Thanks in large part to lobbying from the eight-person B.C. Interactive Task Force, which represents 30 local videogame makers, the Canadian province of British Columbia is now the proud purveyor of shiny new tax credits for interactive developers.

The Interactive Digital Tax Credit was passed by local legislature late last week and provides a 17.5 percent tax credit for labor on projects commencing after August 31. To qualify, productions must feature two out of the following three components: text, sound or images.

While the tax credit is an improvement, the Vancouver Sun notes that the percentages “pale” when compared to those offered by other Canadian provinces:

Nova Scotia offers 50 per cent of labour and up to 25 per cent of total productions costs. Manitoba offers 40 per cent of labour, the same percentage as Ontario, which also offers 40 per cent of marketing and distribution costs. Quebec, B.C.'s main Canadian competitor, offers up to 37.5 per cent of labour.

Canadian Xbox Live users can now help support the Children’s Miracle Network non-profit by purchasing special items offered through Xbox Live.

The Mission 4 Miracles promotion serves up picture packs, themes, the ability to play games with celebrities—such as professional golfer Stephen Ames—and a game, Avatar Golf. All proceeds from the sales of these items will be converted from points to dollars and donated to the Children’s Miracle Network.

Another cool aspect of the drive, via Market News, will see donations routed by postal code, so a gamer in a specific location of the Great White North can be assured that he or she is helping out a local branch of the charity. The Children’s Miracle Network funds 14 hospitals in Canada.

Canadian Ministry of Industry Tony Clement (pictured) and Heritage Minister James Moore outlined new copyright legislation yesterday, and the pair’s choice of venue to introduce Bill C-32 might assist in indicating just which side (business or consumer) the legislation tends to favor.

While legislation is typically introduced amid the backdrop of Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, C-32 was introduced at the Montreal offices of Electronic Arts, which the Financial Post says was “a member of a lobby group that is pushing for a hard line approach to copyright.”

Among the Bill’s provisions, according to CBC.ca, is a measure that would criminalize the breaking of digital locks contained in media or devices. Shifting purchased media from one device to another, or from a CD to a device, would be legal however.

A probe into improper spending by four former members—and one current member—of Nova Scotia’s House of Assembly may evolve into criminal charges.

Auditor General Jacques Lapointe today issued a report (PDF) detailing his investigation in which he stated that the members in question “may have committed illegal acts related to their constituency expense claims.”  Due to “the serious nature of his findings,” Lapointe said it was inappropriate for his office to continue exploration and turned over his files to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

If you were wondering how much of a success the recent Game Developers Conference Canada was, then you need look no further than GDC Canada's own accounting on the matter. According to organizers of the event attendance numbers were in line with 2009; 775 game industry professionals gathered last week for the two day event, to listen to and partake in 35 lectures, panels, and sessions.

Bill Mooney, a Vice President at Zynga Studios and General Manager of FarmVille, kicked off GDC Canada with a keynote on the social gaming space and its future. GDC Canada also featured the Game Career Seminar, an expo area, a business to business lounge and networking receptions where attendees met with representatives from Epic Games, Radical, Relic, Blue Castle, Hansoft and Sony Computer Entertainment.

Next year's event, taking place in May 2011, will coincide with the Vancouver Interactive Digital Week 2011. Get more info at www.gdconf.com.

Given that taxes plays a major-role in the ability of states and countries to lure videogame developers, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at results from a recent KPMG study (PDF) into the tax competitiveness of 95 cities and countries around the world.

The guide rated the locales using a Total Tax Index (TTI), which was described as a measure of “the total taxes paid by corporations in a particular location, expressed as a percentage of total taxes paid by corporations in the U.S.” This methodology uses the U.S. as a benchmark with a score of 100.0*.

The TTI rankings placed Mexico first among countries, with a 59.9 score, indicating that total tax costs in the country are 40.1 percent lower than in the U.S. Canada came in second place, followed by the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, the U.S., Germany, Italy, Japan and France.

If you are Canadian and want to protest your country's adoption of a DMCA-style copyright bill and its participation in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, then you might want to visit the Academicalism Blog for some Twitter style messages to your elected officials.

