[fvc-wat-announce] January Consultation/Speakers' Bureau

[Paul Nijjar]

The Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform is currently
winding its way across the province, listening to comment from the
general public. This is an important phase in road to a referendum; it
is our one chance to influence the direction the Assembly takes in its
recommendations.

To organize around these consultations, we are planning to participate
in the consultations, to get an effective Speaker's Bureau going, and
to spread the word about the work of the Citizens' Assembly however we
can. Read on for information about how you can help.

Public Consultation: January 10
-------------------------------

On Wednesday, January 10, the Citizens' Assembly will make a stop
in Waterloo. The consultation will be between 7-10pm, at the YMCA
Ontario Early Years Centre Training Room at 425 University Avenue
East. (This is not a gym; it is an office in the same plaza as the
Price Chopper at Bridge and University streets).

The assembly will be listening to public presentations. You can
sign up for one of the ten speaking slots on the Citizens'
Assembly website: http://www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca .

Even if you don't make a presentation, please come out and
participate in the discussion. The more people we can get out to
this meeting, the higher the chances that local media outlets will
consider this consultation newsworthy. So far coverage of the
Citizens' Assembly has been piddly, so we would benefit from all
the coverage we can get.

This will also be a good opportunity to hear what other people
think about electoral reform, to meet members of the Citizens'
Assembly and to educate your friends and family about the
referendum that is likely coming up.


Written Comment Deadline: January 15
------------------------------------

January 15 is another big date. That is the deadline for written
comments to the Citizens' Assembly. The Assembly will read all
comments, so taking a few minutes to make some comments is well
worthwhile. You can submit comments via the Citizens' Assembly
website, or in writing.


Speakers' Bureau
----------------

To reach out to as many people in the community as possible, the
chapter is starting a Speakers' Bureau. This is a group of people who
are willing to give talks at neighbourhood associations, community
groups, workplaces, riding associations and anywhere else people
practice freedom of assembly.

Community outreach will become increasingly important as we progress
towards a referendum. The more people we can get informed about the
benefits of electoral reform and fair voting, the better our chances
of making the 60/60 supermajority demanded in this referendum.

There are many ways you can help make the Bureau a success, and we
really need help with them all:

  - You can offer to be a speaker. This involves learning a few things
    about fair voting and then developing a presentation you can give
    to groups. This is not as daunting as it sounds: we have some
    sample presentations you can work from, and other Bureau members
    will help you polish your presentation and fair voting knowledge.
    You certainly don't need a lot of pre-existing knowledge or public
    speaking skills to participate.

    We are especially looking for people who might be able to give
    talks in Cambridge and the townships, but we definitely need folks
    who can speak in K-W as well.

  - You can help arrange speaking events. If you belong to a community
    group, you might inquire whether it would be possible to get a
    Fair Vote Canada presentation on the agenda. This presentation
    could be as short as 15 minutes or as long as an hour. Getting
    existing community group members to arrange talks is one of the
    best ways we can get the word out.

  - You can help with community outreach. We especially need people
    who can make phone calls and send e-mails to neighbourhood
    associations and other community groups. Even a couple of hours
    spent making and receiving phone calls would be a huge help.

If you are interested in any of these things you can give me a shout
(reply to this e-mail) or contact one of the co-chairs (Derek at
derek.kraan at fairvote.ca or Shannon at sadshade at fairvote.ca).


Other Ways to Help
------------------

The Chapter has a big stack of beautiful glossy posters advertising
the Fair Vote Ontario campaign and the Citizens' Assembly consultation
on January 10. If you can help distribute these (or want a few to hang
up in your community centre, office, church, or wherever) then let me
know and I will make sure you get some.

We need to form some partnerships and coalitions with other groups in
order to win this campaign. If you belong to a group that might be
interested in organizing around the Ontario referendum, please get in
touch with the leadership and raise the possibility.

We are continuing to build up the Chapter archives of local media
coverage of the Citizens' Assembly and fair voting. If you read an
article in the newspaper or have some old clippings that we can add to
the list, please get in touch.

Please spread the word about the Citizens' Assembly in your personal
lives. The number of people who are completely unaware that a probable
referendum is coming next October is staggering. Overcoming this
profound ignorance will likely be our biggest job in winning fair
voting for the province, and it is never too early to start.

A good way to increase the amount of publicity around this issue is to
get the media involved. Write articles. Write letters to the editor.
Organize press conferences. Get on the radio. Get on TV. Write in your
weblog. Write songs! Sing songs! Make movies! Rage raucously in granny
clothes! Engage in street theatre! Stage vote-ins! Sit in trees and on
flagpoles!! Dance in the streets with giant puppets!! Be as
traditional or as flamboyant as you feel comfortable, but let's get
the word out. Let's get this issue into people's heads!

--
Paul Nijjar
http://fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion