The Pirate Party of Canada Gains Party Status
Canada's chief electoral officer granted The Pirate Party of Canada "party" status provided that they nominate a candidate in the next election.
Modelled after Sweden's Pirate Party, the Pirate Party of Canada's founders have an agenda focussed upon issues of patent reform (i.e. to ban patents on software, life forms, etc.), net neutrality, digital sovereignty, privacy protections (i.e. to cover an individual's digital data and information), but are perhaps best known for their positions with respect to copyright - specifically demands to allow for the free and legal download and use of songs, books, movies, etc. for any non-commercial use. In light of the anticipated introduction of a new bill to amend the Copyright Act, running a candidate in the next Federal election may help to enlarge the profile of copyright and IP -related issues and the long-overdue update to existing legislation in the same way that the Green Party's involvement in the last election's televised debates focussed greater attention upon environmental issues.
