Ottawa 2011-11-15 minutes

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Another intensely interesting meeting occurred in Ottawa on November 15th. We had four members in attendance and briefly touched base with a fifth. Additionally, in the middle of the meeting a large group of students (50+) from Richmond Hill stopped in at the Tim Hortons during their break from learning about politics on the hill. They were very interested in asking us questions and hearing about the Pirate Party and our role in politics. The visit was about 10-minutes long and completely bankrupted our remaining supply of 41st General Election pamphlets, PPCA balloons, and a couple copies of the proposed Constitution and Bylaws.

In addition to the completely unexpected opportunity to espouse PPCA values to today’s youth, we also discussed:

  • Assisted Suicide
    • There is a current hubbub about the recommendation that assisted suicide should be permitted to occur in Canada
    • PPCA Ottawa members in attendance were in unanimous agreement that if someone freely and without coercion chooses to end their life as a result of a debilitating illness, that is their right and the law should not stand in their way
    • PPCA Ottawa members in attendance were similarly in unanimous agreement that doctors should not be REQUIRED to assist in the procedure. Much like the abortion issue, it should remain up to the doctor whether they be a part of the procedure
    • PPCA Ottawa members do not believe that just anyone should be able to request assisted suicide. Only those suffering from debilitating and painful illness should be allowed to exercise this option, and even then, only after proper psychiatric assessment
  • Assignment of a bi-lingual Attorney General
    • Another major news item running through the media revolves around the choice of an English-only Attorney General of Canada, formerly the AG of New Brunswick. Most opposition parties are “outraged” that the individual is not a bi-lingual option
    • Ottawa Pirates are of the opinion that so long as he can speak, write and properly command the language of math, it doesn’t overly matter what languages he can speak aloud. As the AG is not in direct consultation with the public, it is not as integral that he/she be bi-lingual
    • It is also of the opinion of Ottawa Pirates that the books and information that is monitored by the Attorney General should be publicly posted and itemized. This would, in effect, increase the number of people monitoring taxpayer’s money from a handful, to the entire population. This action would increase accountability, and is very much in line with the PPCA’s official stance on Government Transparency.
    • Ottawa Pirates also want to point out the hypocrisy of the Official Opposition, whose recently elected candidates in Quebec, whose language of business is French, can only operate effectively in English. Unlike the Attorney General of Canada, MPs do work directly with the public when in their constituencies. If truly upset, the NDPs should correct their own errors in regards to the language debate.
  • Update on UBB Proceedings
    • Earlier in the Day, the CRTC released their ruling in regards to UBB, with the Commission ruling that a cost per user as opposed to cost per byte wholesale model was acceptable
    • Although this does prevent Bell from implementing UBB, it will likely lead to an increase in costs to the consumer from independent ISPs
    • Although happy that UBB has been squashed, Ottawa Pirates were of mixed opinion concerning the new method. For some it seemed a grudgingly acceptable compromise, but for others it was still amounting to a far too expensive cost for Internet Access
    • Further responses from Ottawa Pirates is welcome
  • National Capital Commission
    • The NCC administers the federally owned lands in Ottawa-Gatineau, and is in many ways perceived to have run-away spending
    • Recently the NCC spent $5.6 million to replace/build 7 new change rooms along the canal. These change rooms are essentially bus-shelters / ice-huts. The old change rooms, created in the 70s, did need to be replaced, but a much better pricing could easily have been found
    • As a Federal Commission, they are tax-payer funded.
    • The NCC has large amounts of power, and routinely blocks development projects on/near its land. They blocked the development of the Ottawa LRT, effectively cancelling the portion that would have run from Baseline through Tunney’s Pasture along the Ottawa Valley Parkway. This would have been a major local infrastructure improvement, greatly decreasing the public transportation needs along that portion of the route and leading to long-term savings by the City of Ottawa, not to mention the environmental impacts.
    • The NCC has moved into the Entertainment Industry, and the question is why? Their Entertainment programs leech money without developing returns in revenue.
    • Do we really need the NCC to manage the cleaning of buildings and federally owned lands, or is this something the city could take over with better use of the black-holed funds?
    • May be an option to Privatize the NCC. Entertainment and land jobs would contribute to GDP through use of Private Companies and Charities Events on the land. The NCC currently hires outside contractors for most of the cleaning jobs in federal buildings, so why are we paying the extra overhead for the commission to handle something they farm out?
    • The NCC is also known to have transparency issues, as noted in a formal review conducted in 2006. No actions have been taken to address issues raised in this review
    • The Ottawa PPCA believes that we should take measures to obtain a copy of this review and move on from there.
  • Postal Code Tracking
    • Grocery stores, Walmart, and an increasing number of retail outlets are gathering the postal codes of their shoppers. When combined with the other information they gather through credit card usage, including names, phone numbers, e-mail (for “rewards programs”), etc. this is increasingly becoming a privacy issue
    • The growing implementation of RFID chips in products also serves to increase the buying habits of customers. Information already being linked through receipts, credit cards, etc.
  • David’s meeting with MP from Smith Falls
    • Met briefly with the MP and discussed a number of different matters
    • On good working terms
    • Cultivating connections with current MPs could aid in passing along our positions and giving us some of the leads necessary for future discussions
  • PPCA Colours
    • Ottawa PPCA reconfirms its stance that switching PPCA colour from Red to Purple would be greatly beneficial.
    • It is suggested that perhaps it should be an extra question on the referendum to membership concerning the Constitution
  • Canada Energy concerns
    • Satellite Solar Generation
      • The process by which the power would be transferred to Earth is of great concern. What are the environmental impacts, specifically of the heat that could be generated as a result of “beaming” it down
      • Alternate possibility would be to utilize airships & a cable, which could be far more environmentally friendly. Would it be possible for the airships to generate enough electricity to power themselves and transfer a significant amount back to Earth?
    • Oil Pipelines
      • With the delay of the Keystone XL, a question is raised about our oil exports. A pipeline to BC, with increased shipping to “Asia” (specifically China) seems the most likely route at the moment
      • Some questions raised at the meeting concerning the way in which Canada both exports and imports oil
      • Brief research indicated that it had previously been deemed more cost effective to use this method, but that was 20-years ago. Perhaps a study should be conducted concerning an East-West pipeline through Canada to wean us off foreign oil. If it could be done in an Import/Export revenue neutral or net-profit method, it should be something that is considered and pushed as a nation-building project
      • The construction of an East-West crude-oil pipeline would develop refineries throughout Canada, leading to increased jobs and oil security from independent oil producers

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