Naturally the messages are your standard 140 characters long and will fit on a postcard - which you can mail for free in Canada to James Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages) and Tony Clement (Minister of Industry). Here's what those tweets look like:

I oppose any IP bill that includes strong digital lock provisions, excludes flexible fair dealing protections, & ignores public consultation

I oppose Canada’s secretive and undemocratic participation in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and I also oppose ACTA itself.

While these tweets are "geek chic," they will probably just confuse Canadian politicians, who probably think a "tweet" is the sound a Brown Booby might make.

In light of Canadian kids receiving an “F” grade from Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) for time spent in front a screen, MP Dr. Keith Martin (pictured) is proposing a “national turnoff day.”

The proposed date would encourage kids to switch off TVs, computers and videogame systems in a bid to stimulate physical activity. The StarPhoenix writes that Martin will present a motion to Parliament that would “…encourage the federal government to work with the provinces to promote a one-night a week TV/video game free night."

“It's just kids are not physically active. They're sitting down for an appalling length of time. We weren't designed to live like that as human beings,” stated Martin, continuing, “Kids need to be active and parents need to lead by example by getting their children away from the TV and video games to engage in free play.”

While Canada is now the world’s third-largest home to videogame development, trailing only the U.S. and Japan, one Canadian province is feeling a bit ostracized.

Edmonton, Alberta is home to BioWare, but despite the successful developer’s presence, “the industry has basically stalled” in the region, states the Edmonton Journal, as “major video-game firms have opted to expand elsewhere, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on lavish studios and sprawling campuses.”

Canada’s game creators are increasingly concentrated in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto, areas “where growth has been fuelled by handsome tax credits and other forms of public support.”

Even BioWare seems more focused now on increasing staff at its Austin, Texas and Montreal locations.

The piece’s author offers:

In response to an announcement from the Canadian government that it will develop a Digital Economy Strategy, The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) has issued a list of recommendations which would “position Canada as a more competitive jurisdiction in which to invest.”

ESAC's suggestions are:

1. Include content industries at the heart of its digital strategy;
2. Recognize video game production as central to Canada’s digital economy;
3. Adopt a plan to develop and retain cutting edge talent;
4. Improve digital literacy through education and awareness;
5. Attract and retain foreign workers and eliminate barriers to labour mobility;
6. Generate new sources of capital and investment in commercialization;
7. Protect intellectual property through reform of the copyright system;
8. Create more affordable, accessible and faster digital infrastructure;
9. Foster free and open international trade; and
10. Carefully consider the impact of new regulations on the digital economy and examine the role of related government institutions.

Canada, according to data from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESCA), is now the world’s third-largest home to game developers, surpassing the United Kingdom and trailing only Japan and the United States.

While the UK tries to compensate by finally passing tax-breaks for those in the game development sector, GamePolitics caught up with Peter White (pictured), President of the London (Ontario) Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), which, in turn, is a member of the Ontario Technology Corridor (OTC).

A Canadian politician who proposed a tax on digital media devices, in addition to amending the country’s Copyright Act, has written a blistering op-ed for The Star.

New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Charlie Angus previously admitted that the change he proposed to the Copyright Act—which would protect the “reasonable” use of copyrighted materials for “innovation, research and study”—was designed to stimulate conversation, and he begins his article by asking, “Is it possible in Canada to have a grown up conversation about copyright?”

Peter Watts, narrative designer for Homeworld 2, Crysis 2, and the Big Mutha Truckers series, who had a run in with U.S. Customs officers on the U.S./Canadian boarder last December, has been convicted of assaulting, resisting, and obstructing a Customs and Border Protection officer. 

Watts, who hails from Toronto, was crossing the bridge to Canada when he was stopped for a random inspection on the American side. According to his lawyer, Watts was beaten several times, and then pepper sprayed in the face.

Watts continues to protest his innocence but claims that he will accept the outcome of the case:

In a bid to lure in more young patrons, the Toronto Public Library is looking for funding that would back a videogame collection.

The library is seeking $300,000 in funds for the project reports The Star, and hopes to eventually offer around 150 titles for checkout across 38 branch locations. Of course the initiative raises the question of what type of games would be stocked; should it be strictly family-friendly fare or should the library also offer more adult-oriented games?

