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January 22, 2010 08:49 +0000 | Bloc Québécois Canada Conservatives Democracy Green Party Liberals NDP Politics 11

So that word is floating around again "Prorogue". For those of you who missed it, I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you, but we've all been without representation in the federal government now for almost a month now. Stephen Harper, our Prime Minister decided to shut down parliament back in December and won't be affording us representation until some time in March.

That's three months paid vacation for a parliament that sat for only 49days last year. Three months without the business of government being done, without your voice being heard in the House. Sure Harper still gets to be the boss and represent Canada abroad and at the Olympics, and no, our soldiers in Afghanistan don't get to take a break. Addressing our commitments on climate change won't happen by the Copenhagen deadline, and we're all still paying taxes for the privilege of living in a democracy.

People have staged (successful) revolutions for less.

In Canada though, where we once saw only apathy, there appears to be some exciting movement among the grass roots. Hundreds of thousands of people have joined a Facebook group denouncing Harper's Conservatives for this move and the numbers keep growing. Support for the Conservatives has begun to dwindle as well and now there are rallies planned around the world in condemnation of this prorogue.

Here's a list of what proroguing means to Canada:

Committees investigating accusations of torture of Afghan detainees stop working.
Questions about Canada's inaction at the Copenhagen climate-change summit are silenced. Opportunities to move forward with Canada’s plan for sustainable development are stalled for over a month.
Discussions and decisions about the pension crisis affecting Canada’s seniors stops.
All 37 bills being debated in Parliament are thrown in the trash. Discussion on bills starts from scratch in March, wasting months of hard work by all parties. These bills included new crime legislation, and limits on credit card insurance rates, etc.
Your MP cannot raise your concerns in Ottawa
Harper will still appoint Conservative senators, giving him control of the Senate.

Frankly, it's actions like these that make it hard for me to claim that I live in a democracy. Instead, it might be more accurate to say that we've become a cyclical banana republic. As for what the other parties are saying...

The Liberals have flat-out said that they're going back to work with or without the Conservatives on January 25th, the original date that Parliament would have reconvened.
The NDP have similarly said that they will be "on Parliament Hill" on the 25th, though I'm unsure as to what that means exactly.
The Bloc Québécois have condemned the prorogation but as far as I can tell, have not said anything about showing up to work.
The Greens, not in possession of a seat (yet) also condemned the Harper move and will be out at the rallies tomorrow across the country as well.

So what can you do? Some suggestions:

Tell your friends and family about this. A lot of people still don't know that they're paying taxes to a non-existent government and the Conservatives are counting on an ignorant public to keep them in power. Don't let them have it.
Join in on one of the rallies this Saturday, January 23rd. They're happening all over the world in Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Amsterdam and even Costa Rica. Details are on noprorogue.ca. Vancouver's rally starts at 1pm at the VAG, while Toronto's starts at 1pm at Dundas Square.
Call your MP. If (s)he's a Conservative, tell them to get back to work. If they aren't, tell them to consider all alternatives for bringing democracy back to our government. The Coalition is still an option, if only the opposition parties can learn to get along.

I'll be at the event in Vancouver, so if you care to come along, let me know and we can meet up :-)

September 18, 2009 19:34 +0000 | Activism Politics 6

I was walking to work one day when the headline from the cover of the Asian Pacific Post caught my eye: What do Hedy Fry and the Taliban have in common?. Mildly amused, I picked up the free rag and read it on the way to work.

If you're not interested in reading it, I'll save you the time. The editorial is outrageous. Even as a bigtime non-fan of the Liberal party as well as Hedy Fry, I found the article to be offencive in the extreme and said as much on their site:

I don't usually read your paper, but with a headline like that, I couldn't resist. Now after reading it, I'm reminded why I usually pass it by on the street.

Granted, this is an editorial, but could you possibly have conjured up more biased, inflammatory, and unsubstantiated propaganda? I don't even like the Liberals and I found this to be surprisingly offencive.

Of course the Liberals haven't done much better in recent years, but to compare Ms. Fry to a group of terrorists? Have you no shame? No integrity? You quote these people out of context and then proceed to put words in their mouths finishing it all off with claims that Ignatieff is "unpatriotic". Are you aspiring to the journalistic integrity of Fox "News", or just pursuing a new career as a Conservative Party speech writer?

