[fvc-wat-announce] Meeting Tuesday, 7pm

[Paul Nijjar]

It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that Queen Victoria would
have been a fan of proportional representation. Nonetheless, let us
keep a space in our hearts for the upcoming Ontario referendum as we
celebrate the jolly old Queen's birthday this weekend. Maybe you will
take Jeffery Simpson's recent suggestion in the Globe and Mail, and
raise the topic of MMP while at the family barbeque. Maybe you can
drop a subtle hint about the referendum (and associated information
nights) by writing OCT 10 in mustard on people's hot dogs, or
fashioning an artistic depiction of a two-checkmark ballot out of
potato salad. Regardless of how you spread the word this weekend,
don't forget that we'll be extending the party Tuesday evening, when
we hold this month's volunteer meeting.

The Ontario Citizens' Assembly released its final report this past
Tuesday, so we're gearing up to kick our public information activities
up a notch. But we need your help! If you have a few hours to put
towards winning the referendum this summer, please come down to our
meeting and sign up to help. In this meeting, we'll be:

   - Getting updates about the provincial campaign

   - Planning our presence at local festivals (we are working on being
     present at the Multicultural festival, the Nonviolence festival
     and Hillside, but we will need people to staff the booths.)

   - Working on our ongoing outreach activities with local
     organizations (e.g. neighbourhood organizations)

   - Organizing to be present at the main Fair Vote Canada AGM on June
     1-2 (carpooling and such)

   - Looking into finding a campaign headquarters and other facilities
     to make our campaigning easier

   - Organizing a strong publicity and media presence (watching local
     media, writing articles, and publicizing our events as widely as
     we can)

   - Organizing 'boot camps' for people in our Speakers Bureau (and
     recruiting more speakers)

   - Planning our canvassing activities and policies (We'll need lots
     of people-power for this job)

There is lots of work to be done and not a lot of time, so please come
out if you can. If you are interested in helping out but can't make
the meeting, please let me know and we can get you involved.

This meeting will be held at 7pm, at the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of
Social Work building in downtown Kitchener (120 Duke St. W, behind
City Hall). There are maps and parking information on our website.

There are also some things you can do even if you cannot attend the
meeting:
   - Help spread the word about our information nights. Public
     awareness of the MMP system proposed is still very low, so
     inviting two or three people to learn about it is a big help.

   - If you are an active Fair Vote Canada member, remember to vote for
     the new National Executive soon. Ballots are due by May 29. (If
     your membership is active you should have received your ballot in
     the mail.)

   - The rules for accepting financial donations are still a little
     sketchy, but we now have a bank account and so should be able to
     accept donations for local activities.

   - Spread the word that the referendum is real and that it represents
     positive change to our electoral system!

   - Read the Citizens' Assembly report to learn about the new system.
     There is a shorter and longer report and a Flash tutorial
     available on the OCA website:
     http://www.citizensassembly.gov.on.ca/en/default.asp

   - If you are a University of Waterloo student and would be willing
     to be a member of our new Feds club, please get in touch ASAP. We
     need seven founding members in order to complete our application.

Wow. That got long (again). But thanks for reading, and have a good
long weekend.

- Paul

--
Paul Nijjar - http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion
Next electoral reform info night: Tuesday June 12, 7pm