Canadian school boards on the Copyright Act
novembre 23rd, 2005Interesting and encouraging talk at the parliament. On October 27, Gerri Gershon, representing the Canadian School Boards Association, said:
The proposed Copyright Act makes it illegal for students and teachers to participate in routine class activities, where they download, save, and share Internet text or images that were intended to be freely distributed and downloaded. The act will force the removal of Internet access from our schools, and if the schools want to keep Internet access, that means they will have to have a 500% increase in licensing costs.
The Canadian School Boards Association, along with colleges, universities, and the provincial ministries, urge an amendment to the legislation that’s now going through the system, to allow the educational needs of students and teachers…to be available for use in our schools at no penalty. The amendment must become part of legislation.
We want our students to use the Internet to do research in our schools. So in the name of Canadian elementary and secondary students, the Canadian School Boards Association asks this committee to recommend an amendment that will properly protect students.