This isn’t a hypothetical question. If passed, online spying bill C-30 will have you paying for a range of authorities to invasively access your private online information, at any time, without a warrant. The warrantless online spying plan is invasive and poorly thought-out, and one expert is saying it could cost billions of dollars (see link for all references below).

Toews has already set aside millions of your tax dollars just to get the online spying plan started, and just last week he told media that the government is still “intent on proceeding” with the wildly unpopular bill.

We know from experience that MPs get the message when contacted by local constituents, and there’s only a small window of opportunity to stop this scheme.

To join the 140,360 Canadians who have stood up and spoken out already, sign the form here.

Please pass this on to everyone you know and almost-know, too!

Alberta Premier, Alison Redford, leads the Canadian cast, which also includes: Mark J. Carney (Governor, Bank of Canada); Nigel S. Wright (Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister); W. Edmund Clark (Group President and CEO, TD Bank Group); Frank McKenna (Deputy Chair, TD Bank Group); J. Robert S. Prichard (Chair, Torys LLP); and Heather M. Reisman (CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.)

Alberta Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith isn’t too thrilled about Premier Redford attendance the elite shindig. There’s a bit of the same sore loser diatribe in Smith’s criticism. And yet, she scores a few impressive points. First, the $19,000 bill.  Second, according to the Calgary Herald, “… the meeting is closed to media, will pass no resolutions and Redford won’t be able to say what happened or what she accomplished.”

In Smith’s own words:

“That’s $19,000 on the taxpayer dime for a committee that meets in secret, has no policies, no resolutions, nobody is allowed — it’s invite only. What is Alberta getting out of this?”

A quick analysis of the final list below groups the participants as follows: one-third of from government and politics and two-thirds from finance, industry, communications, labor and education. And, two-thirds come from Europe.

Final List of Participants:

Chairman

Post originally published on Canadian Progressive World

Thank you; you are a little late to the party, and you are still missing the mark a lot of the time, but in the past few days, you have published some not entirely terrible articles and op-eds about what’s happening in Quebec right now. Welcome to our movement.

Some of you have even started mentioning that when people are rounded up and arrested each night, they aren’t all criminals or rioters. Some of you have admitted that perhaps limiting our freedom of speech and assembly is going a little bit too far. Some of you are no longer publishing lies about the popular support that you seemed to think our government had. Not all of you, mind you, but some of you are waking up.

That said, here is what I have not seen you publish yet: stories about joy; about togetherness; about collaboration; about solidarity. You write about our anger, and yes, we are angry. We are angry at our government, at our police and at you. But none of you are succeeding in conveying what it feels like when you walk down the streets of Montreal right now, which is, for me at least, an overwhelming sense of joy and togetherness.

News coverage of Quebec almost always focuses on division: English vs. French; Quebec-born vs. immigrant; etc. This is the narrative that has shaped how people see us as a province, whether or not it is fair. But this is not what I feel right now when I walk down the street. At 8pm, I rush out of the house with a saucepan and a ladle, and as I walk to meet my fellow protesters, I hear people emerge from their balconies and the music starts. If you do not live here, I wish I could properly convey to you what it feels like; the above video is a start. It is magic. It starts quietly, a suggestion here and there, and it builds. Everybody on the street begins to smile. I get there, and we all—young and old, children and students and couples and retirees and workers and weird misfits and dogs and, well, neighbours—we all grin the widest grins you have ever seen while dancing around and making as much noise as possible. We are almost ecstatic with the joy of letting loose like this, of voicing our resistance to a government that seeks to silence us, and of being together like this.

I have lived in my neighbourhood for five years now, and this is the most I have ever felt a part of the community; the lasting impact that these protests will have on how people relate to each other in the city is deep and incredible. I was born and raised in Montreal, and I have always loved this city, I have always told people that it is the best city in the world, but I have truly never loved it as much as I do right now.

