Village Gamer

Toronto – The National Film Board of Canada is proud to present the world premiere of Chris Landreth’s The Spine, a bold new film whose dazzling artistic style pushes the limits of animation. Landreth’s latest is the eagerly awaited follow-up film to Ryan, his 2004 Oscar winner for best animated short. From the same creative team that produced Ryan, The Spine is entirely computer animated and features the voices of Gordon Pinsent and Alberta Watson. The Spine uses bizarre but strangely believable imagery to tell the story of an ordinary married couple whose lives are in turn tragic, absurd and beautiful. It premieres at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival (June 8-13) in Annecy, France and will have its North American premiere at the World Wide Short Film Festival (June 16-21) in Toronto, Canada.

For The Spine, Landreth joins forces again with producers Steve Hoban (Copperheart Animation), Mark Smith (Copperheart Animation) and Marcy Page (National Film Board of Canada), who had collaborated with him to make Ryan. The Spine is a poignant story of redemption that takes us into the relationship between a man and a woman trapped in a spiral of mutual destruction. Dan and Mary Rutherford, married 26 years, sit unhappily in a couples’ group counselling session. Angela, another troubled participant in this group, wonders why their marriage has become so lopsided, so twisted. But when Mary leaves Dan, he undergoes a beautiful transformation. What will happen when she returns? Director and scriptwriter Landreth has created an insightful and daring look at the ways individuals evolve, adapt and break.
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Ottawa – MSP Partners, an alliance founded by Cisco, Ingram Micro, Intel, Level Platforms and Microsoft in conjunction with the active participation of more than 20 leading IT vendors and thousands of solution providers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs), today announced with IT industry trade association CompTIA and Everything Channel’s research division the Institute for Partner Education & Development (IPED), the availability of MSP Pro, a new third tier of membership that allows MSPs to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of Managed Services best practices.

This new level of membership entitles members to take the “MSP Pro…powered by CompTIA” exam, which thoroughly tests members on Managed Services best practices in Marketing, Sales, Operations and Finance. The exam is based on the extensive IPED training and education resources available on the MSP Partners member website. Once successfully completed, MSP Pro members receive the MSP Pro logo, plaque and certificate demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of established Managed Services best practices. MSP Pro membership is available through the MSP Partners website for $399 annually or $200 for current Master members.
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Ottawa – The CFTPA is pleased to announce the results of its recent Board elections.  The new Board of Directors will serve a two year term commencing this June 2009 and ending in June 2011.

“On behalf of the Association I take this opportunity to thank the current Board of Directors for all of their dedication, time and effort in serving the CFTPA over the past two years,” says Ira Levy, Chair CFTPA Nominating Committee. “The Association relies upon the involvement and effective participation of its Directors.”  Norm Bolen, President and CEO, added “the current Board has been unwavering in its commitment to serve in the best interest of all CFTPA members.  We look forward to working with the new Directors of the Board who collectively bring a wealth of experience to the table.”

The 2009-2011 CFTPA Board of Directors is as follows:
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Ottawa – A coalition of consumer groups and telecommunications service providers has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to rescind a November 2008 decision regarding the ‘shaping’ of Internet traffic and to order Bell Canada to immediately cease and desist from further interfering with the traffic of Internet users.

In April 2008 the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) filed a complaint with the CRTC over Bell Canada’s traffic management practices of certain last-mile wholesale services used by independent Internet Service Providers to reach their customers. Seven months later, the CRTC denied the CAIP complaint largely on the basis that Bell was throttling the traffic of its wholesale customers in the same manner as it managed the traffic of its retail customers.

Today’s application asks the CRTC to reconsider their decision based on factual and legal errors in the decision and because the decision undermines the public interest in a vibrantly competitive market for Internet access services.
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Toronto – RBC today announced a call for nominations for the 2009 RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Awards program (CWEA). The RBC CWEA program will recognize the many talented Canadian women entrepreneurs who thrive despite today’s challenging economic environment.

“Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian economy, and RBC is proud to help celebrate their passion and success at this annual awards ceremony,” said Shauneen Bruder, executive vice-president, Business and Commercial Banking.

The RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards are the pre-eminent national business awards recognizing the country’s leading female entrepreneurs. For the first time since the creation of the awards program, applications received will be considered for two consecutive years.

