CANADIAN HERITAGE MINISTER ODA "I AM COMMITED TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000187 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAN AND EB/TPP/MTA/IPC STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR (SULLIVAN, GARDE) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2012 TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR CA SUBJECT: CANADIAN HERITAGE MINISTER ODA "I AM COMMITED TO IMPROVING IPR PROTECTION" REF: A. 06 OTTAWA 3620 ¶B. 06 MONTREAL 1220 Classified By: Brian Mohler, Economic Minister-Counselor reason 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a February 1 meeting, Canadian Heritage Minister Oda told Ambassador Wilkins that she is committed to improving the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in Canada. Oda declined to say when she expected Canada's new copyright bill to be introduced in Parliment. She said that while most of her efforts towards IPR protection have been devoted to the new copyright bill, she is aware that Canada also needs to address illegal camcording of movies, health and public safety concerns, import/export issues, and enforcement. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- IPR Protection is the Top Bilateral Trade Issue for the USG -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador Wilkins met with Heritage Minister Beverley Oda at his request on Feb 1, 2007 to encourage the Canadian Government to act quickly to increase protection for IPR in Canada. The Ambassador told Minister Oda that with the softwood lumber agreement in place, IPR protection is the U.S. Government's highest priority bilateral trade issue. He explained that he had already met with Industry Minister Bernier (Reftel A) and written to Prime Minister Harper to express the importance that the U.S. Government attaches to improving IPR protection in Canada. The Ambassador told Minister Oda that the he hopes the new copyright bill will prohibit the manufacture and trafficking of circumvention devices and require internet service providers to adhere to a "notice and takedown" system. -------------- Minister Oda: "I am Committed" -------------- ¶3. (C) Minister Oda thanked Ambassador Wilkins for making the U.S. Government position on IPR protection so clear ) both in public and in meetings with Canadian officials. She explained that his efforts made her job easier. The Minister said that her government recognizes that the current copyright law in Canada is out of date. Oda told the Ambassador that she and Industry Minister Bernier work well together and are nearly finished with the new copyright bill. She said that she believes the new bill will address many of the concerns that had been expressed about the previous government,s copyright bill, C 60, which failed to be enacted before national elections were called in late 2005. ¶4. (C) Minister Oda said she was committed to improving IPR protection in Canada, and that she and her colleagues recognize that much more work, in addition to the new copyright bill, is needed. Specifically, she said that her government will need to deal with the illegal camcording of movies in Montreal theaters (Reftel B) and address IPR protection in terms relating to public safety, enforcement, and import/export issues. The Minister said that she is already consulting with the Ministry of Justice and other ministries in order to determine how to best address these issues. Ambassador Wilkins asked if he should expect to see the new copyright bill within the next 30 days. Minister Oda declined to answer directly, and instead told him that the bill was very nearly finished, but the Harper administration is very focused on the budget. ¶5. (SBU) The Minister also told the Ambassador that it would be very helpful to her if the Embassy could furnish her with Qbe very helpful to her if the Embassy could furnish her with credible statistics about the cost of intellectual property crime to the Canadian Economy. She also said that her staff might be interested in briefings from Embassy officials regarding IPR protection and border issues. Ambassador Wilkins said that his staff would be happy to help on both counts. Economic Minister Counselor said that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police estimate that Intellectual Property Crime costs the Canadian economy $10 - $30 billion (CAD) annually. -------------- Other Issues ) Oda speaking as an MP -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Minister Oda, like all Canadian Ministers, is a Member of Parliament (MP) in addition to being a member of OTTAWA 00000187 002 OF 002 the Prime Minister's Cabinet. She told the Ambassador that speaking as an MP, not as Heritage Minister, she wanted to express her concern about possible erosion of the open access across the U.S. ) Canada border that her constituents enjoy and depend upon. Ambassador Wilkins assured Oda that the U.S. Government takes her concerns seriously and is still determining exactly how to implement some of the new laws regulating the use of passports when crossing the border. ¶7. (SBU) Minister Oda also told the Ambassador that U.S. television studios and producers have been avoiding working in Canada recently due to a labor strike in the Canadian television show production industry. However, she assured him that Canada is still able to provide television production services to U.S. studios and asked for his help in spreading this message. -------------- Meeting Participants -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Canadian Side: Beverley Oda, Heritage Minister Craig Carson, Policy Advisor to the Heritage Minister Patricia Neri, Copyright Policy Branch Director General, Canadian Heritage United States Side: Ambassador Wilkins Brian Mohler, Economic Minister Counselor Ryan Stoner, Economic Officer Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa WILKINS