Implementation Of Legislation Will Help Protect Privacy

TORONTO - Ontario is fulfilling its commitment to deliver a new, more open adoption information disclosure system that will allow easier access to information in adoption records and provide new privacy protections for people who do not want to be contacted, Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur announced February 1, 2007.

"We are making it easier for thousands of adoptees and birth parents to learn about their medical and personal histories while establishing stronger privacy safeguards than currently exist," said Meilleur. "We recognize that the right to information is not the same as the right to a relationship."

The Ontario government has begun implementing Bill 183, the Adoption Information Disclosure Act, 2005. Adult adoptees and birth parents whose adoptions were finalized in Ontario can now:

<< - Register a "no contact" notice with the Ontario Registrar General (ORG) if they do not want to be contacted.

- Register with the ORG a notice specifying a "contact preference" on how they prefer to be contacted.

- Apply to the Child and Family Services Review Board to prevent disclosure of identifying information if there are concerns regarding sexual harm or significant physical/emotional harm. >>

Adult adoptees will also be able to register a "waiver of protection" that will allow the Ontario Registrar General to release information to a birth parent even though the adopted person may have been a victim of abuse by the birth parent.

The legislation is expected to be fully implemented in the fall of 2007. The Province is currently putting the necessary procedures in place to process requests for information contained in adoption orders and original birth records. The government will also be conducting an advertising campaign in the coming weeks across Ontario, Canada and the United States to inform adoptees and birth parents about their new information and privacy rights.

"This act will have a profound impact on thousands of people who have been longing for years, often decades, to know their roots or the names of their children," said Dr. Michael Grand from the Coalition for Open Adoption Records. "Finally, as adults, we can make private, responsible decisions regarding contact."

This is the latest example of how the McGuinty government is working to strengthen Ontario by strengthening Ontario's families. Other initiatives include: <<

- Providing more children and youth with mental health services through more than 200 new and expanded local programs across the province resulting from increased investments of $38 million annually.

- Creating and sustaining almost 15,000 new child care spaces, as part of our Best Start plan for healthy early development, learning and child care.

- Helping single-parent families by increasing their assistance. The social assistance rate increases, along with the NCBS flow-through, will mean that single parents with two children are receiving $1,620 more than they would have in 2003-04 - a 15.7 per cent increase. >>

"We're moving Ontario's adoption information laws into the 21st century," said Meilleur. "Adoptees and birth parents are finally getting the same rights as all citizens, the right to know their identity and the right to know their past."

With more than half of Canadian university students cheating, it's a national scandal. Why aren't schools doing more about it?

Plus, Maclean's learns that the RCMP paid a civilian informant more than $4 million to help execute the sting operation that brought down a group of alleged terrorists in Toronto last summer.

TORONTO - Universities are in the business of producing graduates - the doctors who will heal us, the engineers who build our bridges and the CEOs who will generate our wealth. The degrees they confer are the university's certificate that a graduate has been tested and deemed suitable by appropriate authorities. Yet a recent University of Guelph study has discovered that more than half the student body in Canada is cheating its way through school. There is no sense of urgency around the problem.

There is mounting evidence that a lack of integrity in the university system will have a far-reaching effect on our economy in the years to come. Consider the following facts relating to the great university cheating scandal:

<< - 53% of all students admit to serious cheating in written work

- doctors disciplined by state medical boards are three times more likely to have been singled out at med school for bad behaviour

- 56% of all business students admit to cheating

- at the University of Toronto, instances of plagiarism rose from just 92 a decade ago to 298 in the 2003-2004 school year

- 44% of profs said they didn't report students caught cheating >>

Students have always misbehaved you say? When put in historical context, the numbers for academic integrity across North America show cheating is on a steady rise. Universities, apparently not convinced that cheating has reached crisis proportions, offer little but token anti-plagiarism policies and ineffective ethics campaigns to assuage critics.

The four-million dollar rat

The RCMP paid a civilian informant more than $4 million to help execute the sting operation that brought down a group of alleged terrorists in Toronto last summer, Maclean's has learned. The well-known member of the city's Muslim community was hired by the Mounties just weeks before the arrests - and only after some shrewd negotiations. In fact, the 28-year-old businessman originally demanded more than $15 million for his covert services. He eventually settled on a deal worth at least $4.1 million-including $900,000 for a new house, $250,000 for his parents, and $40,000 to cover his wife's dental bills.

Read more in the issue of Maclean's arriving on newsstands nationally starting today.

