondly, they have collected $28 million over the last few years. However, they have not distributed any of the collected monies. Furthermore, 75% of the collected levy is earmarked for publishers. These publishers do not have to be Canadian business and most likely will be large American record labels. Local artists and record companies are forced to fight over the smaller piece of the pie. This should be a great concern for the Honourable Heritage Minister.

    The levy applies to all recordable media despite what said media may be used for. Whenever I archive pictures of my family, record labels benefit. Whenever I backup data, record labels benefit. This should be a great concern for the Honourable Minister of Industry. The bottom line of businesses that rely on recordable media is affected.

    What is most disturbing is that I am considered a thief the moment I purchase recordable media. I am given no opportunity to present my case.

    Currently, I am able to purchase a CD-R for about $0.39 retail. Of that $0.39, $0.21 of the cost is the levy. The new proposed levy is $0.59. That is absolutely ridiculous. About 75% of the cost of the CD will be the levy.

    I urge all Members of Parliament to consider the effects this levy will have on Canadians and Canadian business. This levy benefits large record labels and is detrimental to average Canadians and independent artists in particular.

    Sincerely,

    • Re:Email your MPs (Score:2, Informative)

      by Blue_Fox ( 112308 )
      Sending to your MP is good. Forget the ministers listed on the web site, since the Liberals around Cretien aren't about to start listening now. Just look at the $2M gun registry that will end up costing taxpayers 500 times that amount [canada.com].

      Back benchers are being heard now, so there is a good chance things can be changed if enough people take issue with the levy.

      Snow season is here, and if we're lucky as a nation, perhaps Mr. Cretien will decide to take a walk in it.

      (For our American friends, Trudeau, a former Prime Minister, took what has become a famous "walk in the snow" during which he decided to retire.)
      • I actually emailed it to my MP, Svend Robinson, as well. Let's see if he replies back. If he does, he definitely will raise a stink about it. He's just the type of guy that would take offense to stuff like this.
        • Svend Robinson is like Canada's version of Paul Wellstone. (and thats in a country where most politicians are already to the left of Mr Wellstone). Oh yeah, and Mr Robinson is also openly gay (not that there's anything wrong with that). Consider yourself lucky that you are represented one of the most "progressive" politicians in North America. He might actually get something done here.
    • Just made a couple minor mods to parent post.. basically the same thing. Props to Screaming Lunatic of course :D
      Dear Sirs and Madam,


      I am overwhelmingly displeased with the Private Copying Tariff that I am forced to pay every time that I purchase recordable CD media. I am enraged that the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) and the Copyright Board are proposing to increase this tariff.

      First and foremost, the CPCC is responsible for collection, distribution and enforcement of this tariff. However, the CPCC is not an arm of the government and therefore is not accountable to voters and taxpayers.

      Secondly, they have collected $28 million over the last few years. However, they have not distributed any of the collected monies to the people supposedly deserving of those monies. Furthermore, 75% of the collected levy is earmarked for publishers. These publishers are not necessarily Canadian businesses and indeed, most are large American record labels. Local artists and record companies are forced to fight over the smaller piece of the ill-gotten pie. This should be a great concern for the Honourable Heritage Minister.

      The levy applies to all recordable media, despite my intentions for that media. As an example, whenever I archive pictures of my family, record labels benefit. Whenever I back up my personal data, record labels benefit. This should also be of great concern to the Honourable Minister of Industry, since the bottom line of businesses that rely on consumers purchasing recordable media is ultimately adversely affected by this unfair tariff imposed at the behest of record labels.

      What is most disturbing is that I am treated as a thief every time that I purchase recordable media. I am given no opportunity to present my case, nor am I accorded the dignity and respect that I deserve as a law-abiding Canadian citizen. I find it particularly galling that the American recording industry is primarily responsible for this insult.

      Currently, I am able to purchase a CD-R for about $0.39 retail. Of that $0.39, $0.21 of the cost is the levy. The new proposed levy is $0.59. That is absolutely ridiculous. About 75% of the cost of the CD will be the levy.

