Information Policy
Yesterday I attended Jumpstarting the Public Sphere: Information Policy Issues for the 21st Century, a conference run by BCLA's Info Policy Committee. Apparently they were going to have blog posts from SLAIS students compelled to attend the conference by their instructors, Devon and Heather, who are members of the committee, on the bcinfopolicy.ca blog, but there's nothing yet. I can only assume that this will be forthcoming, seeing as marks likely hang in the balance. Apparently sessions were recorded and will be available via SFU campus radio online, but I don't think there's anything up yet.
The conference was excellent and was kicked off by Canadian copyfight celebrity, Michael Geist. Really, it was par for the course for Michael, and I get the impression this a talk he's given before--a lot. The main new insight I took away from his speech was that the now dead bill C-61 (Canadian DMCA) was engendered not by outright pressure from the music/movie lobby, but from the American government. We've been leaned on, and the Canadian Government is only too happy to comply like a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys. This has been a theme with Harper, that sweater wearing, media avoiding, pudgy, cold eyed Conservative patriarch. I think it's not a stretch to say that this is an issue of sovereignty.
Anyway, all the speakers were fantastic. It was nice to see David Loukidelis, the BC Privacy Commissioner, who gave an excellent talk on the regulatory climate in BC as it pertains to privacy and policy. Unfortunately, during the question period I could hear the distinct sound of an axe grinding, but these things happen.
It was also interesting (by which I mean freaking scary) to learn about TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement), which is essentially a local version of NAFTA on steroids and crack. The BC Federation of Labour puts it more politely: "a triumph of ideology over common sense, a dubious 'solution' in search of a problem that most British Columbians never knew existed, probably because it didn't" (link).
Finally, Sam Trosow, who is always an interesting speaker, gave the closing speech on developing a critical approach to information policy. It was chewy, and I'm still digesting it.
The conference was excellent and was kicked off by Canadian copyfight celebrity, Michael Geist. Really, it was par for the course for Michael, and I get the impression this a talk he's given before--a lot. The main new insight I took away from his speech was that the now dead bill C-61 (Canadian DMCA) was engendered not by outright pressure from the music/movie lobby, but from the American government. We've been leaned on, and the Canadian Government is only too happy to comply like a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkeys. This has been a theme with Harper, that sweater wearing, media avoiding, pudgy, cold eyed Conservative patriarch. I think it's not a stretch to say that this is an issue of sovereignty.
Anyway, all the speakers were fantastic. It was nice to see David Loukidelis, the BC Privacy Commissioner, who gave an excellent talk on the regulatory climate in BC as it pertains to privacy and policy. Unfortunately, during the question period I could hear the distinct sound of an axe grinding, but these things happen.
It was also interesting (by which I mean freaking scary) to learn about TILMA (Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement), which is essentially a local version of NAFTA on steroids and crack. The BC Federation of Labour puts it more politely: "a triumph of ideology over common sense, a dubious 'solution' in search of a problem that most British Columbians never knew existed, probably because it didn't" (link).
Finally, Sam Trosow, who is always an interesting speaker, gave the closing speech on developing a critical approach to information policy. It was chewy, and I'm still digesting it.
Labels: Copyfight, Information Policy
posted by Samurai Librarian at 9:15 PM
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