Bruce Ballon, head of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, told the paper, “The libraries have to really consider the social implications of what they’re offering. It could be great ... It’s just making sure it’s done in a healthy way.”

A library spokesperson cautioned that, for now, stocking videogames is just an idea, and “not yet reality.”

The library also hopes to host game nights (or game programs), where people can gather to take part in playing games in a social setting.

A group against the development of Canada’s oil-rich Tar Sands is attempting to draw attention to their stance through the release of a simple online Flash game.

Thought up by the Polaris Institute and created by Insidious Design, the game, named Tarnation, lets players shoot oil at Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper  and Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff. Once the pair has been doused with enough light, sweet crude, players can sign their name to an email to the two pols, which states that “The tar sands represent the wrong direction for Canada.”

Warner Bros. has selected Montreal, Canada as home for its newest gaming studio, one that will work—at least partly—on churning out titles from WB subsidiary DC Comics.

Quebec will be the recipient of a $7.5 million grant from Investissement Quebec and Warner Bros will benefit from the province’s standard 37.5 percent tax-break on all jobs, according to the Montreal Gazette. The studio will set up shop in an as-of-yet-undetermined part of the city. Warner Bros. said the studio would create 300 jobs by 2015, and indeed a small variety of positions are already listed on the WB career page.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment President Martin Tremblay called the deal, “… the best offer on the table on both the talent and financial incentives.”

A newly proposed Canadian bill would affix a tax on digital media storage devices ranging from personal MP3 players to computer hard drives.

Democratic MP Charlie Angus (pictured) is behind the proposed measure C-499 (PDF), which would extend the country’s 1997 Private Copying Levy to cover “copying devices,” specifically "a device that contains a permanently embedded data storage medium, including solid state or hard disk, designed, manufactured and advertised for the purpose of copying sound recordings, excluding any prescribed kind of recording device."

Angus, for his part, does not expect the bill to get very far, but hoped that its introduction would spark debate on the topic. He stated in a press release that “it’s time parliamentarians got serious about updating our copyright laws.”

Angus continued:

The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has issued its annual Special 301 Report to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) outlining its take on the state of international piracy.

IIPA members include the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Business Software Alliance (BSA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The report identified 35 countries as hotspots for piracy, including Canada. It was recommended that Canada remain on the Priority Watch List as it “stands virtually alone among developed economies in the OECD (and far behind many developing countries) in failing to bring its laws into compliance with the global minimum world standards embodied in those Treaties.” It was also suggested that Mexico be added to the Priority List, as, "A mixture of legislative deficiencies and a lack of consistent, deterrent enforcement have made Canada and Mexico piracy havens."

Spain, which is already on the list, should be placed under “close scrutiny” according to the IIPA as “Enforcement in the online environment is made more difficult as a consequence of Spain’s Attorney General issuing a circular that decriminalizes infringements that occur via peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. “

Brazil was also a target of the report, with a recommendation that the country be kept on the Watch List due to increasing piracy and the “lack of an effective legal or practical framework for addressing it.”

Also mentioned in the report was a study done by the ESA into illegal downloading practices. In December of 2009 the group tracked 200 member-published titles across P2P. It was estimated that 9.78 million downloads of the games in question were completed over the timeframe.

The full list of countries on the Priority Watch List are: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Mexico, China, Philippines and Russian Federation. Remaining lists, as well as individual reports for countries, can be viewed here.

Countries on the USTR Watch List risk being on the receiving end of sanctions imposed by the USTR.

Xbox Live chatter between a Canadian and a Texan turned serious when the latter gamer disclosed plans to shoot up his high school.

The Texas gamer began by detailing his troubles in school to a Port Alberni, British Columbia Xbox Live opponent, which was normal enough, but eventually the Texas gamer spilled details on plans for attacking his school, including rattling off the names of fellow students he was going to target.

The talk alarmed the B.C. gamer enough that he contacted local Royal Canadian Mounted Police personnel, who started a cyber investigation. The RCMP contacted Microsoft and were eventually directed to a teenage suspect in San Antonio, Texas, who was arrested and is facing untold charges.
 
