August 2009: At this time the Government of Canada is running a consultation process to obtain information on the views of Canadians with respect to copyright and possible changes in Canadian copyright laws. There is a web site (http://copyright.econsultation.ca/) that describes this exercise. The government has scheduled two “town hall” meetings open to the public but limited in numbers, which were located in Montreal and Toronto. It has also been conducting “round table discussions” by invitation only in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Gatineau, Quebec City and Halifax. Electronic submissions from anywhere in Canada are invited on the http://copyright.econsultation.ca website, but there is no indication how that input would be used.

Do you feel left out? Some citizens believe more can be done to obtain organized input from Canadians on issues related to copyright legislation that will affect everyone, directly and indirectly.

This site is provided as a resource for those who wish to host their own “Copyright Town Hall”. Please see the Framework for Discussions, and the suggested Event Structure. A report from each Town Hall should be submitted to the federal government via info@copyrightconsultation.gc.ca, so that it will constitute part of the official consultation. You may use whatever means you choose to attract public attention to your Town Hall event.

Please visit the following pages for more details:

• A framework for discussions
• Event structure
• A sample workshop agenda

Whereas anyone may have their own view of the issues, the creators of this initiative included, the site does not promote any single viewpoint on copyright issues. It does aim to offer Canadians a set of venues, linked by a common framework, to clarify the implications of various directions for copyright reform. We hope this will be useful to the public, policy makers and legislators.

Hosting a Copyright Townhall in your community is easy!

Read and download the material above, register your identity on this website, and then start a new page on this website with the name of your city or community. Your event page should hold information on the date and location of your townhall, and other relevant details, such as contact information (e-mail only please!) for the event co-ordinator, facilitators and any other volunteers.

• If you would like to volunteer for an event in a capacity other than co-ordinator, contact the co-ordinator of the event you would like to volunteer for.
• If you would like to participate in an event, simply print the agenda above and show up. All concerned citizens are welcome.
• If you have questions that are not answered on this website, please see Contact