OTTAWA--A balance between the rights of creators and users must be a cornerstone of a revised Copyright Act, according to the Canadian Federation of Students' submission to the federal government's copyright consultations, submitted today.

"Students are writers, programmers and artists, we read books, articles and essays, and are at the forefront of the digital revolution," said Katherine Giroux-Bougard, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "Students need legislation that protects the works they create, guarantees access to information, and is flexible enough for the rapidly changing digital environment."

The Canadian Federation of Students submission calls for a more broad and inclusive definition of fair dealing and a "made in Canada" solution to challenges presented by nearly constant advances in technology. Among other things, students recommend stronger protections for the integrity of creators' works and giving the rights over content created by the government back to Canadians through the elimination of Crown copyright.

"Copyright legislation is critical to the future of Canadian innovation. We will falter if reforms only aim to please a handful of large, mostly American, content distributors," added Giroux-Bougard.The submission can be downloaded from the Federation's website at www.cfs-fcee.ca/copyright.

Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada's largest student organisation, uniting more that one-half million students from all ten provinces.