From paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca Wed Sep 5 16:40:35 2007 From: paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca (Paul Nijjar) Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 16:40:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Volunteer Meeting Thursday (and lots more stuff!) Message-ID: <714155.26073.qm@web57615.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Yikes! September sure snuck up fast. The official campaign period starts next week, and we are buzzing with activity. There are lots of events to attend (and tell your friends about!) and lots of ways to help the campaign out. Events Calendar --------------- If you don't have the patience to read through this e-mail, you can always see the collection of our activities on our shiny new calendar of events. Access it from our webpage (http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion) or by visiting http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=v6mdihivmck5jr3so9d2ilbe04%40group.calendar.google.com If you know of events we should have listed on our calendar then please contact me with information. Volunteer Meeting ----------------- With the school year starting and information nights happening on Tuesdays we are changing our volunteer meeting schedule. Our next meeting will be held *tomorrow*, Thursday September 6 at 7:30pm. (Note the time change!) The meeting will be held at the Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work building, 120 Duke St W in Kitchener behind City Hall. This meeting is pretty important: we will be getting prepared for the start of the campaign and assigning volunteers to staff booths, drop off literature and engage in door-to-door canvassing. Please come by and help us out! Booth Staffing -------------- There are lots of shifts available for our booth at the St. Jacob's Weekend Market on Saturdays (7am-2pm) and Sundays (10am-4pm). You can take a shift for all or part of a day, and if you are new to staffing we will make sure there is somebody experienced to show you the ropes. The Wilfrid Laurier and University of Waterloo groups are both planning to staff booths on campus throughout the campaign. To volunteer with the UW group, contact Alex at alex.mccausland at gmail.com . To volunteer with the Laurier group, contact Graham at fvclaurier at gmail.com . In addition to the Farmer's Market, we will be attending some festivals: - The Local Motion Festival: Sept 21 (UW) and Sept 22 (WLU) - The Nudge Festival: Thursday Sept 27 - University of Waterloo PAN Events (Sept 17-21) All-Candidates Meetings ----------------------- We are looking to compile a list of all-candidates meetings for Cambridge, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kitchener-Conestoga and Kitchener Centre. If you know of an all-candidates meeting that is not listed on our events calendar then please drop me a line. Currently, we are scheduled to be present at - A Women in Politics meeting on September 11 - An all-candidates meeting around poverty issues in Cambridge on Sept 20 Public Education Events ----------------------- There are a number of exciting panel discussions being organized at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. All of these events are open to the public. - WLU is putting on a panel discussion on Wednesday Sept 19 at 4:30pm. The location is TBA, but the speakers have been finalized: + Brian Tanguay, chapter co-chair and professor of Political Science, as well as the primary drafter for the 2004 Law Commission of Canada report "Voting Matters: Electoral Reform for Canada" + Matthew Certosimo, lawyer and Ontario Citizens' Assembly member + Jim Breithaupt, former Kitchener Centre MPP - Also on Sept 19, the University of Waterloo is holding a panel. This will be at 7:00pm in the Student Life Centre Great Hall. The tentative panel members are: + Brian Tanguay (again! He's in for a busy night...) + Steve Withers, who has lived in New Zealand for 11 years and is helping organize the Vote for MMP campaign in Ontario. + Marcia Soeda, Ontario Citizens' Assembly member for Kitchener Centre + Ron VanKoughnett, Ontario Citizens' Assembly member for Kitchener-Waterloo. There are also plans for an October 1 panel at WLU and two other events at the University of Waterloo. Keep your eyes peeled on the webpage and on this mailing list. Information Nights ------------------ In addition, we are continuing to hold referendum information sessions on Tuesday nights. They are held at 7pm at the Faculty of Social Work building, 120 Duke St. W behind Kitchener City Hall. We are having information sessions September 11, September 18, September 25 and October 2. (Remember that the October 9 session is CANCELLED because of the blackout period). Attendance at information nights thus far has been low, but those who have attended have found them rather educational and somewhat inspiring. Canvassing and Literature Drops ------------------------------- We are going to start canvassing this weekend! Our