The fact is that Harper *has* embarrassed this country on the international stage, most notoriously by abandoning our legal obligations to Kyoto, and continuously subverting the democratic process. Our reputation around the world has been diminished as a direct result of his actions and there's nothing wrong with the Official Opposition pointing that out.

Your actions on this issue however cross the line between editorial opinion and propaganda. They serve only to solidify your place as a fringe paper that no one with a modicum of intelligence would take seriously.

Anyway, I'm feeling vengeful. Mostly because I really don't think that this kind of thing should pass as "journalism" in any shape or form. I'm considering contacting all of their advertisers and including a copy of the editorial along with some comments regarding how this paper might reflect poorly on their brand in an effort to get them to pressure the paper to clean up its act.

The question I post to you though, is that immoral? legal? Right?

July 25, 2009 18:09 +0000 | Activism Copyright Environment Net Neutrality Politics 0

I haven't posted in here for a while, but now that I have a few minutes I've been inspired by Melanie and Karen who are blogging 24hrs today for charity to do a little PSA and share some info about three topics I think everyone should be thinking about.

Copenhagen 2009

In December of this year, 192 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to essentially determine the future of the planet. It's going to be a mix of climate activists, scientists, politicians and very powerful special interests and there's a lot on the line. Potentially, this conference could mean massive change to help save us from ourselves, both environmentally and economically, or it could be more posturing and inaction. We need to pressure our leaders to Do the Right Thing on this front and let them know that we are willing to support them in doing so.

Think of the potential for both the economy and environment. International agreements to raise tariffs on unsustainably harvested primary resources, subsidy programs for R&D into new energy production, or an accord to phase out coal fired plants by 2050. It's possible, the potential is there. Here's some links to get you started:

Copyright Reform

Humanity is changing and at the root of it is how we communicate. What rights we have to control our own culture and what it means to foster creativity and innovation is finally becoming a discussion worth having because for the first time ever, the average person has the potential to become their own printing press.

Technology has given us the tools, but the old guard of copyright owners is actively pushing back to retain their hold on our culture while simultaneously eroding our own privacy rights. Canada has great potential here to stand on its own and do the right thing, thereby becoming a centre for innovation and creativity on the world stage -- we just need the will.

Michael Geist, a copyright lawyer and activist for years on this issue has created a site called Speak Out on Copyright, a compilation of resources covering what you can do to affect change in this area. Talk to your MP, write letters to the editor for your local paper, do whatever you need to help people understand that what the Conservatives want to do right now is more dangerous than the damage Bush did to digital rights in his 8 years as a wrecking ball.

Net Neutrality

The Internet is gradually being eroded into a consumer tool from the powerful equalising force it was from the beginning. The key issue (for me anyway) is that the Internet is moving from a telephone-style system where all traffic moves at the same rate regardless of who's using it or what it's being used for, to a consumer service where people can pay more for better service or access to different content.

This can sound appealing at first until you realise that this means that your ISP (Shaw, Telus, Bell, Rogers, etc) is trying to make it so that you can't use our Internet the way you want. If they don't want to let you see certain sites, they won't, if they don't want you using a particular technology regardless of how you're using it, they'll throttle it or block it altogether. Moves like this impede innovation and turn the power of the Internet over to a conglomerate of 4 companies in Canada... companies we know that from considerable past experience, can't be trusted.

A number of sites have sprung up on this issue:

June 13, 2009 00:50 +0000 | Activism Environment Politics Transit Translink 2

I thought that I might post a brief note on this whole Be Part of the Plan business from Translink.

For those of you not living in Vancouver, Translink is the Lower Mainland transit authority. Created just before the demise of the NDP over a decade ago as a way to offload the responsibility of transit from the province, Translink is an unelected body charged with support of all methods of transportation from Vancouver out to just past Langley. They handle SkyTrain, the road system, the West Coast Express, the Seabus and even the cycling infrastructure and they're notorious for tending to do so with very little input from the public.

