[fvc-wat-disc] Draft letter for neighbourhood associations

[Paul Nijjar]

	I sent a different draft letter yesterday, but it looks like the
mailing list software ate it. This is a revised version of what I want to
send out to community associations. Feel free to critique it.

---

Dear [NAME]

I am sending this letter to you because you are listed as a contact
for [ASSOCIATION] on the mywaterlooregion.com website.

This year, the Ontario government initated a historic process to
examine the voting system we use in Ontario. This process -- carried
out by a group called the Ontario Citizens' Assembly on Electoral
Reform -- will likely result in a provincial referendum on October 4
2007. The decision of whether to change our voting system or not will
have a tremendous impact on the way we elect governments, both
provincially and federally. It will affect each and every one of
us in the province, but remarkably few Ontarians are aware that this
process is happening at all. That is a real shame, because the
Citizens' Assembly is currently (until the middle of January)
soliciting comments from the general public. By the time media
coverage picks up about the Citizens' Assembly in August and
September, it will be too late for us to shape the Assembly's
recommendations.

In that light, we at Fair Vote Canada (a citizen-driven, multipartisan
group working on electoral reform) is engaging in a campaign to raise
public awareness. That is where you come in. We are hoping that you
and your neighbourhood association will help spread the word.

With your permission, we would like to organize a chapter member to
speak to your association members. We could come to speak as part of
the agenda of an upcoming meeting, or we could set up a separate
event. Depending on time available, we could give talks anywhere in
length from 15 minutes to an hour. The speaker would address some of
the deficiencies of our current voting system, talk about the
Citizens' Assembly and its work, and (time permitting) discuss the way
a new voting system might work.

In addition to organizing a talk, there are several other ways in
which we can collaborate. The chapter is looking for coalition
partners, so perhaps our organizations can work together. We have some
posters you might put up to raise awareness of the Assembly. There are
also two very important dates coming up which you might announce to
your members: January 10, when the Citizens' Assembly will be in
Kitchener-Waterloo to listen to citizen input; and January 15, which
is the deadline to submit written comments to the Assembly.

Please let me know whether you would be able to schedule a speaker
during an upcoming meeting. Because of these January deadlines, it
would be great if we could arrange to speak before January 10, but if
that is not possible we would be happy to speak at a later date as
well -- we will be continuing reaching out to community groups
throughout the year, in the hope that our citizens will make an
informed choice come next October.

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