plan is to hit the smaller communities outside Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge first, as well as to have people canvas their own neighbourhoods. If the thought of human interaction scares you as much as it does me, you can also help out by stuffing literature into mailboxes. Canvassing takes lots of volunteer effort, but it is one of the most effective ways to win a campaign. If you can contribute a few hours (even on a single day) then please attend our meeting tomorrow or drop me an e-mail. Public Speaking --------------- We would love to come out to your organization and speak. A few groups have approached us already and we are looking for more. We can give short or long presentations. Postering/Leafletting --------------------- We are looking to spread the word about the referendum and our activities. We have some beautiful glossy posters that you can take and put up at your workplace and community centres, and some less beautiful posters advertising our information nights: http://www.fairvotecanada.org/files/wat-sept-poster.pdf We also have some brochures and the OCA report booklets that you can give out to friends and family. Contact us to get a hold of some. A few people have been passing out brochures at coffee meetings and church groups, and they have generated lots of interest. Donations --------- You can make financial donations to the "Vote for MMP" campaign. You can direct funds to the provincial campaign (which keeps us well-supplied with posters and brochures) or direct money to our chapter. It takes lots of money to buy lawn signs and run an effective campaign, so your donations would be greatly appreciated. Other Groups ------------ You may have noticed that Referendum Ontario has started its education campaign. Each riding has a "referendum information officer" that you can book to give short presentations. Referendum Ontario also has brochures and posters that explain the basics of the referendum. The opposition "No MMP" campaign is also running strong, and they have a chapter in Kitchener-Waterloo already. They have been working hard to saddle us with our antiquated first past the post system for another generation or two, and according to their news release their effort is paying off: they have generated a lot of publicity and experienced an "overwhelming demand" for speakers. If you want to see Ontario adopt a proportional system that gives us more choice, fairer results and stronger representation, now is the time to get involved -- the clock is ticking, and come October 11 we'll reap what we have sown. - Paul -- Paul Nijjar http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next Referendum Info Session: Sept 11, 7pm (Please use this Yahoo! account for future correspondence.) Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers and share what you know at http://ca.answers.yahoo.com From paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca Fri Sep 14 22:25:02 2007 From: paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca (Paul Nijjar) Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 22:25:02 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Campaign activities this week Message-ID: <598673.77092.qm@web57614.mail.re1.yahoo.com> You wouldn't know it from the lack of lawn signs, but the campaign is on and everything is getting crazy. There are lots of events going on, and lots of ways to help out. Canvassing Meetings ------------------- Josh Smyth (smyth.josh at gmail; 519.496.0541) has gamely stepped up to organize our canvassing efforts. Contact him to get involved with spreading the word door-to-door. Josh is running two meetings on Monday Sept 17 to get canvassing organized: one at noon in the WLU concourse, and one at 7:00pm at his house, apartment 21 at 154 Erb Street East, Waterloo (past Devitt). If you can help spread the word, please do. Panels and Information Sessions ------------------------------- There are lots of discussions around the referendum happening this week. All of the following are open to the public: - On Tuesday Sept 18 at 7:00pm, Angela will be running our regular information session. This is at the Faculty of Social Work building at 120 Duke St W, Kitchener (behind City Hall) - On Wednesday Sept 19 at 4:00pm(?) there will be a panel at Wilfrid Laurier university. Panelists include: Jim Breithaupt (former MPP for Kitchener), OCA members Matthew Certosimo and Ron VanKoughnett, and Waterloo co-chair Brian Tanguay. CAUTION: I am not sure I have the right starting time for this event -- it may start at 4:30pm -- and I don't have the room number. Keep your eye on the online calendar. - Then at 7:00pm there will be another panel at the University of Waterloo, in the Student Life Centre Great Hall. Panelists include: Brian Tanguay and Ron VanKoughnett (again!), OCA member Marcia Soeda, and New Zealand resident (and Vote for MMP organizer) Steve Withers. - On Saturday September 22 there will be a big Referednum Rally in Cambridge starting at 