The State's Freedom and the People's Freedom, as Users of Software

Ottawa, Canada - on Parliament Hill, main steps. The talk will be followed by informal discussion at the "Parliament Pub" Family Restaurant across the street, beginning at approximately 18:30. The Government of Canada is the largest software user in Canada. In most cases, it gives developers of the programs intolerable power over how the state uses public assets and how the state manages its own data; in effect, giving these developers (most of whom work for large corporations, most of which are foreign) power over the state's own computers, in all their forms. Free/Libre software licensing is the way out of this bind. It gives the users control over their own computing, whether these users are government departments, companies or individuals. The Government of Canada is also the largest funder of custom software development in Canada. It is the largest employer of software developers, and the organization with the largest number of software developers under contract. Canadian legislators should ensure that the software paid for by the public is available for the public to use in freedom, by releasing it as Free/Libre software. Richard Stallman will explain these issues, as well as why the term "intellectual property" is an incoherent over-generalization that should be completely shunned. Richard Stallman, is stopping in Ottawa for meetings with government and non-governmental officials. He is enroute back to MIT after receiving an honorary degree from Lakehead University, Thunder Bay.