Port Alberni RCMP Staff Sgt. Lee Omilusik commented on the case:

This incident demonstrates the power of the electronic world and how different enforcement agencies can quickly work together to protect the citizens they serve, regardless of obstacles such as international barriers

The arrested boy was 16-years old and a student at John Marshall High School. The school issued a short message (PDF) to parents indicating that the boy would be removed from school “indefinitely.”

Local ABC station KSAT indicated that the gamers were playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Thanks Andrew and whoever posted about it in the Shoutbox!

A former Canadian politician might have to do some creative dancing around following a probe into improper spending.

Former cabinet minister Len Goucher’s spending habits between 2006 and 2009, when he was Minister of Immigration, have come under scrutiny following a Nova Scotia probe into government expenditures. It’s claimed that Goucher spent $9,238 on electronic technology during the three-year span, including the purchase of a copy of Dance Dance Revolution Universe for the Xbox 360, reports the Canadian Press.

The inquiry has already resulted in the resignation of Nova Scotia House of Assembly member Richard Hurlburt, who reportedly used around $11,000 of public funds to purchase a generator and television.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit of London, Ontario has launched an online game designed to educate teens and young adults on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Adventures in Sex City will have players assume the role of one of four characters—Captain Condom, Power Pap, Willy the Kid or Wonder Vag—as they take on penis-armed (literally) villain the Sperminator, who is hell-bent on spreading his brand of STD-infected love to everyone in town.

Players will be asked a series of STD and sex-related questions. Right answers result in the Sperminator’s seed being repelled back at him, while a wrong answer can lead to your avatar being infected.

Shaya Dhinsa, Manager of Sexual Health at the Middlesex-London Health Unit, on the game:

Reaching teens and youth is a huge challenge for us, that’s why we worked directly with them to develop a resource that would catch their attention while providing important information in a fun way.

The game was developed in conjunction with Mind Your Mind, a London-based, nonprofit organization, with support from the Perth District Health Unit.

The government of British Columbia, Canada has revealed sweeping new tax credits that it hopes will aid the growth of digital media production within its boundaries.

The BC Interactive Digital Media tax credit for game developers proposes a credit for 17.5 percent of qualifying B.C. labor costs. If approved, the tax credit would go into effect for game development projects beginning after August 31, 2010.

Other planned tax breaks include an increase on an existing tax credit for labor costs of foreign film productions within B.C., from 25.0 percent to 33.0 percent, and an increase in tax credits for digital animation or visual effects from 15.0 percent to 17.0 percent.

Kevin Krueger, Tourism, Culture and the Arts Minister, said about the tax credits, “They will serve to help keep B.C. at the forefront of the North American film and television industry, while providing a significant boost for video game production in our province.”

Douglas Tonsgard, CEO of Next Level Games in Vancouver, offered his take to the Vancouver Sun on what the credits would mean for his game development company:

It will do two things. It will stop job losses that have been happening now, and it will prepare us properly for future growth in Vancouver. Before the tax credit, it didn't make sense to grow your business in Vancouver. I know we will be adding people to our company now.

The latest action from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) targets Canada’s annual seal hunt and includes an interactive component.

The game itself is a rather simple Flash-based, embedded diversion that has players control a baby seal around men armed with clubs as it slips down a hill. While this year’s seal hunt has ended, PETA hopes to leverage the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics in order to draw attention to the grizzly hunt with the hopes of eventually stopping it altogether.

The annual hunt sees baby seals bludgeoned in front of their parents, often before they have eaten their first meal claims PETA.  In order to not damage a seal’s pelt, PETA says that many seals are hooked in their eye, cheek or mouth and dragged across the ice, often while still conscious.

PETA’s action campaign sends emails on behalf of the submitter to Canada’s Prime Minister and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee. PETA also urges a boycott of Canadian maple syrup to further get the point across.


|Thanks Grant|

A Game Developer Census shows that the number of U.S. game developers remained flat when comparing 2009 to 2008, while Canadian figures rose by 30.0 percent.