Sean Dalton joins Kangaroo Media Inc. as Executive Vice President and General Manager US.

MIRABEL, QC - Kangaroo Media Inc., announced the appointment of Mr. Sean Dalton as Executive Vice President and General Manager US, effective immediately, reporting to Kangaroo Media's President and CEO, Marc Arseneau.

Mr. Dalton's impressive track record over the past twenty years in sales, marketing, strategic planning and management in Canada, the UK and the US will contribute significantly to the growth of Kangaroo Media.

He was previously Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at Microcell Telecom, a Canadian wireless services provider, for five years where he played a major role in the development of the Fido service. He has a BA in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire and a MBA with honours from Suffolk University.

"Joining Kangaroo Media is extremely exciting. This brings together my consumer marketing, wireless and sports marketing expertise to help Kangaroo build on its NASCAR and NFL presence and thrive in one of our key markets, the US." said Dalton.

"It is with great pleasure that Kangaroo Media welcomes Mr. Sean Dalton aboard the Kangaroo team. He is a creative, persuasive, integrative leader with tremendous drive and ambition," said Marc Arseneau,." Sean joins our team at a very strategic time in the development of the US market and brings the right mix of expertise to our senior management team" he added.

“iTunes has crossed another major milestone by selling over two billion songs, with over a billion of them sold in the last year alone, making it by far the world’s most popular music store,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And by selling 50 million TV shows and over 1.3 million movies to date, iTunes is already the largest online video store in the world as well.”

iTunes 7 for Mac and Windows includes the iTunes Store, and is available as a free download from www.itunes.ca. Its catalogue includes over four million songs, 250 feature films, 350 television shows, and over 100,000 podcasts. Last week, iTunes added more than 100 movies from Paramount Pictures priced at US$9.99, like School of Rock, The Italian Job, Mean Girls, Zoolander, Coach Carter, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, Chinatown, and“Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Videos are downloaded at 640 x 480 pixel resolution; and now with Apple TV, users can wirelessly play iTunes content from a Mac or PC right on a widescreen TV.

Apple TV, also announced at the show, connects to virtually all modern widescreen TVs. Using the Apple Remote and intuitive interface, users can easily browse through content, like music, photos, and podcasts, right on the television screen from up to 30 feet away.

“Apple TV is like a DVD player for the 21st century: you connect it to your entertainment system just like a DVD player, but it plays digital content you get from the Internet rather than DVDs you get from a physical store,” Jobs explained. “Apple TV plays the same iTunes content that users enjoy on their computers and iPods, so now they can even watch part of a movie in their living room, and watch the rest later on their iPod.”

Apple TV has a 40 GB hard drive that can store up to 50 hours of video, 9,000 songs, 25,000 photos or a combination of each; and can deliver high-definition 720p output. It comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports. Using high-speed AirPort® 802.11 wireless networking, Apple TV can auto-sync content from one computer, or stream content from up to five additional computers to your TV without wires.

Apple TV will ship in February for an SRP $349.

SHIFTV and Sky Angel have partnered to deliver more than 30 channels of Christian and wholesome family programming direct to Canadian television screens via Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)

TORONTO - SHIFTV Inc., a pioneer in providing Broadband TV (or IPTV, Internet Protocol Television) which can be watched on any television via a set-top box, is pleased to announce January 17, 2007 that it has entered into an exclusive Canadian IPTV agreement with Sky Angel, the leading U.S.-based direct-to-home satellite broadcaster of Christian and family-friendly TV and radio programming.

Sky Angel has agreed to provide more than 30 TV and radio channels of Christian and family programming to SHIFTV for delivery over the Internet to Canadian consumers' televisions using hardware provided by SHIFTV. The advantage for audiences is access to a broader range of programming within the parameters of their interests, as well as the ability to watch programming through their TV set and surf the Internet on their computer simultaneously using the same high-speed connection. In addition, audiences can also view Sky Angel on computers using most Internet browsers.

Among the TV channels that are currently available from Sky Angel through SHIFTV are Sky Angel's exclusive kids and teens channel KTV; the 24-hour Christian music video channels TVU; Trinity Broadcasting Network's full suite of channels that includes TBN, JCTV youth network, Smile of a Child children's network, The Church Channel and TBN Enlace Spanish network; plus Safe TV, Familyland, Faith TV, Angel One and more. Additional TV channels, as well as radio channels are expected to be announced next month.