      I urge all Members of Parliament to consider the effects this levy will have on Canadians and Canadian business. This levy benefits large record labels and is detrimental to all Canadians.

      Sincerely,
      your name here
    • BSD license applies :) comments welcome too
      Dear Sirs and Madam,


      I am objecting to the CPCC proposal for further taxation on computer back-up media and other recordable Compact Discs, as I believe that the proposed levy will further impose unfair penalties upon the honest people that use Compact Discs. I hope and pray that you people, who are in the position to do great harm by ratifying the CPCC proposal, will also object to it.

      It is evident that monies collected via the proposed tariff will be paid to representatives of the music industry, even though I personally use the Compact Disc media itself solely in a legal fashion, as I am entitled by copyright law.

      I find it distressing that this proposal advocates another tax in excess of those already levied, merely to support continued legal use of the Compact Disc media that I use. I contend that if I am to give money to the record industry, then it is only right that I should receive fair value in exchange - and more importantly, that any such transaction should be willful and deliberate, not in the form of extortion that the proposal recommends.

      I thank you for your time and consideration; please summarily reject the CPCC proposal so that my rights, and those of my fellow Canadians, may not be unjustly abrogated.

      Sincerely,

      insert full name and address here
      • forgot to list the MP addresses! this took me forever to harvest so you all better use em. ahem.

        send main copy to:

