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MEDIA RELEASE

April 10, 2002
For Immediate Release

(OTTAWA) - Educators and trustees are demanding that the federal government take steps to ensure that they have access to educational materials for the classroom. Appearing tomorrow at a government consultation meeting on digital copyright, the Canadian School Boards Association (CSBA) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) will be emphasizing that online educational materials must be affordable and accessible to teachers and students.

CTF and CSBA are asking the government to:
· Ensure that Canadian students have access to publicly available Internet materials.
· Keep copyright conditions fair for educators, students and creators.
· Consider the needs of the education community at the same time as moving ahead with overall changes and not after the fact.

"It's ironic that the federal government is connecting all the schools in Canada to the Internet, but their proposed changes mean that cash-strapped boards won't be able to afford online materials," says Gary Shaddock, President of CSBA. "They are moving ahead to protect the rights of creators, forgetting the needs of the education community."

"We are talking about free online materials, not commercial ones," adds Mr. Shaddock. "Isn't it reasonable to ask that Canadian students and educators benefit from access to publicly available Internet materials for educational uses? We think so." 

"We desperately need a balance between the rights of the creators and the need to educate young Canadians so that they can participate fully as active citizens," says Doug Willard, CTF President. "Current copyright agreements don't address these needs. Furthermore, in a knowledge and skills based economy, it is imperative that students and teachers have access to a wider range of education materials with a minimum of red tape."

CSBA is the national voice of over 400 school boards. CTF represents more than 240,000 elementary and secondary teachers from across Canada.

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For information:
Francine Filion, CTF's Director of Communications
(613) 232-1505

Elizabeth Hodges, CSBA's Communications & Government Relations Coordinator
(613) 235-3724 ext. 23