More must-reading from Canadian Ubercyberlawprof Michael Geist on the "motivations debate" setting the stage for Canadian copyright reform (Groundhog Day).

My motivations are pretty transparent. I am concerned about the impact of potential copyright reforms advocated by CRIA that have been shown elsewhere to have a negative impact on privacy, free speech, creativity, security, and research. I am concerned with policies that do little to benefit Canadian creators while sending increasing royalties to large multinational corporations based outside the country. I am concerned by public rhetoric that seeks to label as "theft" activities that may be permissible under Canadian law. I am concerned that Canadian copyright laws are not focused on policies that could genuinely foster greater Canadian creativity and access to Canadian culture.

I would argue that CRIA's motivations are also pretty transparent. Consider the development of the private copying levy in Canada and the ongoing debate on file sharing.