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April 30, 2009
Activist Toolkit: Parliament of Canada website
Recently, an important new feature was added to the Parliament of Canada website. Constituents can now see how their MP voted on issues debated in the House of Commons. To access these records, do the following:
1) Select "Senators and Members" in the main menu.
2) Select "Current" under the House of Commons menu.
3) Within the body of the page, you'll see a link to "Members of Parliament". Select it.
4) You'll then be presented with a list of MPs. Select you MP's name and you will be taken to his/her page.
5) On the MP's page you'll see a "Votes" tab. Select it and discover how your MP voted.
I'm really pleased that a new layer of "transparency" has been added to the site. As a designer however, I find that this website is a bit of a usability nightmare – built for librarians and not the public (IMHO). That being said, knowledge is power and this new information should help many activists in their endeavour to make change.
Posted by Jason at 9:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 29, 2009
Government 2.0
Tim O'Reilly over at O'Reilly Radar wrote a thought provoking piece on applying the Web 2.0 social-media spirit to community activism. I've had similar thoughts as of late and hope to introduce you to a new project of mine shortly.
In the mean time, hopefully you'll find Tim's article inspiring. A couple of interesting quotes:
Now is the time for a renewal of our commitment to make our own institutions, our own communities, and our own difference. There's a kind of passivity even to our activism: we think that all we can do is to protest. Collective action has come to mean collective complaint. Or at most, a collective effort to raise money.
But let's not forget that we ourselves are the raw material of collective action.
Posted by Jason at 6:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 20, 2009
G-20 death linked to police abuse
An independent autopsy released Friday has determined that Ian Tomlinson died of abdominal bleeding during the G-20 Summit demonstration, and not of a heart attack as originally reported. If you recall, Tomlinson was knocked to the ground by police while walking home from work. Apparently, he was not part of the demonstration. A video of the assault can be seen here. Additional details about this unfortunate event can be found here.
The officers involved are now under investigation. Although Ian Tomlinson's life can never be restored, let's hope that an era of peaceful demonstration can.
Posted by Jason at 9:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 13, 2009
Heads Up: Downstream
Free Toronto premiere of the oil sands documentary Downstream
Short listed for an Academy Award, Downstream is a short documentary about a Canadian doctor who raised concerns about the alarmingly high rates of rare cancers amongst Aboriginal peoples in Fort Chipewyan, downstream for Alberta’s oilsands developments.
Tuesday, April 14th, 9 pm
Innes College, 2 Sussex Ave at St. George Street
(Subway: go to St.George Station and walk south to Sussex)
Panel Discussion
Moderated by Olivia Chow, MP
Panelists include:
Jack Layton, MP, Toronto-Danforth
Christie Ferguson, Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaign Coordinator
Leslie Iwerks, Academy Award and Emmy Nominated Director
Philip Alberstat, Emmy-Award Winning Producer
Food for Thought – Toronto
As seats are limited, please RSVP to info@jacklayton.ca or call (416)405-8914
Thanks to Arel and John for hipping me to this event.