OTTAWA, March 24, 2016 – Yesterday, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) welcomed the Government of Canada’s strong commitments to innovation, higher education and research that were reflected in Budget 2016. We now also applaud the Government’s commitment to inclusion.
CARL has noted that the Government has today introduced a bill that will make amendments to the Copyright Act to allow Canada to accede to and implement the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. This treaty fosters, on a global basis, equitable access to published works, and as such, aligns with the values upheld by research libraries.
Bill C-11, “An Act to amend the Copyright Act (access to copyrighted works or other subject-matter for persons with perceptual disabilities),” sponsored by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, received First Reading in the House this morning, and is expected to take a few months to work its way through Parliament.
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CARL includes Canada’s twenty-nine largest university libraries. Enhancing research and higher education is at the heart of our mission. CARL promotes effective and sustainable scholarly communication, and public policy that enables broad access to scholarly information.
For more information:
Susan Haigh, Executive Director
613.482.9344 ext. 101
