23 March 2009

Electoral Reform and BC-STV are on the Move

The electoral reform movement is building and there's excitement in the air! Witness the following exciting news from Fair Vote Canada.

24 Days to Victory: register now for the April 18 AGM in Vancouver
The first Fair Vote Canada AGM to be held in British Columbia takes place on Saturday, April 18, at the Segal Business School in downtown Vancouver. The AGM theme is “24 Days to Victory”, indicating the countdown to the critically important BC-STV referendum on May 12.

Our eighth annual meeting will feature a great line-up of speakers, including Rafe Mair, Rick Anderson, Judy Rebick, Jim Harris, as well as BC-STV campaign leaders.

See the full agenda and online registration form at www.fairvotecanada.eventbrite.com. We hope to see all of our British Columbia members and many others at this important event to support the BC-STV campaign.

BC-STV campaign rolling ahead: please donate and volunteer
The BC-STV campaign is now in high-gear. Regional organizers and committees are in place, additional campaign staff are being hired, materials are being prepared and distributed. If you are in BC or elsewhere, please visit www.stv.ca. If you can volunteer, please sign up now. Wherever you live: please donate to help win this nationally significant referendum.

Facebook enthusiasts can check out a number of related Facebook groups: Yes for BC-STV (the main campaign group), Friends of BC-STV (set up for supporters outside of BC), New Democrats for BC-STV, plus other regional BC-STV groups throughout BC.

BC-STV cross-country house parties
Kenn Fisher, who serves on the executive of the Toronto Chapter wants electoral reformers in all parts of the country to organize BC-STV house parties on a designated day to show our support and help raise money for the BC campaign. Stay tuned for more details or contact Kenn at kenneth.fisher@utoronto.ca.

Allan Blakeney, Nancy Ruth, Stephen Owen join FVC Advisory Board
The FVC National Council is pleased to announce the appointment of three more people to the FVC National Advisory Board: Allan Blakeney, former NDP premier of Saskatchewan and past president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association; Senator Nancy Ruth of the Conservative Party, and founder of the Canadian Women’s Foundation; and Stephen Owen, former Liberal MP and cabinet minister, and currently the Vice President for External, Legal and Community Relations, University of British Columbia.

The National Advisory Board now has a total of 37 distinguished Canadians who support the fair voting movement.

New chapters formed in three provinces
The fair voting movement continues to spread across the country. The FVC National Council has recently welcomed three new chapters: Fair Vote Canada, Saskatchewan Chapter; Fair Vote Canada, New Brunswick Chapter; and Fair Vote Canada, Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chapter.

Sell-out crowd at Toronto electoral reform forum
Fair Vote Ontario organizers were delighted by the great response to their January 21 forum in Toronto: “Moving Forward on Electoral Reform”. The forum organizers had to cut off registration several days in advance because the demand was exceeding the size of the 175 seat conference room.

For those who did attend, the event was very informative, interesting and motivating. Among the many highlights was the final panel addressing “How I would put electoral reform back on the national agenda”. Journalist Andrew Coyne, Greenpeace executive director Bruce Cox, and former Green Party leader Jim Harris provided a rousing end to a great day.

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