Good evening, Mr. Chair, esteemed committee members, fellow witnesses, and members of the gallery.
My name is Ossama Nasrallah. I'm the president of the Saint Mary's University Students' Association. I'm an international student in my fourth year at Saint Mary's. I'm here tonight to talk about the impact fair dealing has on the cost of post-secondary education.
My education is expensive. In fact, the cost increases every year, as tuition, rent, textbooks, and other fees rise. As an international student, the cost increases affect me dearly, as I already pay about twice the tuition that domestic students pay.
Not only has fair dealing allowed for a variety of new resources and material to be used in learning, the changing landscape of learning materials, including open education resources and open-access journals, has made a variety of content more affordable to post-secondary students, who incur high costs for tuition and textbooks. This has also enriched the quality of learning in the classroom, and makes the Canadian post-secondary education stronger.
The changing landscape of academic material, such as open education resources, is becoming the primary way through which research is shared. As students, we now have access to a vast array of learning materials at an accessible cost that enrich our learning experience. Fair dealing, in some small part, made this possible. It's worth noting that in this age of digital disruption, students, professors, and post-secondary institutions are among the largest consumers of academic resources. The household survey indicates that the average household expenditure for textbooks in 2015 was $656, indicating growth in the purchasing of academic resources.
As students, we have the right to be informed of the fees. We would argue that the copyright board adhere to a higher standard of transparency and a clear outline, and explain the fee structure imposed on students, especially, and clearly, as to why these fees apply equally to all students when there are varying licensing needs among faculties.
Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Chair, and committee members. Have a good evening.