[JMP]

Hello, I'd like to put out a call for any Pirate Party of Canada members living in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario area.

I'm interested in creating a meet-up over the coming months and I want to aggregate and involve existing members so we know from what basis we are growing.

Kitchener-Waterloo has some unique opportunities for the Pirate Party of Canada to gain ground due to its heavy technological leaning contained within a small demographic (Research In Motion headquarters, Google's Canadian headquarters, many other technological companies in a municipality of approximately half a million people). As it stands, our demographic contains many educated and influential citizens who by nature of their careers might be well-suited for PPoC membership.

Due to our region's tech makeup, think we have a fair shot at building local membership quickly, with a view to getting a PPoC candidate elected at least to City Council by the time the next municipal election is held. The current municipal election is this month so that would give us four years from now to establish ourselves within the community.

I'd also like to discuss extrapolating the PPoC's core ideologies--which I believe are openness as a measure for honesty and against corruptibility, and the embrace of technology, free time, and shared strengths to achieve real civic good--as they might apply to issues at the municipal level. I think that once we've collectively established our ideologies we need to start actively applying them politically as soon as possible. Civic participation backed by our ideology will give us some sorely-needed legitimacy and awareness.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

[Mikkel Paulson]

Kitchener—Waterloo is currently our #1 (or possibly #2) riding for membership.

As a federal political party, we cannot run candidates in municipal or provincial elections. As far as I know, there are no municipalities in Canada which use a party system.

Since most of our core values (copyright, privacy, patent) are under federal jurisdiction, we would have no reason to get involved in municipal politics even if we could.

As the last federal election in Kitchener—Waterloo was the closest in the country, we aren't planning to run a candidate in the riding.

Don't let me dissuade you from getting local events going, though. The more members we have the better, and promotions work is always welcome. I know that there are currently a few active members living in or near the riding.

[Sean Hunt]

A meetup is an excellent idea. Myself and corey will hopefully be putting some effort in later this term to establish a club at the University of Waterloo; it could (but need not) be the local hub of operations.

I do not think we want to get involved in local politics because it is not partisan, and I have no desire to see it become partisan. The fact that every councilor stands alone at the municipal level is something to value and nurture.

[Mikkel Paulson]

… and hopefully something to take as an example in provincial and federal politics as well.

[Nuitari]

Most big cities in Quebec Province have parties

[Mikkel Paulson]

Interesting, good to know.

[GregW]

I just moved to Kitchener a couple weeks ago, would have chimed in a lot sooner if the Bell techs weren't so slow at setting up my connection.  Anyways, I'd definitely like to meet with some of you.  Getting together in the real world would be great since keeping up with people online is not a great skill of mine.

Ans just for clarity... A close election means we shouldn't have anyone on the ballot?  Or just that we shouldn't expect anyone to be stepping up?

[Sean Hunt]

It means it's not a good target riding, because the major parties will be focusing on this area and this riding in particular.

[GregW]

Ah, ok. Fair enough, I wasn't really thinking about that.  So it's more a matter of where the parties will be flexing their muscles and staying out of any big showdowns.

[Mikkel Paulson]

Well, showdowns can also be nice for the attention they bring. We just have to pick our fights.