So you can imagine what a remarkable thing it is to see posters and ads all over the place for this be part of the plan program they're pushing. They're trying to give everyone the impression that they're interested in public input regarding their responsibilities and to do just that, they've built a website, a blog, a Twitter account and set up a number of "consultations" with the public over the next few weeks.

It all sounds really great: public engagement on one of the most important civil issues in this generation is a pretty big deal, but unfortunately there's nothing engaging about the whole process. Instead, all of this, the website, the Twitter, the "consultations", are all targeted at one purpose: they want more money and they want you to agree with them on their plans for transit going toward 2040.

Every element of this outreach has the same message:

You have three choices: more service, the same service, abysmal service
You should pick the first one
You should give them more money so they can do the first one.

Of course it's all framed like they're giving you all this really detailed information about the process of making hard choices about transit, but that's also bookended with statements like "we have a vision" on the one side and the usual "end of the world" rhetoric you hear if you don't make the "right" choice. What kills me though, and what should bother the hell out of everyone "involved" in this circus is that they entire process is framed with their own goals in mind. In other words, they've already made the decision and they're telling us that we have only one option for better transportation in this city and it's their plan. If you don't like it, that's it -- transit is doomed.

It's all quite dishonest and manipulative really. We know Translink's track record: over a decade of service with the transit adoption rate holding steady at an embarrassing 13%. They want more funding for their plans which we now know are just plain ineffective and we're being told that there is no alternative but to accept their position or give up. It's maddening.

I'd suggest that you attend one of these events and give them a piece of your mind (as I did) but I don't like encouraging people to partake in an exercise of futility. I would instead suggest that we come up with Better Ideas for transit in the Lower Mainland and work to pressure our elected officials to reject the Translink plan in favour of something more effective because this kind of manipulative behaviour should never be permitted to fly.

May 13, 2009 07:13 +0000 | Democracy Green Party Politics Provincial Campaign 2009 Why I'm Here 13

So it's over, and sadly, the results are much as I expected them to be. Though I'd hoped for a smaller proportion of seats for the Liberals, the punishment dealt to the NDP for their deplorable environmental platform is sufficient in my book.

From what I've seen of the results so far, my campaign went fairly well considering the amount of time/money I had to contribute and my relative inexperience from the start. A Liberal win in my riding was a near inevitability under our voting system so I'm actually quite happy with my showing.

For my part, it's really been a great experience. I've learnt a great deal about how a campaign is run, and dramatically improved on my public speaking skills. I've gained a renewed sense of confidence in my ability to represent myself in formal gatherings and I've met some really interesting people.

The people, though, that's what's been most interesting for me. Just the experience of meeting complete strangers with a unique understanding of their field, or their portion of the ecosystem was very rewarding: seniors with a serious passion about doing the Right thing by their grand-kids, and young people with that kind of passionate faith and dedication to a shared goal. This is what politics is about and I love it. If there's one lesson I am to take away from this experience, it must be no one can know everything and that there is real expertise (as well as willingness to contribute) in a variety of fields out there -- you just have to go looking for it.

Sadly, though, with the overall percentage that the Greens acquired in this race, once again we took a grand total of zero seats. And now, with STV having been defeated for its third and final time, BC will have another generation of unrepresentative politics in the Legislature.

[rant]

Joseph de Maistre said: "Every country has the government it deserves" and he was absolutely right. British Columbians have proven for the third and final time that they have no interest in better representation -- or perhaps more accurately put -- have no interest in learning about how they might be better represented.

The vast majority of anti-STV comments I've heard over the past month (with the exception of Stephen's) were largely uninformed or worse, based entirely on a combined ignorance of the subject and a disinterest in learning anything about it. BC will have exactly the government it deserves, one that operates best when the progressive majority is routinely ignored.

And for people like Stephen, who continually muddied the debate by claiming that STV wasn't as good as other options, and that the referendum needed to be more inclusive of other alternatives like MMP, thank you so much for screwing this up for the rest of us. Proportional representation is now off the table in BC for decades. Your claims that another voting system might be better might have had some merit if proposed to a minority government elected under STV, but your commitment to fear, uncertainty and doubt has ensured that this will not happen for a very, very long time.

