(NOTE: the links, names of ministers and Prime Ministers, government departments, etc. are all out of date and no longer work. Alas, the protests about the loss of Copian were fruitless.  However, the holdings of its sizeable library are now being held by the CDEACF and may be downloaded there. May 2020)

In the midst of my despair at the closing of Copian, I was glad to find this post from the Literacy Enquirer: Bring Back Copian. Tracy Defoe gives some great strategies for working to get funding restored. I especially like her idea of showing the demand for Copian material by asking OLES (Office of literacy and Essential Skills) for what we need, all day, everyday. I’ll use the online form she suggests, and I’ll tweet my requests to @SocDevSoc and @kenneyjason as well, using the hashtag #BringbackCopian.

Here are Tracy’s suggestions. Pick some you can have fun with, and can keep up over the long haul!

• Connect with Copian – leave a message on the message board.
• Join the #bringbackcopian conversation on Twitter.
• Connect with your local literacy program or provincial coalition to find out what advocacy is happening locally.
• Write to your M.P. (We have written to Peggy Nash.)
• Write to Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney M.P.
• Write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
• Or write, as Tom Sticht did, to

• And when you are looking for a resource that you used to be able to find on Copian, contact the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES). Use this online contact form: http://www.esdc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/edsc-esdc/contact/contact_us.asp?section=lek or this mailing address:

They won’t know we miss it if they don’t hear that we are looking for resources and publications. – Tracy Defoe.

Get the full text of Tracy’s post here.