The number of employed U.S. game developers gained only slightly, rising from estimated tally’s of 44,400 in 2008 to 44,806 in 2009. Their Canadian counterparts showed tremendous growth in their numbers, totaling 12,480 in 2009, up from 9,500 in 2008. The growing of game development centers in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto contributed to the growth.

California remains the U.S.  home to the most videogame creators with 20,815, or 46.0 percent of all those in the U.S. Washington ranked second with more than 4,500 employees while Texas took third with over 2,600 game developers. New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida and Maryland joined the three previously listed states as the only locales with more than 1,000 developers.

The full 248-page census is available to purchase for $2,495.00.

Canadian game publisher Meridian4 is showing off its holiday spirit by way of a donation made to the DonateGames charity.

DonateGames, which we covered last month, is a website that sells donated videogames and used the proceeds to fund research into finding cures for rare diseases. The charity was set up by Jim Carol after his son was stricken with Philadelphia Chromosome, a form of Leukemia.

Meridian4 Director Steve Milburn said, “The three directors at Meridian4 all have children and we know how devastating it would be if they were afflicted with a debilitating or fatal disease. This is a terrific idea and we hope that other gaming companies and gamers will get involved.”

Carol added, “This donation is important, gamers are telling each other about our work, and as the word spreads, the video game community and video game playing families with rare, neglected diseases are contacting DonateGames with stories of the joy and inspiration from knowing the gaming community, like Meridians4 are helping spread the word, generate relief funds and create global awareness for the rare and neglected disease community.”

Science Fiction author Peter Watts (pictured), whose work has also appeared in videogames, was detained at the U.S./Canadian border last week after a dispute with U.S. Customs officers.

The Toronto-based author was returning to Canada, reports the Times Herald, using the Blue Water Bridge crossing when he was apparently selected for a random inspection.

This is where the story takes two different tangents depending on which side is offering the account.

Watts asserts that as the inspection began, he exited the car to ask officers what was going on. He claims they asked him to return to the car, at which point he asked them again what they were doing. Watts said that this act then resulted in him being assaulted, punched in the face, pepper-sprayed and thrown in jail for the night on charges of assaulting a customs officer.

Custom officials claim that Watts was “aggressive” from the beginning and refused to get back in his car. At this point Watts was about to be handcuffed, but resisted arrest said officials, and tried to choke an officer. This is when officers used pepper-spray.

Watts was arraigned last Wednesday, December 9, and released on $5,000 bond. He claims his computer was seized and he was released across the border in shirtsleeves.

On his blog, Watts categorically denies choking an officer and says he “looks forward” to seeing security camera footage of the incident. He is due back in court on December 22 for a preliminary injunction. If convicted, Watts faces up to two years in jail and/or a $2,000 fine.

BoingBoing’s Cory Doctrow has jumped to Watts' defense, donating $1,000 to his legal defense.

Watts contributed to Relic Entertainment’s Homeworld 2 and also served as a writer and art consultant for Crytek on the upcoming Crysis 2.

Ontario is investing $10 million into the creative community with the announcement today of the Intellectual Property Development Fund.

The fund, according to a story in The Globe and Mail, is a one-year pilot program that reimburses "screen-based companies for expenses in getting their Internet projects off the ground. This includes video games. Applications for funds will be available Monday.

The story said that Ontario's creative sector has been doing well and that the government wanted to do something to recognize that, a move that has met with resistence in other countries, most recently the United Kingdom.

“It meets a niche that needed to be addressed,” adds [Ontario's minister of culture Aileen] Carroll. “It stems from a recognition that it's at the beginning [of a project] that screen-based content developers face the biggest challenge."

Each company that receives funds will be limited to $150,000. Activities eligible for assistance include "story rights, script-writing (including editing and work-shopping), design creation, preparation of game design documents and technical specifications as well as market research (including prototype testing, focus groups, audience analysis) and the preparation of proposals for submission to potential financiers."

The grants requests will be screened by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and companies must show that more than 50 percent of its revenue is derived from "screen-based content products." Projects that will not be funded include TV and film projects covering sports, current events, talk and reality TV.