1:30pm. It will be held at Central Park, near King and Dover Streets in Preston. We are arranging to get some big names to come and speak at the rally. We're trying to draw lots of media attention for this one, so please come out and add to the throngs who are enthusiastic about MMP. All-Candidates Meetings ----------------------- There are a few all-candidates meetings happening this week. At some of them we have not had good success in getting our display present, but we can attend them and make sure that the referendum stays on the agenda. There are many excellent questions you can ask your candidates: about their stance on the referendum, about their views of the 60% threshold, about how their party would nominate list members, and so on. If you know of additional all-candidates meetings that are not on our calendar (http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion) then please let me know. - On Thursday September 20, 6:30pm there will be a Cambridge debate at 150 Main Street 2nd Floor. This debate is organized by a number of local organizations including the Labour Council and Cambridge Social Planning Council, and will focus on poverty and wage issues. We will be making a 10 minute presentation at this debate. - The Record has scheduled its Kitchener Centre debate on Thursday, September 20 at 7:00pm at the Canada Room of the Record building in downtown Kitchener. Other Events ------------ This Sunday, September 16 there will be a half-hour segment on CKCO television. It will be from 6:30-7:00pm, and will feature Brian Tanguay (again -- he's a popular fellow) facing off against UW professor Peter Woolstencroft. On Saturday September 22 our booth will be making an appearance at the Car Free Festival in Victoria Park. This weekend and every weekend we have a booth at the St. Jacobs Saturday-Sunday market. Many shifts have been filled for this booth, but there are a few shifts left towards the end of the campaign. Angus-Reid released an election poll it conducted last week. Here are the latest polling trends for the referendum: FPTP: 33% MMP: 26% Undecided: 38% See http://www.angus-reid.com/uppdf/ONT_Sept.pdf for the full report. All is not lost, however. This poll demonstrates that a whole lot of people don't know what MMP is or why it might be better than FPTP, and you can bet that many of that 33% are not feeling strongly about their choice. We have a lot of education to do, so spread the word. - Paul -- Paul Nijjar http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next Referendum Info Session: Sept 18, 7pm (Please use this Yahoo! account for future correspondence.) Get news delivered with the All new Yahoo! Mail. Enjoy RSS feeds right on your Mail page. Start today at http://mrd.mail.yahoo.com/try_beta?.intl=ca From paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca Thu Sep 20 13:41:16 2007 From: paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca (Paul Nijjar) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:41:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Upcoming events and volunteering (1 of 2) Message-ID: <782519.15937.qm@web57612.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Hello referendum aficionados, I have prepared a more "press-release" style letter that I will send after this one. It contains public awareness events such as debates and rallies. I will repeat only one of those events here: the Referendum Rally this Saturday. This is our BIG media publicity event. It is being held this Saturday at 1:30pm in Central Park in Preston (near the intersection of Argyle and King). There are a number of good (and somewhat famous) speakers who will be in attendance. A good turnout at this rally would send a strong message that the people of Waterloo Region are serious about electoral reform, so please come out and bring your family and friends. Here are some other opportunities coming up: Canvassing ---------- Canvassing has started. This Sunday volunteers will be canvassing the Laurelwood area. To get involved contact Josh Smyth: smyth.josh at gmail.com, or 519 496 0541 . Lawn Signs and Buttons ---------------------- Along with canvassing we have buttons (some of which have arrived) and lawn signs (on order -- I think they have not arrived yet). If you are interested in getting some of these things please get in touch and we can let you know when they arrive. Literature ---------- We have some literature available for you to distribute. Putting literature in public places (waiting rooms, community centres, etc) is a reasonable way to get the word out. Booths and Festivals -------------------- In addition to the events listed in our e-mail, we have: - Sat Sept 22: The Car Free celebrations in Victoria Park. http://www.wpirg.org/carfree - Our booth at the St. Jacob's Weekend Market - Thurs Sept 27, 5:00pm: the Nudge festival at the Wax nightclub. http://www.myspace.com/nudgeevents - Booth staffing both at WLU and UW We could use help with all these events. To get involved please contact