        pm@pm.gc.ca

        then cc: or bcc: to
        Abbott.J@parl.gc.ca;Ablonczy.D@parl.gc.ca;Adams. P@parl.gc.ca;Alcock.R@parl.gc.ca;Allard.C@parl.gc. ca;Anders.R@parl.gc.ca;Anderson.Da@parl.gc.ca;Ande rson.D@parl.gc.ca;Assad.M@parl.gc.ca;Assadourian.S @parl.gc.ca;Asselin.G@parl.gc.ca;Augustine.J@parl. gc.ca;Bachand.C@parl.gc.ca;Bachand.A@parl.gc.ca;Ba gnell.L@parl.gc.ca;Bailey.R@parl.gc.ca;Bakopanos.E @parl.gc.ca;Barnes.R@parl.gc.ca;Barnes.S@parl.gc.c a;Beaumier.C@parl.gc.ca;Belair.R@parl.gc.ca;Belang er.M@parl.gc.ca;Bellemare.E@parl.gc.ca;Bennett.C@p arl.gc.ca;Bergeron.S@parl.gc.ca;Bertrand.R@parl.gc .ca;Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca;Bigras.B@parl.gc.ca;Bi net.G@parl.gc.ca; Blaikie.B@parl.gc.ca;Blondin-Andrew.E@parl.gc.ca;B ryden.J@parl.gc.ca;Brown.B@parl.gc.ca;Brison.S@par l.gc.ca;Brien.P@parl.gc.ca;Breitkreuz.G@parl.gc.ca ;Bradshaw.C@parl.gc.ca;Bourgeois.D@parl.gc.ca;Boud ria.D@parl.gc.ca;Borotsik.R@parl.gc.ca;Bonwick.P@p arl.gc.ca;Bonin.R@parl.gc.ca;Catterall.M@parl.gc.c a;Castonguay.J@parl.gc.ca;Casson.R@parl.gc.ca;Case y.B@parl.gc.ca;Carroll.A@parl.gc.caCarignan.J@parl .gc.ca;Cardin.S@parl.gc.ca;Caplan.E@parl.gc.ca;Can nis.J@parl.gc.ca;Calder.M@parl.gc.ca;Cadman.C@parl .gc.ca;Caccia.C@parl.gc.ca;Byrne.G@parl.gc.ca;Burt on.A@parl.gc.ca;Bulte.S@parl.gc.ca;Cuzner.R@parl.g c.ca;Cummins.J@parl.gc.ca;Cullen.R@parl.gc.ca;Cret e.P@parl.gc.ca;Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca;Copps.S@parl.gc .ca;Comuzzi.J@parl.gc.ca;Comartin.J@parl.gc.ca;Col lenette.D@parl.gc.ca;Coderre.D@parl.gc.ca;Clark.J@ parl.gc.ca;Chatters.D@parl.gc.ca;Charbonneau.Y@par l.gc.ca;Chamberlain.B@parl.gc.ca;Cauchon.M@parl.gc .ca;Finlay.J@parl.gc.ca;Farrah.G@parl.gc.ca;Eyking .M@parl.gc.ca;EppK@parl.gc.ca;Eggleton.A@parl.gc.c a;Efford.J@parl.gc.ca;Easter.W@parl.gc.ca;Duplain. C@parl.gc.ca;Duncan.J@parl.gc.ca;Duceppe.G@parl.gc .ca;Dube.A@parl.gc.ca;Drouin.C@parl.gc.ca;Dromisky .S@parl.gc.ca;Doyle.N@parl.gc.ca;Discepola.N@parl. gc.ca;Dion.S@parl.gc.ca;Dhaliwal.H@parl.gc.ca;DeVi llers.P@parl.gc.ca;Desrochers.O@parl.gc.ca;Desjarl ais.B@parl.gc.ca;Day.S@parl.gc.ca;Davies.L@parl.gc .ca;Dalphond-Guiral.M@parl.gc.ca;Grey.D@parl.gc.ca ;Grewal.G@parl.gc.ca;Graham.B@parl.gc.ca;Gouk.J@pa rl.gc.ca;Goodale.R@parl.gc.ca;Goldring.P@parl.gc.c a;Godin.Y@parl.gc.ca;Godfrey.J@parl.gc.ca;Girard-B ujold.J@parl.gc.ca;Gauthier.M@parl.gc.ca;Gallaway. R@parl.gc.ca;Gallant.C@parl.gc.ca;Gagnon.C@parl.gc .ca;Gagnon.M@parl.gc.ca;Fry.H@parl.gc.ca;Frulla.L@ parl.gc.ca;Fournier.G@parl.gc.ca;Forseth.P@parl.gc .ca;Fontana.J@parl.gc.ca;Folco.R@parl.gc.ca;Fitzpa trick.B@parl.gc.ca;Hill.J@parl.gc.ca;Hill.G@parl.g c.ca;Herron.J@parl.gc.ca;Hearn.L@parl.gc.ca;Harvey .A@parl.gc.ca;Harvard.J@parl.gc.ca;Harris.R@parl.g c.ca;Harper.S@parl.gc.ca;Harb.M@parl.gc.ca;Hanger. A@parl.gc.ca;Guimond.M@parl.gc.ca;Guay.M@parl.gc.c a;Guarnieri.A@parl.gc.ca;Grose.I@parl.gc.ca;KraftS loan.K@parl.gc.ca;Knutson.G@parl.gc.ca;Kilgour.D@p arl.gc.ca;Kilger.B@parl.gc.ca;Keyes.S@parl.gc.ca;K enney.J@parl.gc.ca;Keddy.G@parl.gc.ca;Karygiannis. 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L@parl.gc.ca;Wood.B@parl.gc.ca;Williams.J@parl.gc. ca;Wilfert.B@parl.gc.ca;White.T@parl.gc.ca;white.R @parl.gc.ca

      • Re:a letter I'm sending now...cc'd to all members (Score:1, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Dear Members of Parliament,

        I would like to take this opportunity to convey my objects to proposed changes to the Private Copying Tariff that I am forced to pay every time that I purchase recordable CD media. I am enraged that the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) and the Copyright Board are considering raising the tariff from it's current rate, of which approximately 51% of the retail cost is tariff, to an outrageous 75% of the retail cost.

        This will result in direct cost increases to the Canadian consumers from approximately $39 per 100 CD-R to over $60!

        The existing tarrif wrongly assumes my CD-R purchases are used for the purposes of music recording, instead of data backup and archival purposes, resulting in benefit to an industry which I personally do not support or purchase from anymore in protest for their extreme position with regards to media shifting and artist compensation.

