Bill c-11

According to copyright experts, giant media conglomerates are lobbying for Internet lockdown powers allowing them to:

• Cut your Internet access for no good reason.
• Remove or hide vast swaths of the Internet
• Lock users out of their own services (already proposed legislation!).

Taken together, these policies would fundamentally change the Internet, severely limit free expression, and hogtie innovators.

A similar scheme in the US led to a huge public outcry forcing Big Media lobbyists to back off from their plan to impose the now-infamous SOPA and PIPA¹ legislation. Now, those lobbyists are turning to Canada through legislation like Bill C-11 and trade agreements called ACTA² and TPP³.

Details

Internet law expert Michael Geist recently revealed that behind-the-scenes, Big Media is pushing for powers that include website blocking⁴, Internet termination for unproven allegations of infringement⁵, and huge threats for sites that host user-generated content (like YouTube)⁶ in addition to the “most restrictive digital lock provisions in the world,”⁷ which are already in Bill C-11.

This approach is backwards: it suffocates online choice and it’s patently unfair.

It's time for policy makers to stop listening to megacorporate lobbyists and work to put Canada on the map as a leader in Internet openness and affordability.

Tell the Prime Minister and the Industry Minister to say no to the Internet lockdown before it's too late. →

Stop Internet Lockdown <<< Sign the petition

Bill c-30

The government is about to push through a set of electronic surveillance laws that will invade your privacy and cost you money. The plan is to force every phone and Internet provider to allow "authorities" to collect the private information of any Canadian, at any time, without a warrant.

This bizarre legislation will create Internet surveillance that is:

• Warrantless: A range of "authorities" will have the ability to access the private information of law-abiding Canadians and our families using wired Internet and mobile devices, without justification.
• Invasive: The laws leave our personal and financial information less secure and more susceptible to cybercrime.
• Costly: Internet services providers may be forced to install millions of dollars worth of spying technology and the cost will be passed down to YOU.

If enough of us speak out now the government will have no choice but to stop this mandatory online spying scheme. Sign the petition now, and forward it to everyone you know →

Stop Spying <<< Sign the petition.

Clifton Place Development Application
(Three Towers 16 – 25 Storeys)

CONCERNED CITIZEN COMMUNITY MEETING
Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011
7:00 p.m.

Robertson Wesley United Church, 10209 – 123 Street

We’re back to SQUARE ONE. And we need your help to prepare for our public hearing before City Council on Monday, Aug 29, 2011. The City terminated the Working Group Process—leaving the WAM application with very few proposed changes.

Answer the Call to Action—Topics for the public meeting:

o    Value of the Community Voice
o    Clifton Place as a Transitional Neighbourhood
o    Appropriate Urban Design
o    Preserving Heritage
o    Top of the Valley and Public Access
    

Let’s show the City our voices can’t be muzzled!

The Groat Estates Residents Association, Properties on High Street Condominiums and the 124st and Area Business Association sent a letter to the Mayor and Councillors of the City of Edmonton expressing collective disappointment in the City’s Public Involvement Plan and process regarding Clifton Place LDA09-0262.

From the letter:

Collaborative Community Building

When the process began, we hoped for something new---that it would be a first step towards increased understanding and communications between the community, the city planning department and developers in our city. Through the Working Group meetings our members learned more about planning concepts and city processes which will enhance future communications with planners and developers. We tried to assist the developer and the City in better understanding the community’s goals and viewpoint. We hoped that a new shared understanding would result in creative options for the future.

As was stated throughout the Working Group process, our biggest hope has always been to build mutual agreement on an application which meets the special needs of the site and ends 20 years of development dialogue. We believe Clifton Place is a special site for a number of reasons. It is a heritage site which includes the home of Malcolm Groat, a man whose contribution to this city is extensive. The site has a beautiful view of the river valley and therefore we must accommodate the public interest. It is also near to the vibrant High Street shopping district and the 124th St. BRZ which needs to be enhanced. Finally, the site should not be viewed as the re-development of a downtown parcel. The site signals an east-west transition between the downtown area and the homes of Glenora and a north-west transition between the river valley and the homes of Groat Estates.

Request to Finish Process

From the beginning we have stated that our wish is to see this site developed in a manner which meets all the interests and unique elements. In our view the process is incomplete and the desired result has not yet been achieved. The community has no intention to surrender until we have a development plan which has a unique urban design, reflects the transitional elements of the parcel, and enhances the character of the surrounding community and businesses. The Groat Estates area has emerged as a desirable neighborhood in good part due to the hard work and commitment of the people in the community over the past 10 years and more. We believe that the applicant should be required to acknowledge that hard work and community contribution by giving back something which is meaningful to the community.

Please download and review the attachment below for more information.

If you're around March 21 at 7pm, you may want to go to Westmount Vegetable Garden's Annual General Meeting.

Wait for more details...