Ottawa 2011-11-24 newsletter

=November 24th, 2011 Newsletter=

Ottawa Pirates,

It’s time for our regular two-week update on the PPCA in the capital. This time I cover:


 * 1) 	Minutes from November 15th Meeting
 * 2) 	Upcoming November 29th Meeting
 * 3) 	Upcoming December 13th Meeting
 * 4) 	PPCA Constitution Update
 * 5) 	Bill C-11, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act
 * 6) 	Donations

As always, if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, or if you have received them in error, please contact me via e-mail at shawngray@pirateparty.ca

Minutes from November 15th Meeting
Our local PPCA meeting on November 15th allowed us to talk to a large student group out of Richmond Hill about the Pirate Party, our values, and how we need to change the political realm. In addition, we were able to discuss current events including Assisted Suicide, the Attorney General appointment, and an update on the Usage-Based Billing issue. Non-news related discussion focused on the National Capital Commission, Postal Code Tracking and Canadian Energy concerns, amongst other things. To examine our minutes for yourself, please read them over at http://wiki.pirateparty.ca/index.php/Ottawa_2011-11-15_minutes.

Upcoming November 29th Meeting
November 29th will mark our next PPCA Ottawa get-together. As usual we will be meeting at the Tim Hortons located on the corner of Metcalfe and Slater. The meeting will begin at 7:00pm and end no later than 9:00pm. Feel free to reply if you’re coming, or if there’s a particular topic you would like to discuss: shawngray@pirateparty.ca. Just look for the Pirate Party of Canada sticker on book bags and file folders. There will be additional stickers available at the meeting if you would like a few.

We are looking to build an agenda for the hang-out ahead of time if possible, so if there’s a news item, a pirate issue, or something else that you would like us to explore or talk about, please drop me a line at the e-mail above.

Upcoming December 13th Meeting
Not able to make it to the November 29th meeting? Thankfully, Ottawa PPCA members meet up once every second week, with the following meeting being on December 13th. The meeting starts around 7:00pm at the Tim Hortons on the corner of Metcalfe & Slater. Please join us and contribute to the conversation.

PPCA Constitution Update
PPCA Leader, Mikkel Paulson, is supposed to have forwarded the letter to the translation team. I’m not entirely sure what the hold-up is at this point in time. If you haven’t yet had a chance to read it over, the proposed constitution is available for viewing & printing at https://crm.pirateparty.com/bylaws. Again, when the vote call does come through, I highly recommend voting “yes” as it will be easier to modify areas that you may somewhat disagree with after it has been passed.

If you would like more details on what it may be like to work on either the Political Board or the Executive Board, feel free to send our directors an e-mail with your questions. Every director has had a unique experience, and there’s a lot that can be learned to help you decide whether you would like to run for one of the new positions. The directors can be contacted through e-mail at directors@pirateparty.ca or toll-free over the phone at 1-877-850-7722.

Bill C-11, An Act to Amend the Copyright Act
The government’s latest barrage on copyright is an identical mirror to the previous Bill C-32 from the previous parliament. The Bill’s introduction and first reading occurred on September 29th, and as of November 22nd, has had four sittings for the Second Reading. The full bill, as well as the Hansard copies of the chamber sittings, is available for viewing here on the parliamentary website (http://tinyurl.com/7ntsn8a).

Amongst other concerns, the current version of Bill C-11 makes breaking Digital Rights Management (DRM) locks illegal, as well as obtaining the software to break these locks. This portion of the code effectively blocks a number of user’s rights and prevents the utilization of fair dealing. In many cases, DRM prevents the transfer of media that we have paid for from one location to another, and completely blocks the ability to perform research on software and processes. In addition to a myriad of other copywrongs being implemented as a result of this bill, the stripping or prevention from using rights given to us in the bill is of great concern.

It is easier to protect the rights we have managed to obtain than to get them back once lost. Ottawa Pirates are advised to contact their local MPs to voice their concern. This can be done over the phone, via e-mail, or through standard snail mail (with no postage required). You can find your MP here: http://tinyurl.com/3dg9g3. You should also contact PM Harper and Opposition party leaders with your concerns. Tell your friends about the bill and asks that they do the same. Lastly, send in a few letters to the editor and feel free to use Results Canada to help you pass them to numerous news sources (http://results-resultats.ca/Tools/LetterToEditor_eng.asp )

Donations
As always, the Pirate Party of Canada is funded entirely by donations from our members and concerned individuals. Without funding from the membership, it isn’t possible to run advertising campaigns to bring attention to issues relating to our core values of personal privacy, government and corporate transparency, cultural freedoms and human rights. All donations are tax deductible, so any donations are substantially paid back at the end of fiscal year. To donate today, please visit the donation page on the PPCA website ( https://crm.pirateparty.ca/contribute.php )

Sincerely,

Shawn Gray OCT Pirate Party of Canada Director-at-Large http://www.pirateparty.ca 1-877-850-2194 ext *120

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