        The proposed increased tariff adds insult to injury and will result in my immediate boycott of the CRIA as well as active and energetic opposition to re election of ministers who would support such blatent extortion.

        I suggest all members consider the past history of the RIAA in the US as they have been convicted of "price fixing" in maintaining artificially high consumer prices for music over the last decade. Their Canadian equivalent (CRIA) should be investigated for similar activities.

        I thank you for your time and consideration; please summarily reject the CPCC proposal so that my rights, and those of my fellow Canadians, may not be unjustly abrogated.

        Sincerely,

        insert full name and address here
    • Even more fun: e-mail your MPs your MP3s.
    • thx much, sent it to my reps too. it's exactly what i wanted to send, with all the figures and such. very well written btw.

  • Time for Canada to ditch Copyright (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Henry V .009 ( 518000 ) on Tuesday December 10, 2002 @10:36PM (#4859878) Journal
    I hope that Canada carries this policy to its logical conclusion:

    Canada should ditch copyright completely. Artists could be paid a government stipend based entirely on popularity (wonderful deal for artists, let me tell you). The government can levy an 'Entertainment' tax in whatever manner it chooses.

  • Couldn't you buy a pack of CD's from a US retailer? Are the fees levied for anything that crosses the border despite it coming from America?
  • From the document:
    The levy is payable on all media that qualify, without regard to end use. No purpose is served by asking that the tariff include a mechanism that would allow those who can prove that they use qualifying media for purposes other than reproducing musical works to be exempted from payment or to receive a refund.
    How long will it be before I'm convicted of murder for buying bullets...?

  • Ok, so if this goes ahead, what's to stop the big *software* companies getting their own levy added to this?

    Then the photographers.

    Heck, CDs can be used to record music or software that *I* produce, why can't I get some of that pie too?

    - Muggins the Mad
  • Just as we went up north during prohibition to get our fix we're gonna have canadians coming down here to buy blank CD-Rs. $50 per 100?!?! I got 200 for $3-US (after rebates of course) at office max.
  • My question is, doesn't the government realize that they're shooting themselves in the foot too?
    How many government agencies purchase recordable CD's. As DVD and CD-R's become more popular (as backup, etc), how will this increase?

    How many government organizations are allowed to pirate? I work in schools, and every year one of the schools in the district gets audited/checked by the software police. Anybody I find with Kazaa gets a quick introduction to "add/remove programs" (and then ad-aware). We do use a fair amount of CD-R's, for either backing up data or ghost images, etc etc. As software is bought on a license basis, there can also be copies of the originals (that don't work without a valid key anyways), so that the masters can be kept safe.

    So what happens when all the government-run sectors have to pay 4x the amount of recordable media? I think they might notice some problems there.

    Jean: Mike, the server crashed again so we'll need to restore the backups.
    Mike: Ummm, sorry Jean, ever since the tariffs went up we haven't been able to afford backup discs. We tried going back to tape but then they taxed that too. We still have our backup discs from 1999 though, will those work?
  • When your guy decriminalizes dope, you can trade it with Americans for CD-Rs!

    Everybody Happy! What a Coun-try!

  • All these levies mean music piracy is, therefore, perfectly legal in Canada.

    So quit whining.

    - A.P.
  • I fired off my letter, and today I received a reply from Joe, my MP.
    Thank you for your letter concerning the proposed increased levy on recordable media. As you may be aware my colleague Loyola Hearn has written to the Secretary General of the Copyright Board, Claude Majeau, when this issue first arose requesting that this levy be immediately reassessed and removed from all blank audio recording media in Canada as quickly as possible. It remains my strong opinion and that of the PC Party of Canada, that this levy is yet another punitive form of taxation, which Canadians should not be expected to pay. I have taken the liberty of forwarding a copy of your letter to Mr. Hearn for his information. I trust that this is satisfactory.

    Thank you again for writing and for sharing your views with me.

    Sincerely,

    Joe Clark

    I'd vote for Joe again...

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