This just in from the grand people at Access Copyright. The Board had heard that over 250-million pages of textbooks and other materials are copied for use in K-12 schools every year."This is an important decision for rights holders not just in the education sector, but in every field of creative endeavour," said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director, Access Copyright."The decision is bitter-sweet when you consider that the federal government's proposed changes to the Copyright Act could impair future compensation for reproduction of materials used in education," said Roanie Levy, General Counsel, Access Copyright.What's being photocopied today by the primary, secondary and post-secondary education sector is the equivalent of 3 million books a year These people are so happy that they can get money from Canadian schools for photocopied pages.


Toronto - July 26, 2010 - Canadian creators and educational publishers have won a six-year legal battle to receive reasonable compensation for the reproduction of copyright-protected teaching materials used in the classroom, according to a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal.

In 2009, the Copyright Board of Canada certified a tariff to compensate creators and publishers for the photocopying of their works in K - 12 Schools. The Board had heard that over 250-million pages of textbooks and other materials are copied for use in K-12 schools every year."This is an important decision for rights holders not just in the education sector, but in every field of creative endeavour," said Maureen Cavan, Executive Director, Access Copyright."The decision is bitter-sweet when you consider that the federal government's proposed changes to the Copyright Act could impair future compensation for reproduction of materials used in education," said Roanie Levy, General Counsel, Access Copyright.What's being photocopied today by the primary, secondary and post-secondary education sector is the equivalent of 3 million books a year Ministers of Education of all the provinces and territories with the exception of Quebec, along with close to a hundred individual school boards, had asked the Federal Court to review the decision.

However the Federal Court found that the Copyright Board's decision was reasonable in light of the evidence before it... read more

With all of the wind overnight and a prediction of a warm afternoon, I was curious what the weather was going to do this afternoon. ... FINALLY, I found a source of frequently update satellite images for my region.... read more

Victoria's mayor, Dean Fortin, is continuing to spearhead a massively expensive sewage treatment system. It's a digusting truth that what we flush ends up as a vital food source for plants and very small creatures who in turn are eaten by larger creatures and on-up through the food chain The plan is to treat the sewage generated by the 250,000+ people from the region. It's a digusting truth that what we flush ends up as a vital food source for plants and very small creatures who in turn are eaten by larger creatures and on-up through the food chain All of the sewage that was formerly pumped out from several outlets will be routed to one facility in Esquimalt... read more

Bad News: I didn't win, place or show in the Monday Summer Fiction Contest.
Good News: I decided to publish my story anyways.

"Please-- you must stop!" she cried with a hoarseness and desperation etched into her soul. She was on her knees in the dry hot sand Those big cow eyes were puffy with tears and month without sleep. She was on her knees in the dry hot sand "Please, just let me go!"
I looked down at her... read more