me. Letters to the Editor --------------------- The Record is being swamped with letters to the editor from MMP opponents. Please help turn the tide by writing positive letters to the Record and other local newspapers (the Cambridge Times, Waterloo Chronicle, New Hamburg Independent, and others). The current crop of letters has messaging like "If you don't know what MMP means, vote for FPTP" and the tired favourite "List MPs are appointed, not elected". These statements are fishy at best, but if we don't refute them then people will believe these stories. All-Candidates Meetings ----------------------- There are a large number of all-candidates meetings happening over the next few weeks. We could really use your help in arranging for us to be present at these meetings. You can also attend these meetings and ask questions related to MMP and the referendum. For a list of all the meetings we know of, see the Google Calendar (also linked off our webpage, because this URL is long): http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=v6mdihivmck5jr3so9d2ilbe04%40group.calendar.google.com If you know of other local election/referendum events please send them along and we will add them to the calendar. Referendum Information Sessions ------------------------------- People have been organizing information nights for their community associations, housing co-ops, churches and so on with great success. Why not invite a speaker to tell you about the referendum firsthand? Unlike the Referendum Ontario speakers, we are allowed to go beyond mere mechanics and discuss the impacts of the two election systems. Donations --------- If you can help us out financially please get in touch. Lawn signs and literature do cost money, and it is going to take quite a bit of signage to break through voter and media indifference to the referendum. - Paul -- Paul Nijjar http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next Referendum Info Session: Sept 18, 7pm (Please use this Yahoo! account for future correspondence.) Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail at http://mrd.mail.yahoo.com/try_beta?.intl=ca From paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca Thu Sep 20 13:43:49 2007 From: paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca (Paul Nijjar) Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:43:49 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Upcoming events press release (2 of 2) Message-ID: <707408.16295.qm@web57603.mail.re1.yahoo.com> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WATERLOO - The referendum is coming! On October 10 the citizens of Ontario will decide the future of their voting system. To ensure that the people of Waterloo Region understand their options in this historic decision, the local chapter of Fair Vote Canada has organized several events and information sessions. REFERENDUM RALLY -- SATURDAY, SEPT 22 Where: Central Park, King Street between Argyle St and Westminister Drive, Preston. When: 1:30pm What: Come out and show your support for the Mixed-Member Proportional option in this October's referendum. Speakers include: Judy Rebick (rabble.ca founder), Donna Reid (former NDP candidate, Cambridge), Brian Tanguay (Professor of Political Science, WLU) and Jim Harris (former Green Party national leader). REFERENDUM DEBATE -- WEDNESDAY SEPT 26 Where: Student Life Centre, University of Waterloo When: 2:30-3:30pm What: Political science professors Brian Tanguay and Peter Woolstencroft will debate the merits and drawbacks of the First-Past-the-Post and Mixed-Member Proportional on the ballot for the referendum. INFORMATION SESSIONS -- TUESDAY EVENINGS, KITCHENER Where: Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, 120 Duke St. Kitchener, behind Kitchener City Hall When: 7:00pm on Sept 25, Oct 2 What: Fair Vote Canada representatives will facilitate a presentation and group discussion about the mechanics and impacts of the referendum process and the two voting systems up for consideration. INFORMATION SESSION -- FRIDAY, SEPT 28 Where: Beaver Creek Co-op Community Centre, 590 Bearinger Road, Waterloo When: 7:00pm What: Fair Vote Canada representatives will facilitate a presentation and group discussion about the mechanics and impacts of the referendum process and the two voting systems up for consideration. - 30 - For more information, contact: Derek Kraan derek.kraan at fairvote.ca 519-568-3458 http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Paul Nijjar paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca -- Paul Nijjar http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next Referendum Info Session: Sept 18, 7pm (Please use this Yahoo! account for future correspondence.) Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail at http://mrd.mail.yahoo.com/try_beta?.intl=ca From paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca Thu Sep 27 16:46:49 2007 From: paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca (Paul Nijjar) Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:46:49 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [fvc-wat-announce] Information sessions! Volunteering! Two weeks left! Message-ID: <765997.68975.qm@web57605.