New copyright legislation could be introduced in Canada within the next few weeks, an Industry Canada spokeswoman said. The motivation for the new legislation – which is likely to make it illegal to download or share songs on the internet – is explained by Caroline Grondin, an Industry Canada spokeswoman:

Canada's Copyright Act needs to be reformed to respond to the challenges of the digital age. New protections proposed for the benefit of rights holders will seek to address online infringement as well as create a legal framework that encourages the rollout, by rights holders, of new business models.

The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) has called for tougher laws to make it easier to prosecute people for file–sharing. Courts in Canada have made rulings that have made it difficult to prosecute individuals over file–sharing since Canadians have been paying a levy on blank CDs and other recording devices for a decade now but the CRIA has been trying to have this repealed since it has essentially legalized music downloading in Canada.

Speaking for artists, is Canadian Music Creators Coalition, which includes Sarah McLachlan, Sam Roberts and Avril Lavigne, who have said that it would not like to see a law that would lead to lawsuits against music fans. The CMCC says it like to see legislation that recognizes the importance of file–sharing as a way to spread the word about Canadian music.