[/rant]

The aforementioned bitterness aside, my experience has been on the whole very positive and I intend to run again if I'm still living in BC in 2013. Politics seems to suit me quite well actually -- it has, after all been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. This whole process has been an honour and a privilege and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to run.

May 05, 2009 19:04 +0000 | British Columbia Green Party Politics Provincial Campaign 2009 Why I'm Here 7

Margaret found this North Shore News article covering me and one of the other North Shore Greens, Ryan Windsor and I thought that I'd share it here. If you see any other coverage, (good or bad) do let me know eh?

May 05, 2009 18:06 +0000 | British Columbia Green Party Politics Provincial Campaign 2009 Why I'm Here 1

I participated in my first political debate last night -- as a candidate anyway. It was scary, humbling, nerve-racking, enlightening and altogether exciting. Overall, I would call it a positive experience.

Held in a United church, I took a seat at the table at the front of the sanctuary with the three other candidates Jane Thornthwaite (Liberal), Mo Norton (NDP), and Gary Hee (Conservative) and we fielded questions one at a time on a variety of topics. I didn't really like the format, as it didn't allow candidates to respond to claims by their competitors unless they were next in line, but for the most part the tone was civil and respectful (though the audience did get rather belligerent toward the Liberal candidate a few times.

For my part, I suppose that I performed as expected. As first-time candidates often do, I lacked polish, used some terminology that shall we say, "didn't resonate well with some people" and most importantly choked on the first two questions as they were in areas on which I wasn't all that well versed yet.

After those first two though, I got my act together and did very well. I was clear, concise and did a very good job and positioning the Greens as a viable alternative to the Liberals & NDP.

When it was all over, I had a number of people take a moment to come up to me and congratulate me on a good debate and let me know that I'd flipped their vote away from one of the other candidates. I can't tell you how good that felt. Though I clearly could have done better, I am quite proud of myself :-)

I'd also like to take a moment here to thank my brother, Melanie, Margaret and Quinn for coming out to support me last night. As intimidating as the whole process was, having them in the audience really did make it so much easier on me. Thank you so much guys.

My next (and last?) debate is this Thursday at 7pm. As Quinn & Melanie took notes for me from this last debate, I shall endeavour to remedy my previous shortcomings and give the other candidates another run for their money then.

April 30, 2009 21:01 +0000 | Green Party Politics Provincial Campaign 2009 Why I'm Here 6

And so, with just over 2weeks left in the campaign, (election & referendum on the 12th people! Do your research!), I've started the process of booking into debates for my riding of North Vancouver-Seymour. If you live in the riding, or just feel like coming out to see me debate the other three candidates, here are the times & locations:

A general debate

Date: Monday May 4, 2009
Time: 7-9pm
Location: Mount Seymour United Church, 1200 Parkgate Avenue, North Vancouver

Hosted by the Teachers Association

Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: Windsor Secondary (Multipurpose Room), 931 Broadview Dr, North Vancouver

To my friends and family in the area, I'd really appreciate the moral support if you can show up to one or either of these. It's my first time with such responsibility, and it's always good to have people you care about around for this kind of thing.

April 29, 2009 02:42 +0000 | British Columbia Politics STV 7

So I've been hearing a lot of comments about how hard-to-understand STV is (cough)Stephen(cough). Specifically, the complaint has been that while the method of voting is easy (just rank your favourites), the counting system is too complicated to be considered democratic. Seriously people, it's really easy to understand. Here it is, in all its cartoony glory:

Stephen, feel free to use this in your class :-). As far as credit goes, I'm afraid I'm not that talented. The animation was produced by the Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform.

April 28, 2009 01:43 +0000 | British Columbia Politics STV 0

Everyone knows that if you want people to hear about something, the best place to start is Television. The BC-STV campaign has recently produced this ad in the hopes of drawing more attention to the upcoming referrendum and they need your help to get it on the air:

Granted, it's not big on the details, you have to go to the website for that, but that's not what a 30second spot is for. The idea is to get you interested enough to talk about it with your friends and do your own research and I think that this video does it well.

Please visit the donations page and send them $5, $10 or even $100 if you're so inclined to help this thing get on the air.