Winnipeg-North By-election 2010

The Winnipeg-North By-election in November 2010 was the Pirate Party of Canada's first contested candidate. It was a fantastic opportunity, and should be remembered in PPCA History.

Candidate's Application
NAME/NOM: Jeff Coleman

PROVINCE: Manitoba

RIDING/CIRCONSCRIPTION: Winnipeg North

PARTY INVOLVEMENT / PARTICIPATION DE PARTI:

I was involved in work attempting to launch the Canadian Pirate Party beginning in 2006, and then again with our successful launch in 2009 following the wave of publicity from Europe, being one of the original signers to the paper process and an active forum participant on our old site(unfortunately using a fresh username here for clarity but "thatwouldbeme" for anyone who remembers such things or cares to look them up. I've actively worked to spread the party on facebook, buzz, etc. but also through my continuing engagement of information law reform both online dating back to http://fugitivethoughts.blogspot.com/2005/09/ethics-of-filesharing.html and in my community through my work with Fair Copyright For Canada (leading the Winnipeg/Manitoba Chapter).  I've spoken to media on behalf of the party several times, resulting most notably in this article: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=1bDhkbeJ4UrmESEg4aCuG991psjxWYWW5-1JaRfFr807L8_SewTc9qKhLYNEi&hl=en&authkey=CJi1h60P. But most importantly, I've worked to make the complexity of topics like Patents and Copyrights understandable in normal conversation for the regular people I meet every day.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE / L'EXPÉRIENCE POLITIQUE:

Besides my successful run for student council in high school I don't have any personal history with politics, except as an informed citizen, advocate, and voter of course. A good friend of mine is currently a federal candidate in Kitchener, ON so I have a basic familiarity with the candidacy process. Through my involvement in the political advocacy side of things I've done extensive research and met with members of parliament several times to talk to them about copyright so I'm more aware and experienced than the average citizen. But in my mind, less politics in politics is a good thing.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST / CONFLITS D'INTÉRÊTS:

As the leader of the 600-member-strong Winnipeg/Manitoba Chapter of Fair Copyright for Canada (not a formal or elected position) I have been very active in advocating for improved information law in Canada. Because that is a separate organisation with its own specifics and approach I would hand over leadership of that group to someone else were I accepted to run as a candidate.

I run my own design and 3D printing business, www.terracottapf.com and therefore like other business owners have a direct financial interest in the information laws of Canada. Were I elected as member of parliament I would suspend business activities for the duration of my term in office.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT / PARTICIPATION DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ:

I live in the Winnipeg North riding and have for the past 3 years. During that time I've been extensively involved in my community through both paid and volunteer work with my local resident's association; an after-school math club program; a project to load used business computers with open source software and distribute them to low income and new immigrant families with training and follow-up support; participation in an English conversation circle; etc. These experiences as well as my extensive interpersonal contacts within the area have given me a wide base of contacts that would greatly smooth and expedite the process of launching a full campaign in such a short period of time. My personal background is also very diverse and includes an international childhood as well as an extended family with Inuit, First Nations, French-, African- and Asian-Canadian members, all significant demographics of Winnipeg and my own neighbourhood in particular, which helps me to appreciate the diversity of backgrounds and needs for local voters.

PLATFORM / MANIFESTE:

I align strongly with the core Pirate Party platform and believe that through adapting digital law and intellectual property law for modern times and technologies Canada could provide effective leadership for the Canadian economy and population moving forward into a new era, as well as for the rest of the world.

In the digital age, laws enforcing tightfisted control over information are ineffective at meeting the needs of either businesses or individuals, much less balancing between them when their interests are at odds or helping to improve our culture in general. Instead, laws enforcing the integrity of information, such as requiring clear labelling of authorised vs unauthorised use of content, and clear attribution for derived works or technologies, etc. provide an effective way to combat counterfeiting and other destructive practices while ensuring true creators of all kinds are recognised for their work. Similarly, making information about how our government is functioning available in useful and understandable forms is more effective than trying to contain negative information and spread positive information. And requiring companies and governmental organisations to clearly state the ways personal information will and won't be used, then holding them to it, is easier than trying to police vast amounts of information after the fact in rooms or on computers we can't watch and don't want to.

To accomplish these ends overreaching restrictions regarding digital locks or interoperability should be eliminated immediately from all present and future legislation, and then patent and copyright lengths should be reduced in stages. As a critical link in free and fair information flow Net Neutrality should be instituted as a formal policy. Standardised formats should be created and enforced for legally required information from media attribution to financial accountability to product origin and nutrition labelling, with unique symbols developed to communicate important concepts that are at risk of being hidden in legalese or small print (i.e. privacy implications for website use or allergens in food. for a good example of this done well, see the creative commons icons that summarise complex legal jargon or Brian Erdelyi's superb Clearware.org initiative). Then, government should lead the way by making most national-security-irrelevant details about its operation and activities available in these usable forms so that the internet can build tools to express them and relate them to everyday life.

Winnipeg is just completing a municipal campaign period where we will elect school trustees, city councillors, and a mayor--we are politicked right out and quite frankly most people I talk to are frustrated with the immense immaturity of the whole process: probably one reason Winnipeg North consistently presents a very low voter turnout. So in non-Pirate-Party-specific matters, I would like to pioneer the idea of a Listening Agenda where instead of trying to tell everyone in my riding what they should think is important I make a platform out of allowing the community to present the actual concerns they are facing. Then, I research those topics extensively, network with key players and experts in the area, and do my best to unearth and present meaningful possibilities for action that grow organically from the people themselves instead of from my own preexisting agenda for them. Winnipeg North is already immensely effective at this type of community response--something big political parties either don't identify or ignore.

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Director's Evaluation
(where applicable, include Director's interview/evaluation)

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Official Agent Information
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Official Auditor Information
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Event Dates & Information
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Collateral and Advertising Materials
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Volunteer List
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Voting Results

 * align="left" colspan=3|Liberal gain from New Democratic Party
 * align="right"|Swing
 * align="right"| +29.27%
 * align="right"|
 * align="right"|

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Post-Election Reports
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