Perimeter security plan dangerous for privacy and civil rights

December 5, 2012

 The Harper government has been quietly adding ingredients to the troublesome brew called Beyond the Border Action Plan for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. This is not a single piece of legislation that will ever be debated by Parliament. It is a policy direction that consists of soft sell strategic objectives around economic prosperity implemented with pilot projects and regulatory changes affecting the cross-border movement of people and goods and cozy collaborations on security and information sharing.

CIRA election results

September 28, 2012

 The following candidates were successful in the 2012 CIRA Board elections:

Nomination Committee Slate:
Bill Sandiford
William Gibson
Carole Mackaay

Members' Slate
Michael Geist
Kevin McArthur

CIRA elections - 2012

September 21, 2012

 If you are a member of CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) you can now cast your vote for the board of directors.  There will be 5 new directors chosen this year.  The voting period is from Sept. 19-Sept 26.  I have been participating in the online debates and met a number of the candidates at this week's CIRA AGM.  

Here are my picks for director:

 Member's slate: 

Kevin McArthur -- has really worked hard all year around for the last few years to keep tabs on CIRA.  Very knowledgeable both technically and policy-wise, Kevin has a very activist agenda and will be a good advocate for members who want to see CIRA be more open and public policy oriented.

Michael Geist -- well known and respected, public policy oriented with lots of influence outside of the Board.  I particularly like his promotion of a new governance model which would separate CIRA's registry function from an independent, public policy arm supported by some of the revenues generated by the registry.

Nomination Committee (nomcom) slate:

Community Access Program chopped

August 27, 2012

 This story originally appeared on VoicesVoix.ca  -- August 16, 2012

 The Community Access Program (CAP), was created by Industry Canada in 1995 to provide free or low-cost access to Internet in rural regions of Canada. CAP operated in over 3,000 sites across Canada, offering computer literacy trainings and Internet-user skills in public libraries and community centers. It has provided access to Internet for youth, seniors, members of low-income communities and residents of rural and remote regions.

What Happened

On April 5, 2012, Industry Canada sent a letter announcing that funding for the Community Access Program (CAP), amounting to about $15 million, was scheduled to end on March 31, 2012 and would not be renewed. Industry Canada stated that in the context of "challenging fiscal times," funding for CAP was terminated because the program had "successfully achieved its objective." However, the digital divide in Canada has been proven to persist and library associations and community centers that operated CAP have decried the funding cuts.

Communications Chapter - Alternative Federal Budget - 2012

March 28, 2012

The AFB 2012 allocates the following amounts for communications:

  • The AFB allocates $250,000 to fund a broad national consultation to modernize communications policy in Canada. 
  • The AFB ramps up to $1 billion annually over 10 years to modernize Canada’s digital communications infrastructure. 
  • The AFB allocates $40 million to support new and existing national public access sites in the 2012-2013 budget year.

Full communications chapter

Full AFB 2012

Bill C-30 update

March 28, 2012

Due to a backlash storm from both sides of the political spectrum, the bill was immediately withdrawn "for further study."  There is no indication yet, when the government will make its next move on this file.

Rumour confirmed -- snooping law introduced

February 16, 2012

Rumour confirmed!!!  At 12:30 p.m., in a blatent attempt to use abused childen to stifle dissent about a law that sanctions Internet snooping,  Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety introduced the freshly renamed "Protecting Children from Internet Preditors" Act."

Read complete article here

 

Valentines for Vic Toews

February 13, 2012

Rumour has it that there will be an omnibus bill introduced on Feb. 14 that contains the legislation known as "lawful access." The following site "send Vic Toews a valentine" invites Canadians to respond in kind.  Users can dowload a postcard with a message to the Minister of Public Safety expressing strong opposition to Internet surveillance.

(un)lawful access legislation -- Ottawa forum

December 28, 2011

Notice of public meeting:

A public meeting will be held in Ottawa Feb. 8, 2012, 6-10 p.m. at St. Paul University (amphitheatre) to inform and discuss this new privacy threat.  Please see agenda and sign up to attend on the website or  facebook  event page  or continue to check this space for agenda, participants and other information.

Government myths on on-line spying debunked

December 1, 2011

 In a guest blog on the OpenMedia.ca site, the technical lawyer for the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) debunks the following government rationalizations for the "lawful access" legislation:

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