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Two weeks left! Let's win this! Forward this to others! Information Sessions -------------------- Remember: the October 9 information session is CANCELLED! But there are several other opportunities to get you (and your family, and friends, and neighbours) informed. All of these are open to the public. 0. Tonight, Sept 27, 7pm St. Aloysius Church, 11 Traynor Ave, Kitchener 1. Tomorrow, Sept 28, 7pm Beaver Creek Co-op Community Centre 590 Bearinger (near Bearinger and Hagey Blvd), Waterloo 2. Monday, Oct 1, 6pm Bricker Hall room 111, Wilfrid Laurier University (It looks like there could be multiple presentations -- one every hour or so -- so don't be frightened of coming in a bit late.) 3. Tuesday, Oct 2, 7pm Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work, 120 Duke St W, Kitchener, behind City Hall. (This is the LAST info night at the School of Social Work! Attend then or hold your peace!) We still have slots available, so if you want us to come and give an information night for your group, speak up now! Canvassing ---------- There's lots of canvassing this weekend, and more coming up next week. To get involved, contact Josh Smyth: smyth.josh at gmail.com or 519.496.0541 Here are the canvassing opportunities happening this weekend. Josh says it would be nice if you contacted him beforehand but if you can't you can just drop by. They will train you and give you literature. You can also organize your own canvassing caravans; contact Josh and run your suggested locations with him so that we don't cover ground twice. 0. Saturday Sept 29, 11am Meet at the Tim Horton's at Fischer-Hallman and University, 1. Sunday Sept 30, 11am Meet at the Tim Horton's at Ottawa and Westmount 2. Hespeler canvassing: contact Ron Fyfe at ronpat at porchlight.ca or 519.621.3008 to get involved. Debates and All-Candidates Meetings ----------------------------------- There are some referendum-specific debates, but not many. Referendum-specific: 0. Oct 3, 12pm Wilfrid Laurier University, Turret (the pub) There is an all-candidates meeting from 12-1pm, then a debate between Professors Tanguay and Woolstencroft from 1-2pm. All-candidates meetings (attend and ask referendum questions!): 0. Tonight, Thursday Sept 27, 7pm Grey Silo golf course (!) Kitchener-Waterloo debate sponsored by the Record 1. Monday, Oct 1, 7pm Kitchener Gospel Temple, 9 Conway Drive, Kitchener Kitchener Centre 2. Tuesday Oct 2, 12pm Student Life Centre Great Hall, University of Waterloo Kitchener-Waterloo debate 3. Tuesday, Oct 2, 7pm St. Agatha Community Centre Kitchener-Conestoga debate sponsored by the Record 4. Wednesday, Oct 3, 7pm Preston Memorial Auditorium, 1458 Hamilton St, Cambridge Cambridge debate sponsored by the Record If you know of other debates/all-candidates meetings, please let me know. Booths and Festivals -------------------- Come out, have fun and get other people involved! 0. Saturday, Sept 29, 11am-6pm SUNDANCe pow-wow St. Paul's College, University of Waterloo There is a $5 entry charge, but there is lots of stuff happening. This is part of the UW Homecoming events. 1. Weekends, St. Jacob's Weekend Market (old Waterloo Farmer's Market) Saturdays 7am-2pm Sundays 10am-4pm 2. St. John's Kitchen, Victoria and Weber St Dates to be announced (likely Monday afternoon and maybe Thursday or Friday) 3. WLU Concourse, 10am-2:30pm (?) There will be a display Friday Sept 28, Wednesday Oct 3, Friday Oct 5. Lawn Signs and Buttons and Literature ------------------------------------- We have some buttons and literature and can get some to you. We are pretty much out of lawn signs, but have a few (like, 5-10) that can still be distributed. If you want one speak up. Donations --------- We could use your donations (for example, if we want to try and order more lawn signs, although we might be too late on that). If you want to make a donation (to the Waterloo Region Chapter, Cambridge or the campaign in general) please make cheques payable to "Vote for MMP". You can also donate by filling out an online form: http://voteformmp.ca/en/donate Polling ------- The latest polls I have heard say: 47% has no idea about what the referendum is about, 41% knows a little, 12% knows a lot. Of the 50% of people who have decided how to vote, 54% say "MMP" and 46% say "FPTP". We have work to do. Get out there and let people know about this! Word of mouth is the most effective canvassing there is! Get informed! Get involved! Let's make some history and take democracy back in our hands! - Paul -- Paul Nijjar http://www.fairvotecanada.org/WaterlooRegion Next Referendum Info Session: Sept 18, 7pm (Please use this Yahoo! account for future correspondence.) Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers and share what you know at http://ca.answers.yahoo.com