“Whether starting a new business, sustaining the one they already have, or exploring new opportunities, Canadian women entrepreneurs continue to play a leading role in the Canadian marketplace,” explains Mike Michell, national director, Small Business and Women’s Market, RBC. “These women have incredible success stories that we believe other business owners can learn from.”
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Brampton – Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning’s top-priority capital project has received significant funding from the federal and provincial governments. Together both levels of government are providing a combined $31.23 million in new infrastructure dollars toward building a college campus in Mississauga. The creation of Sheridan’s third major campus will mean that Mississauga, Canada’s sixth-largest city, will finally have a college.

“Thanks to the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, Sheridan is going to be able to fill a big need for students and businesses in Mississauga,” said Dr. Robert Turner, President and CEO, Sheridan Institute. “The Mississauga area is home to over 55 corporate head offices in finance, insurance, real estate, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and logistics. Everyone has told Sheridan a college presence is essential to fulfilling their workforce needs. Thanks to this new funding, we’re going to be able to pay big dividends to the Mississauga community.”
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Ottawa – The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has announced the launch of a new web site designed to open dialogue in regards to proposed Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). The site features a collection of essays by leading academics, lawyers, researchers, activists and industry professionals, and is designed to serve as a resource on Deep Packet Inspection. According to information on the site, it grew out of a desire at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to understand more about a technology that has application in network traffic management, behavioural advertising, and law enforcement.

Jennifer Stoddart

“The prospective uses of DPI technology raise serious concerns about individual privacy,” said Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada. “DPI technology has the potential to give ISPs and other entities wide-ranging access to vast amounts of personal information sent over the Internet. Canadians spend a significant amount of their lives on online as consumers, professionals, and citizens. They are entitled to privacy protection pursuant to Canadian telecommunications policy, as set out in the Telecommunications Act, and under privacy laws of Canada. We respectfully submit that before DPI technology is employed, careful consideration should be given to what impact it may have on individual privacy.”
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Ottawa – The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) has joined the call of Ottawa TV station CTV, to support local TV across Canada by calling for a review of its regulatory funding regime.

“If we cut local community roots, we lose something invaluable as a nation. Media coverage is hugely important in establishing a reputation and product awareness.” said John Reid, CATA President, adding, “If the local TV companies falter, we will be facing another blow against creating Canada’s Innovation Nation — which is already weak because of the economic climate. We want to see local television continue to strengthen our communities. This system has to be fixed.”

As part of Canada wide mobilization, CATA is calling on High Tech companies to join the CTV petition, and to also gather for a “virtual protest meeting” in Second Life, a virtual 3D world where people can socialize, gather, chat and explore.
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Vancouver – Dr. Gerri Sinclair, Executive Director of the Masters of Digital Media Program and CEO of the Centre for Digital Media, together with Dr. Yosef Wosk, Director of Interdisciplinary Programs in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University announced today the Dianne Sinclair Memorial Fellowship Fund, to be offered to the most outstanding female student entering the Masters of Digital Media (MDM) Program each year based on the student’s academic performance and portfolio assessment. The application deadline for the MDM Program is June 30, 2009.

Dr. Yosef Wosk+

The Dianne Sinclair Memorial Fellowship Fund was established by Dr. Yosef Wosk, a supporter of digital media and the Masters of Digital Media Program, a member of the Order of British Columbia and an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Litt.D.) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. “I wanted to provide financial support for a truly outstanding female student entering the Masters of Digital Media Program in honour of my high regard for MDM’s Executive Director, Dr. Gerri Sinclair and her mother, Dianne,” said Dr. Wosk. “The fund is named in the memory of Dianne Sinclair who believed passionately in the importance of a graduate school education for women.”
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Markham – Showcare Event Management Inc. announced today that they have developed the online photo identification card software used for ESCA’s new national badge program ESCA WIS. This national database was recently launched by the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (ESCA) in order to streamline the identification of conference and exhibition workers at various convention facilities nationally. The Georgia World Congress Center was the first venue to adopt the program with more coming on-board in the near future. The exhibition Worker Identification System (WIS) online database provides a unique ability to manage worker data and capture photos from anywhere in the world. Upon entering worker data, the system allows administrative users to capture a photo of the employee using an attached webcam in real-time or upload an approved image from an offline digital camera. In addition, the employer can choose to order and pay for the identification cards all in one simple and secure process. Once completed a bar-coded color photo ID card will be issued to the employer so that it can be distributed to the individual worker for identification and tracking onsite.

“Showcare is very excited to be partnered with ESCA in this program” said Craig Giles, Vice President, Operations at Showcare Event Management Inc. “With ESCA’s vision and understanding of the need for a unified exhibition industry identification system along with our technology and badge fulfillment expertise, the benefits and opportunities for conference venues could be endless.”
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