November 8, 2017

To:
Prime Minister of Canada
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Minister of Health
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Council of Ministers of Education
Joint Consortium for School Health

With the introduction of Bill C – 45 – An Act Respecting Cannabis and to Amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts – school boards across Canada have been concerned with the potential impact this legislation may have on students in their respective jurisdictions. 

As this Legislation has moved forward, the work of the Task Force on Cannabis Legislation and Regulation has been of particular interest to School Boards who have paid attention to and participated in the work of the Task Force. In their final report, the Task Force made several recommendations about how education was to be used as a means to help Canadians understand the potential health risks. It is now essential to ensure that education partners are included to inform this work.
 
Through these discussions, School Board Associations have also identified those areas that are essential for Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments to consider in the implementation of the Legalization of Cannabis. As a result, the enclosed CSBA Cannabis Legalization Declaration has been adopted by these Associations representing Canadian School Boards on behalf of the students and communities we serve.  
Sincerely,

Floyd Martens, President, CSBA

Laurie French
Chair, School Health and Wellness Committee, CSBA

 

Honourable Bill Morneau

Minister of Finance

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6

Bill.Morneau@parl.gc.ca

 

March 9, 2018

 

Dear Minister,

I am writing on behalf of our board of directors and school boards across the county in regards to the proposal included in the 2017 Federal Budget, which calls for a change to the Income Tax Act. Specifically, this is regarding:

“The removing of the tax exemptions for non-accountable expense allowances paid to members of provincial and territorial legislative assemblies and to certain municipal office – holders including school boards.”

 This proposed legislation concerns us for several reasons.

First, taxing this honorarium is actually going after revenue which comes from taxation in the first place and which was assigned to education.

But more importantly, and of great concern to school boards is that this proposed change will most certainly de-incentivize experienced, quality professionals, the majority of whom have full time employment and already pay taxes on their work income, from running for this valuable public office. The amounts paid to school trustees was always intended to provide a small compensation in recognition for the governance these citizens provide for the education of the children who live in their communities. The hours they spend at evening and weekend meetings is in most cases, above and beyond their full time work and demonstrates a much needed commitment to public service.

Removing this provision would discourage citizens from giving of their own private time to serve the public and their communities. We respectfully request that you reconsider this provision and leave the exemption for school trustees in place.

 Thank you,

 Floyd Martens

President

Canadian School Boards Association

TORONTO, March 7, 2018 – The Copyright Consortium of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), has released the Education Ministers’ Policy Statement on Fair Dealing. The Statement underlines the provincial and territorial education ministers’ support for teachers’ and students’ use of the fair dealing provision in the Copyright Act for classroom learning.

 The consortium is composed of the ministers of education of all provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec. The ministers have constitutional authority for education in Canada, are responsible stewards of copyright, and view copyright compliance as a priority. 

 The Statement reflects the Copyright Act and the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of fair dealing which provides teachers and students with the ability to use short excerpts from copyright-protected materials for educational purposes.

Education ministers view the current Copyright Act as good public policy that achieves an important balance between user rights and creator rights.

 “It’s important that copyright law balances the necessary protection of artists and writers works with the ability of teachers and students to use short excerpts from copyright-protected materials in their school work,” said Zach Churchill, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development for Nova Scotia and Chair of the CMEC Copyright Consortium. “The current copyright law and the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of fair dealing ensure that Canadian students are on a level playing field with students in other countries.”  

 Federal MPs have begun a mandated review of the Copyright Act and are expected to be studying copyright law through 2018. One issue MPs may probe is the application of fair dealing to classroom uses of copyright-protected materials.

 “We want to underscore for our federal counterparts that the guidelines respecting fair dealing used in K-12 classrooms are founded on the Supreme Court of Canada’s interpretation of fair dealing and play an important role in education,” said Minister Churchill.

 The Education Ministers’ Policy Statement on Fair Dealing can be found at: https://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/379/2018-03-Policy-Statement-on-Fair-Dealing-EN.pdf.

 In 2016, the consortium launched the Copyright Decision Tool, an on-line resource developed for teachers to consistently apply fair dealing in their classrooms. The Copyright Decision Tool —www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca—helps teachers to decide if fair dealing permits them to use copyright-protected materials without first getting copyright permission.

About CMEC

Founded in 1967, CMEC is the collective voice of Canada’s ministers of education. It provides leadership in education at the pan-Canadian and international levels and contributes to the exercise of the exclusive jurisdiction of provinces and territories over education. For more information, visit us at www.cmec.ca.