"After years of receiving thousands of requests from Canadian Christians for access to the Sky Angel television service, we are pleased to now be able to say, 'Yes, you can receive Sky Angel TV in Canada!'" said Rob Johnson, CEO of Dominion Video Satellite Inc., owner-operator of Sky Angel.

"As the clear leader in providing viewer access to Christian programming, we will continue to provide the widest variety of Christian-inspirational channels through direct-to-home satellite in the U.S.," added Johnson, "but we are excited about this opportunity to partner with SHIFTV in utilizing this emerging IPTV technology to deliver quality Christian and family programming geared to all ages and interests onto the television screens of homes, churches and businesses across Canada."

"We are pleased in becoming Sky Angel's exclusive IPTV partner in Canada as it provides thousands of Canadians an opportunity to view Christian programming that is currently not offered through other broadcasters. Sky Angel is a perfect partner in our ongoing strategy to provide programming to niche audiences on a reliable platform," said Morey Chaplick, CEO of SHIFTV. "Subscribers with high-speed Internet access can simply plug their television into a set-top box, connect the box to their high-speed cable/DSL, and enjoy the programs that they are truly interested in."

The service is available now for $24.99 (Canadian) per month by visiting www.skyangel-iptv.com or dialing Toll Free (866) 640-7938. Consumers who subscribe before March 16, 2007 will not have to pay a $20 activation fee, will receive their first month of service free (two months free when subscribing for 12 months), and will have immediate access to Sky Angel through their computer. In most instances, Sky Angel set-top boxes are shipped within 24 hours of ordering.

The article "Revenue fluctuations for newspaper publishers" focuses on sources of revenue for the Canadian newspaper industry. Specifically, it looks at how the industry's advertising revenue has been affected by economic conditions since 1975. In addition, it looks at circulation revenue during this 30 year period.

The industry's advertising revenues tended to rise when the economy was growing. Conversely, during the two major recessions since 1975, national and classified advertising revenues declined, but the effect of the recessions on advertising from local sources was less clear.

The article also shows that the rate of growth of circulation revenues has declined in recent years. While circulation revenues grew by an average of 8.0% per year from 1975 to 1990, they rose by an average of only 2.8% per year from 1991 to 2005.
more...

GLENDALE, Calif. - Anne Globe, a senior member of the DreamWorks Animation leadership team, has been appointed the company' s new Head of Worldwide Marketing and Consumer Products, it was announced January 16, 2007 by Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation CEO.

Anne takes over for Terry Press, the longtime and highly regarded marketing head of the studio, who announced plans to step down from her role, but to continue to work with the studio, as well as to take on other non-competitive projects in the industry.

Anne Globe has been head of worldwide consumer products and promotion at DreamWorks Animation since 2005. In this role, she has become one of the foremost marketing and merchandising executives in the film industry, spearheading a significant increase in both the number and scope of DreamWorks promotional partnerships, as well as the scale of their support of DreamWorks Animation movies.

In the last 12 months alone, under Anne's leadership, DreamWorks solidified new relationships with McDonald's, Activision, AOL and Kellogg's, in addition to building upon the studio's long-term significant, strategic partnerships with HP and AMD. Anne joined DreamWorks in 1996, when she assumed responsibility for promotion and merchandising campaigns for all DreamWorks SKG films. <<

Executive Comments >>

"I'm delighted that we have an executive of Anne Globe's stature to lead our marketing efforts at an exciting time for our company," Mr. Katzenberg said. "In the next two years, our movie releases will continue to build upon our great Shrek and Madagascar franchises, as well introduce two new and unique films in Bee Movie and Kung Fu Panda. I have every confidence that Anne's background and capacity to create innovative marketing campaigns will assure we put the very best marketing support behind everything we're doing."

Commented Anne Globe, "We're at an exciting moment in our studio's history. For the first time since we've become a public company we're looking at really building on our franchises and fully leveraging all our partnerships to enhance the DreamWorks brand. It's a chance to maximize our unique position in the marketplace. I'm excited by the opportunity, particularly knowing the enormous talent that exists with our marketing partners at Paramount, as well as the depth and breadth of support I have here at DreamWorks." <<

About DreamWorks Animation >>

DreamWorks Animation is principally devoted to developing and producing computer generated, or CG, animated feature films. The Company has theatrically released a total of 13 animated feature films, including Antz, Shrek, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Over the Hedge and Flushed Away. Shrek the Third opens in theaters May 18, 2007.

