My French isn't good enough to know if a Le Devoir article linked from this TorrentFreak post is saying that this is a national policy of the GRC (er, RCMP) or one that only applies in Quebec. But either way, this is a pretty rational stance from the police and it makes me happy to hear that I can download to my heart's content exercise greater freedom in my choice of online activities.
On a semi-related note, the Writers Guild of America is on strike with appropriate compensation for sales from electronic media being one of the major issues. (Writers in Canada dealt with a similar situation a few years back - as new technology that no one foresaw when initial contracts were written came into being, corporations tried to put up works (reviews, essays, articles, etc.) without additional compensation. Needless to say, writers wanted to be compensated for the reproduction of their work, no matter the form it appeared in. I can't remember how this resolved itself - anybody? Bueller? Bueller?)
Anyhow, if you're missing "The Daily Show, one of show's writers did this update from the picket lines:
