[fvc-wat-announce] Exciting stuff this fortnight

[pnijjar at utm.utoronto.ca]

Welcome to the New Year!

This is a very important time in the Ontario electoral reform process.
The Ontario Citizen's Assembly is travelling across the province
soliciting written and oral input from citizens. This is our one 
opportunity as regular citizens to influence the direction the
Citizens' Assembly takes in its recommendations. In that light, there
are lots of exciting events happening this month. 


Jan 5: Talk at the Working Centre, Kitchener
--------------------------------------------

This is really late notice, but on Friday January 5 there will be a presentation 
and information session about fair voting given by Paul Nijjar (hey! that's 
me!). It will be held at the Working Centre, 43 Queen Street
South in Kitchener, and it will start at 5pm. The talk is geared
towards Working Centre staff, but members of the public are welcome to
attend. If you want more information about the necessity of fair
voting and/or the Ontario Citizens' Assembly activities (or you have
friends/family who need to learn about this) you can come out. 


Jan 10: Citizens' Assembly Public Consultation, Waterloo
--------------------------------------------------------

The big day in Kitchener-Waterloo is Wednesday, January 10. The
Ontario Citizens' Assembly will then be in town to listen to oral
presentations and have some discussion. The meeting will be from
7-10pm at the Ontario Early Years Centre Training Room in Waterloo.
The address is 425 Universitty Avenue East. (It's in the Price Chopper
plaza at Bridge and University.) This is an important event, so PLEASE
attend if you are able. The bigger a turnout we can get for this
consultation, the stronger the message we will send about our support
for fair voting. Let's get 100 people out to this consultation!
(Better yet, let's get 200!)


Jan 20: Citizens' Assembly Public Consultation, Guelph
------------------------------------------------------

Just before Christmas, the Citizens' Assembly announced another
public consultation. This one will be in Guelph, and is scheduled for
Saturday, January 20. As of this point the location has not been
announced, so we will put out another message closer to that date. 


Jan 31: Deadline for Written Comments
-------------------------------------

The deadline for written comments to the Assembly has been EXTENDED to 
January 31. If you do one thing for fair voting this month, please
write some comments and submit them. Every comment will be read, and
the Assembly will take these comments into consideration in forming
its recommendations. 

??: Chapter Organizational Meetings
-----------------------------------

October is coming up quicker than you might think, and with the New
Year the chapter is getting its public education campaign rolling in a
big way. But we need help! There are currently not enough active
volunteers to handle all of the work that needs to be done. 

Some activities you can help with include: 
  - outreach to organizations (we especially need telephone help) 
  - joining the speaker's bureau and giving talks 
  - building coalitions with other local organizations
  - writing press releases, articles and letters to the editor

To get organized for the new year we are hoping to hold some organizational
meetings: one in Waterloo and one in downtown Kitchener. But they still have not 
been scheduled yet.