Initiative Recognizes and Rewards Community-focused Small Businesses in 10 Canadian Cities

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - Yellow Pages Group announced January 16, 2007 the launch of the second annual Make it Real: Better Businesses for Better Communities program that recognizes and rewards small Canadian businesses dedicated to improving the communities they serve.

Yellow Pages Group, Canada's largest telephone directory publisher, has opened the Make it Real program to 10 cities across Canada, and is now calling for entries from eligible small businesses in Kelowna and Nanaimo, British Columbia; Medicine Hat and Red Deer, Alberta; Brandon, Manitoba; Sudbury and Kingston, Ontario; and Rimouski, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

Businesses of 50 employees or fewer that demonstrate an outstanding contribution to their communities will be eligible for a cash prize that will be shared by the winning company and the charity of its choice. Contributions to the community can include fundraising for charity, environmentally-friendly business practices, local volunteer work by employees, special employment practices and more. Eligible companies may either submit their own entry via an online application, by postal mail or fax, or be nominated by an individual or other business.

"Canadian entrepreneurs are making a real difference in their communities. We are proud to once again offer the Make It Real program as a way to recognize these special efforts," said Annie Marsolais, Director of Marketing Communications for Yellow Pages Group. "As a partner to Canadian businesses, we want to encourage companies to continue to take an active role in improving their communities."

A local panel of community leaders will choose Platinum and Gold winners in each city and prizes will be shared by each small business winner and the charity of its choice. Each Platinum winner receives $4,000, with an additional $1,000 going to charity. Each Gold winner receives $2,000, with an additional $500 going to charity. Yellow Pages Group will also publicize the names of each winning company in the community section of the respective local Yellow Pages(TM) directory.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, June 1, 2007 and winners will be announced Tuesday, July 3, 2007 at 9 a.m. (PT). More details and online applications for the Make it Real program are available at www.ypg.com/makeitreal.

Job-seekers also benefit from the “one-stop-shopping” resource by being able to simultaneously view job listings from all five of the sites rather than visit them individually.

Other benefits to job seekers include online job applications, resume and cover letter management, and email notification of new job postings that fit their search criteria.

Both employers and job seekers also have access to a network of over 200 national and regional career sites, further enhancing their user experience.

Industry veteran Gabrielle Boguslawski, who has more than two decades of recruitment experience working with HR professionals and agencies, has been appointed to manage online sales and work closely with the brands’ classified teams.

TORONTO - In a unanimous vote, ACTRA's negotiating committee has set a strike deadline of 12:01 a.m. Monday, January 8, 2007. Producers were given notices to this effect as last-ditch talks resumed this morning.

"ACTRA wants to avoid a strike. We're going to try hard this week to negotiate a new agreement. But the producers' associations must not underestimate our determination to ensure that it is a fair agreement," stated Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator. ACTRA received an overwhelming 97.6% strike mandate from its membership in December.

"Canadian performers will not see their wages eroded and will not be giving away their work on the internet for free," said Waddell. If no agreement is arrived at this week, ACTRA will be striking against producers in most of Canada except British Columbia. The many producers who have signed continuation letters with ACTRA will not be involved in this action.

TORONTO, and LONDON, ON - Buena Vista International Television (BVITV), the international TV distribution division of The Walt Disney Company, has concluded a multi-year video on demand movie rental agreement with Rogers Cable in Canada. For the first time, Rogers Personal TV customers with a digital box will be able to watch Disney live action and animated movies, on Rogers On Demand through their digital set top boxes in Ontario. This is The Walt Disney Company's first video on demand agreement in Canada and is in line with the Company's focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution.

With this agreement, Rogers customers will be able to purchase on demand a selection of new release and library features from The Walt Disney Company's extensive portfolio. Titles include the Disney/Pixar hit animated comedy-adventure "Cars," featuring the voices of Owen Wilson and Paul Newman, which launches on 22nd December on the service, and the global blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, which will launch in January.

This agreement was concluded by BVITV's Orest Olijnyk, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Canada and David Purdy, Vice-President and General Manager Television Services for Rogers Cable.

Olijnyk commented: "We're delighted to conclude our first VOD agreement in Canada, and to be working with Rogers to bring this wide selection of hit movie content to their customers in flexible, and importantly legitimate and secure, new ways."

"We are excited to be the first Canadian cable company to bring Disney content to our customers on Demand," said David Purdy, Vice-President and General Manager Television Services for Rogers Cable. "We know the programming will be a hit with the whole family and we are pleased to offer it just in time for the holiday season."

Rogers customers will also be able to enjoy hit library titles such as "Cocktail" and "Green Card." New Disney movies will constantly be added as they are available, and a new selection of library titles will be added on a continual basis. Currently, there are over 3000 movies and shows in the Rogers On Demand library that Rogers customers can access on channel 100. Customers with a digital box can start any movie on Rogers On Demand at any time they want, and pause, rewind and fast-forward their movie using their set top box remote control, for up to 24 hours after purchase. Current movies will be priced at $5.99, and library titles $3.99.

American Movie Classics added to Rogers channel lineup effective February 1, 2007

TORONTO - Rogers announced December 19, 2006 that it will be adding one of the most popular channels to its channel lineup next February. American Movie Classics is currently in free preview.

Movies are the number one programming request from customers. In a 2006 survey, 45% of Rogers customers said they wanted more movies and Rogers has responded by adding one of the most called for channels.

American Movie Classics (AMC) is a 24-hour network dedicated to all movie fans. The network offers a comprehensive library of popular movies and a critically-acclaimed slate of programming that is a diverse, movie-based mix of original series, documentaries and specials. AMC has garnered many of the industry's highest honours, including 14 Emmy awards.

In addition, Rogers is adding BBC World to its channel line-up providing customers the opportunity for a different perspective on international news and analysis in English.

"Rogers is continually striving to offer its customers the television experience that they demand," said David Purdy, Vice President and General Manager, Television Services. "With the addition of AMC, Rogers will now offer customers a wider selection of movies that they want to see."

In order to make room on the line-up for these exciting new services the following channels will be moved to the digital cable lineup - CNBC and Speed Channel or BET or CNN Headline News (depending on the area).

These changes are being made to ensure that the majority of Rogers customers have access to the most popular and requested channels.

TORONTO - In its much anticipated annual special issue, TIME Magazine has chosen Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper its 2006 Canadian Newsmaker of the Year. The story appears within TIME's annual Person of The Year enhanced issue.

The Prime Minister who was "once dismissed as a doctrinaire backroom tactician with no experience in government has emerged as a warrior in power," writes TIME contributing editor Stephen Handelman. "Defying conventional wisdom about how to lead a minority government (very, very cautiously), Canada's 22nd Prime Minister led Canadians on a bold, and discomfiting, journey of political change. He slashed more than $1 billion worth of federal programs, reshuffled the federal bureaucracy, and reopened the wounds of the national unity debate by supporting Quebec's right to declare itself a 'nation.' At the same time he has introduced a new standard of accountability for federal politicians, stewarded Canada's first major deployment of troops to a combat theater in five decades and, for good measure, negotiated an end to a long-simmering trade wrangle with the U.S. over softwood exports.

"If Harper wins the majority he craves, in the election expected sometime next year, he may yet turn out to be the most transformational leader since Trudeau. He has set himself the messianic tasks of remaking Canadian federalism by curbing Ottawa's spending powers and overhauling Canada's health care and social welfare system...For the way he has dramatically reshaped the national conversation, for restoring a sense of competence and integrity to high public office, and for proving that big ideas still matter in Canadian politics, Stephen Harper has been chosen by TIME as Canada's Newsmaker of 2006," concludes Handelman.

The Canadian Newsmaker of the Year is an annual editorial special that began over ten years ago. The Newsmaker is defined as the person, place, group, or thing that has the most impact - for better or for worse - on the news in Canada.

TORONTO - The 150,000-member Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, which represents about 25,000 media workers, is calling on the Ontario government to do the right thing and introduce "Status of the Artist" legislation.

CEP Ontario Vice-President Cec Makowski says freelance workers are among the most vulnerable media workers who work without any legal protection of their wages or terms and conditions of employment and are too often subject to the whims of prospective employers.

"This legislation would at least provide them with a floor of terms and conditions, as well as the legal basis to negotiate rates of pay," says Makowski, whose union represents close to 1,500 freelance workers. Today at 11:30 am, at the Ontario Legislature, CEP will join leaders from the Ontario Federation of Labour, the New Democratic Party other media/cultural unions to hold a news conference on the Status of the Artist Legislation.

In 2003 the McGuinty Liberals promised to bring in such legislation during their mandate, but so far nothing. The purpose of the news conference is to put public pressure on the government to fulfill its promise before its mandate runs out.