Bill C-32 (40th Canadian Parliament, 3rd Session)

Bill C-32
An Act to amend the Copyright Act.
Citation	Bill C-32
Enacted by	House of Commons of Canada
Legislative history
Bill	Bill C-32
Introduced by	Tony Clement and James Moore
First reading	June 2, 2010
Second reading	November 5, 2010
Status: Expired

Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, was a bill tabled on June 2, 2010 during the third session of the 40th Canadian Parliament by Minister of Industry Tony Clement and by Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore. This bill served as the successor to the previously proposed but short-lived Bill C-61 in 2008 and sought to tighten Canadian copyright laws. In March 2011, the 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved, with all the bills which did not pass by that point (including bill C-32) automatically becoming dead.

Many restrictions in the bill were harshly criticized, especially those regarding the circumvention of digital locks. Law professor Michael Geist commented that the bill was introduced by an "out-of-touch Moore, who has emerged as a staunch advocate for a Canadian DMCA". After Bill C-32's introduction, James Moore responded to criticism by calling the bill's detractors "radical extremists". In the aftermath of the bill, the United States diplomatic cables leak revealed ongoing pressure from US officials wanting Canada to pass stricter copyright laws.

The bill was revived in the next Parliament as C-11 on September 29, 2011.

The bill would have criminalized the act of circumventing, or making available to the public the ability to circumvent, digital rights management software locks. These restrictions were described as "arguably worse than those found in the U.S." While explicit mentions of "videocassettes" in Bill C-61 were replaced with technology neutral terms, the copying of DRM encumbered media such as DVDs was still prohibited by Bill C-32. Bill C-32 was also interpreted as banning the user of region-free DVD players. According to CBC News, the bill would have even criminalized "websites designed to encourage violation and piracy". When describing the main principle of the bill, Michael Geist said "anytime a digital lock is used - whether on books, movies, music, or electronic devices - the lock trumps virtually all other rights."

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