Online Rights Canada
p2p news / p2pnet: A web site created to provide Canadians with critical information on technology and information policy issues went online today.
The new grassroots organization Online Rights Canada (ORC), jointly supported by the Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is being handled by Ren Bucholz, the EFF’s policy coordinator, Americas.
One of its first actions is a petition drive against unwarranted surveillance law, a bill proposed last month that would have allowed law enforcement agencies to obtain personal information without a warrant and forced communications providers to build surveillance backdoors into the hardware that routes phone calls and Internet traffic.
The petition asks Canadian lawmakers to protect citizens’ privacy rights when the new government convenes in 2006.
“Other important issues for ORC will include copyright law, access to information, and freedom from censorship,” says Bucholz.
“Ren Bucholz is EFF’s man on the ground in Toronto, and we’ll be working closely with him, particularly on policy issues,” CIPPIC counsel David Fewer told p2pnet.
“In many ways, ORC is a joint venture between EFF and CIPPIC. It will provide ordinary Canadians with a place to be active advocates on tech issues.”
“Online Rights Canada is the latest group to join the global fight for digital rights,” says the EFF. “Digital Rights Ireland launched earlier this week, and the Open Rights Group launched in the United Kingdom last month.”
December 9th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
To say that I’m excited about what is happening with ORC would be an understatement. When I started http://digital-copyright.ca back in the summer of 2001 it was only because there wasn’t an EFF Canada that positive copyright reform could be an active project of. I’ve been a member of EFF for years, but haven’t been able to support (financially and as a volunteer) a similar Canadian based organization.
While ORC is new, I fully expect it to become that much needed organization.
I’ve added a “Donate to ORC” to the template for digital-copyright.ca, and sent in $50(US) towards the new group. My hope is that any other Canadians who are able to put their money where their mouth (keyboard) is will do the same.
December 10th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
I am no so familiar with the Canadian rights situation.
But being familiar with the American situation, I wrote this on another P2PNET post, “Software piracy is rampant!”:
There is clearly a problem that needs fixing. First the people need to get the ownership of the government back. If this is not done, what is needed will not be done. But first the legislators need fixing themselves.
Here in Puerto Rico, we do not own our own government, as we are a non voting territory of the USA. We do not vote for the American legislature or the presidency. Our government is owned by either the US government and by special interest groups.
We do have a two tier (a Senate and a House of Representatives) local legislature which is totally inoperative and whatever they do is for the special interest groups (and to comply with new American laws) or is political infighting and positioning. Their only goal is getting re-elected.
Our legislators learned at Washington. Against the universal wish of all legislators and most politicians we the people forced our legislature to legislate a referendum to cut in half the legislature. We won with about 80 percent of the votes. As a result our next legislature will be 1/2 the size and one that has heard our message: Do your work or get out. I predict 75 to 90 percent of our legislators will be kicked out on our next election in 2008.
Americans voters should learn something from Puerto Rico this time.
Rafael Venegas
http://www.gvenegas.com
December 11th, 2005 at 1:55 am
Thanks for the endorsement of the site. I’ve followed your blog for a while, and am trying to find out more about this new organization.
I’m glad to see the CIPPIC endorsement, and hope CANFLI will also endorse the new site.
Still, it’s a bit disappointing that a branch office of the primarily US EFF diffuses our slowly growing Canadian efforts. I had actually hoped Dr Geist’s effort with CIPPIC and his blog would be the leaders here.
I’ll be donating . . . pending a reply to a few reservations.