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In this issue:

Federal consultation on the merits of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry
Federal consultations on insolvency and public post-secondary institutions
CAUT urges Standing Committee to increase federal funding for research
Op-ed: Four things to fix in Canada's Copyright Act
Protect your copy rights!

Federal consultation on the merits of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry

CAUT recently took part in the public consultation on a proposed foreign influence transparency registry, that looks to identify “malign” foreign interference in Canada.

CAUT is concerned that the proposed registry defined “malign” foreign influence too broadly and could undermine legitimate political criticism and dissent. Academics who have research partnerships with foreign colleagues and institutions could be particularly vulnerable.

CAUT President Peter McInnis called on the government to ensure any registry contains an exception for academic research, is narrowly focused, and does not impinge upon civil liberties.

Federal consultations on insolvency and public post-secondary institutions

CAUT took part in federal government consultations launched on May 1 to review how to protect the public interest in cases of insolvency of publicly funded post-secondary institutions.

CAUT encourages members to keep up the pressure on the government to exclude publicly funded universities and colleges from the Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA). Hundreds of academic staff lost their positions, and 69 programs were canceled during the Laurentian University CCAA insolvency process, which began on February 1, 2021.

CAUT urges Standing Committee to increase federal funding for research

CAUT Director of Political Action and Communications Justine De Jaegher testified before the Standing Committee on Science and Research on May 9 to detail CAUT’s call for increased funding and support for federal graduate scholarships, post-doctoral fellowships, and research grants.

“To support the next generation of academics, thought leaders, researchers, and drivers of Canadian innovation, we urge the government of Canada to increase the number and value of graduate student scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships, to increase research funding through the Tri-Council agencies, and to take a leadership role to work with provinces to address the lack of renewal of our science and research workforce,” stated De Jaegher.

Op-ed: Four things to fix in Canada’s Copyright Act

CAUT and the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) have urged the federal government to act faster on fixing four areas of Canadian copyright legislation:

Circumventing digital locks for legal purposes
Expanding fair dealing rights
Releasing federal government publications immediately into the public domain
Addressing Indigenous copyright

Read CAUT and CARL’s recommendations in a co-signed op-ed piece published in the digital magazine of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Protect your copy rights!

CAUT has joined forces with student organizations, post-secondary institutions, copyright experts and practitioners on a Fair Dealing Works campaign. The focus on the campaign is to make sure the federal government protects educational fair dealing – the right, under limited circumstances, to use copyright-protected works without payment or permission, for the purposes of education and research.

CAUT is asking members to write a letter to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and Members of Parliament about the importance of this user right for scholarly communications.

The Fair Dealing Works coalition is also collecting testimonials about the importance of educational fair dealing. If you have a personal experience that highlights the benefits of fair dealing, or if you are willing to help ask for stories from post-secondary education stakeholders, CAUT wants to hear from you. To give a testimony, please send an email to Anne-Marie Roy: a.roy@caut.ca.

Send a letter

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