Dear Constituents

By Denise Savoie

I continue to hear from many of you who are affected by Victoria's increased cruise ship traffic and the resulting air quality and traffic issues in the neighbourhoods of James Bay. Tireless volunteers in the community have done their homework, with the assistance of the Vancouver Island Health Authority, and the results show clearly that the impacts are unacceptable and that action by the cruise ship industry is long overdue.

In April, I wrote to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority that subsidies for cruise ship companies as an incentive to reduce emissions are an inappropriate use of tax dollars, especially when one company earned $2.25 billion profit in a single year and pays no corporate tax in Canada.

I have also been in touch with Transport Minister John Baird to communicate my concern that although the federal government has divested its oversight role for the harbour to the harbour authority, it cannot allow the local authority to ignore the public interest.  Given the increase in the number of cruise ships, it is important that the impacts on the community be managed on the basis of a triple bottom line that considers health, environmental and economic concerns and there be some mitigation measures in the community. At the moment it seems out of balance.

It was a busy spring in Ottawa, and in the riding. In June, in Montreal, the government announced a new bill to amend the copyright act - Bill C-32. The same day on Parliament Hill, I convened a meeting of the multi-party Arts Caucus that provided members with help on how to negotiate and balance the right of consumers to access content with the right of artists to be compensated for their work in a very complex piece of legislation. The bill does offer some positive changes and formally enshrines in legislation commonplace grey-area practices that enable users to record TV programs for later viewing (time shifting), transfer songs from CDs onto their MP3 players (format shifting), and make backup copies.

But my NDP colleagues and I were disappointed because it creates powerful new anti-circumvention rights (if so-called digital locks are broken) for content owners backed by punitive fines of up to $1 million and five years imprisonment. Michael Geist, a well known copyright expert, puts it succinctly: "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 including fair dealing rights for students and journalists."

My colleagues and I believe Bill C-32 essentially gives with one hand while it takes away with the other.  We propose removing the sections that make criminals out of everyday Canadians who break digital locks for personal, non-commercial use.  And we will consider all possible amendments to C-32 that will create a fair royalty system for artists. New Democrats believe that copyright laws in Canada can balance the right of creators to be compensated fairly for their work, and the right of consumers to have reasonable access to content.

In June I also launched a rotating series of art shows in my community office at 970 Blanshard Street with the opening exhibition, Cycles, on the theme of cycling. It will be on display throughout the summer, so please visit and show your support for these talented local artists. I also invite artists to submit their work for a new show that will open  in September on the theme of The Inner Harbour, a landscape that could change forever if a proposed mega-yacht marina is built.

Have a great summer.