Ubisoft’s new Toronto studio, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010, will end up costing about $800.0 million Canadian, $263.0 million of which was subsidized by the Province of Ontario.

The Ontario Technology Corridor now claims to employ some 272,000 people across 6,700 companies; figures that prompted the Canadian Province to boast in a press release that it “wants Europe to know that the Ontario Technology Corridor is unique in the world for its depth of talent and serious government commitment to the digital entertainment industry.”

Ontario also recently donated $10.0 million to the University of Waterloo and $9.0 million to the Ontario College of Art & Design in a bid to fund digital-media based programs and improve campus infrastructures.

The Toronto Ubisoft studio, to be headed up by Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond, is expected to create 800 additional jobs in the Province over the next ten years.

Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack hopes to someday create a synergistic videogame community in Ontario, Canada that would combine educational, governmental and game industry elements.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Dyack outlined his ambitious plans for such a videogame co-operative:

Well, we want to create an institute here that's a combination of companies like Silicon Knights , Niagara College, Brock University all in a co-op program where we're all in the same complex or campus so that people live and breathe making videogames and other forms of non-linear creations. So imagine a place where not only will you be instructed about how to make videogames, but you would have people in the industry teaching you.

Dyack indicated that such a movement is currently in the proposal stage:

It's at the proposal stage. We're speaking to various members of the government now, we just put some meetings together over the past three or four weeks and hopefully it will happen over the next few years. Everyone seems very excited about it. If you look at all the recent ideas and subsidies in Ontario it's all built around the three pillars of government, industry and academia. This builds upon that whole plan. I would love to see it become a world centre of excellence for videogames.

Silcon Knights and Dyack practice what they preach, as he indicated that people from the game development company already contribute their time to local universities, where they interact with students and help in starting programs that help ensure that students interested in game development are headed in the right direction.

A new Canadian study has tried to take an objective look at video games as learning tools, particularly since the medium is so popular among children and teens.

Under the headline "The Video Game Debate: Bad for Behaviour, Good for Learning?", the Canadian Council of Learning article cites several sources for its analysis, going back as far as 1991. It begins by acknowledging the popualrity of video games (citing U.S. numbers) as well as looking at whether video games can be helpful or harmful.

While some studies seem to go in with predetermined conclusions, this one seems to sit on the fence in its early analysis:

Frequent and unrestricted use of recreational video games may compromise academic performance. Several studies have shown that students of all ages who spend more time playing video games have lower grades than their peers who devote less time to video gaming. This type of correlation should be interpreted cautiously: while research implies that playing video games causes students to perform poorly in school—it could also be the case that students who do poorly in school are more inclined to play video games. Interpretive issues aside, devoting long hours to recreational video game playing clearly does not contribute to academic achievement. (Ed.: emphasis added)

While the study acknowledges the potential tie to violence and aggression, the opposite was also studied, citing video game advocate James Paul Gee's argument that video game players become engaged in powerful forms of learning because:

• They engage players in a problem-solving cycle similar to that in experimental science, based on hypothesis, experimentation, deduction and renewed experimentation.
• Players can customize games to suit their learning styles, encouraging creativity (e.g., designing new skate parks in Tony Hawk skateboard games).
• Players are able to view the world through multiple identities.
• Players are encouraged to take risks and try new things.

The study goes on to examine various types of video games and discuss their possible usefulness as educational tools. In the end, the article concludes:

The tremendous popularity of video games means they have enormous potential as learning tools that capture students’ attention and fire their imaginations. Harnessing that potential requires careful attention to design features and appropriate training for teachers. The understanding of links between video games and learning is still very much at a nascent stage both with regards to game design and effective delivery. As video games in education are gaining attention, it becomes more and more critical to understand why and how games can affect students.

The study comes at a time when Canadian Heritage has funded $375,000 for the creation of a video game and web site to teach "First Nation" youth about their heritage. Tracy Lavin, principle researcher for the CCL article, said:

"It is important to utilize all the resources at our disposal to enhance student learning in any setting. It makes sense to draw on students' fascination with video games in order to expand their learning opportunities and improve their learning outcomes."

The Canadian Heritage game is in open beta and is being developed by BlackCherry Digital Media.