York University Graduate Students' Association Speaks Out Against Revised Access Copyright Agreement and AUCC's Model License

TORONTO, May 22, 2012 /CNW/ - The York University Graduate Students' Association (YUGSA) is joining graduate students' unions and academic organizations across the country to speak out against universities and colleges signing onto the revised Access Copyright agreement and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's  (AUCC) Model License.

"Access Copyright's bold and unjustified proposal in 2010 calling for a new tariff and licensing regime to the Copyright Board of Canada was a telling display of the bullying antics adopted by Access Copyright and the limited accountability structures in place," said Tanya McFadyen of the York University Graduate Students' Association. The 2010 proposal called for a per student fee increase from $3.38 to $45.00 with the inclusion of troubling monitoring and surveillance requirements. "The reduced per student fee of $26.00 remains an absurd figure that cannot be justified and will only be shouldered by students which is something that we cannot support."

As a result, universities and colleges, including York University, withdrew their agreements with Access Copyright which was a commendable move on their part that garnered strong support from students' unions across the country. In addition, AUCC's application for objector status to Access Copyright's proposal was also promising.

However, the recent dropping of objector status by AUCC and the resultant signing of a Model License with Access Copyright is disappointing. In the age of growing movements centering on principles of open access and public access to scholarly materials coupled with increasing technological advances, the back-stepping of AUCC signals the organization's difficulty in grasping current changes taking place that are needed to improve knowledge sharing in higher learning.

The YUGSA is proud of York University for not signing onto Access Copyright's new agreement and AUCC's Model License and urges all universities and colleges across Canada to stand up for the fundamental principles of academia and public education by saying no to Access Copyright.

Tanya McFadyen, Vice President Gender Issues, 416.225.2022