The first night that I went to a casseroles (pots and pans) demonstration, at the centre of the action—little children ecstatically blowing whistles, a young couple handing out extra pots and pans to passers-by, a yoga teacher who paused his class to have everyone join—I saw a bemused couple, banging away, but seemingly confused about something. When we finished, they asked me, “how did you find us?” I replied that I had checked the map that had been posted online of rendez-vous spots, and theirs was the nearest to my house. “Last night we were all alone,” they told me. They had no idea it had been advertized online. This is what our revolution looks like: someone had clearly ridden around our neighbourhood, figured out where people were protesting, and marked them for the rest of us. This is a revolution of collaboration. Of solidarity.

The next night the crowd had doubled. Tonight we will be even more.

I come home from these protests euphoric. The first night I returned, I sat down on my couch and I burst into tears, as the act of resisting, loudly, with my neighbours, so joyfully, had released so much tension that I had been carrying around with me, fearing our government, fearing arrest, fearing for the future. I felt lighter. Every night, I exchange stories with friends online and find out what happened in their neighbourhoods. These are the kinds of things we say to each other: “if I loved my city any more right now, my heart would burst.” We use the word “love” a whole lot. We feel empowered. We feel connected. We feel like we are going to win.

Why don’t you write about this? This incredible feeling? Another example I can give you is this very blog. Myself and a few friends began it as a way of disseminating information in English about what was happening here in Quebec, and within hours, literally hours, volunteers were writing me offering to help. Every day, people submit translations to me anonymously; I have no idea who they are, they just want to do something. They come from everywhere. They translate what they think is important to get out there into the world. People email me corrections, too. They email me advice. They email me encouragement. This blog runs on solidarity and utter human kindness.

This is what Quebec looks like right now. Every night is teargas and riot cops, but it is also joy, laughter, kindness, togetherness, and beautiful music. Our hearts are bursting. We are so proud of each other; of the spirit of Quebec and its people; of our ability to resist, and our ability to collaborate.

Why aren’t you writing about this? Does joy not sell as well as violence? Does collaboration not sell as well as confrontation? You can have your cynicism; our revolution is sincere.

Sincerely,

The Administrator of Translating the printemps érable.

And right now, Canada is not what democracy looks like.

Everyone is invited, everyone is welcome!  Invite your friends, family, co-workers! For more information see our website:  http://www.occuconference.org .  More details will be up on the website soon, including programs and information regarding accommodations.  Printable posters and handbills can be downloaded here: TBDpostercolor1.jpg
TBDposterbw1.jpg  TBDhandbillsfrontbw1.jpg .  Please distribute and post these wherever and to whatever extent you can.

Update: We have a rough website up here: tbd.occupiedottawa.org. The information that is there is accurate, but please understand that site is very much under construction still.

Livesey also has extensive experience working in television. He spent six years as an associate producer at CBC TV’s the fifth estate and then as a producer working for the investigative unit of The National, the fifth estate and CBC News Sunday. He has also worked outside Canada for a co-production of PBS’s Frontline and the New York Times and directed documentaries for Al Jazeera English, Discovery Channel and Al Gore’s Current TV.

Livesey is a co-winner of a Dupont Award, one of the most prestigious U.S. television awards, a Canadian Association of Journalism (CAJ) award, and has been nominated for two Geminis and three National Magazine Awards, winning in 2008. He lives in Toronto with his wife. Thieves of Bay Street is his first book.

Livesey also writes a blog on economics for the Progressive Economics Forum.

• When: Wednesday, May 16 at 7pm
• Where: Confederation Park @ The Fountain

Everyone is Welcome!

General Assemblies consist of:

• Committee announcements
• Committee proposals
• Individual announcements
• and Individual proposals

You’re all welcome to join us and join in the democratic conversation on the issues of our time.

• When: Sunday, May 13 at 1pm
• Where: Confederation Park @ The Fountain

Everyone is Welcome!

General Assemblies consist of:

• Committee announcements
• Committee proposals
• Individual announcements
• and Individual proposals

In particular we are preparing for the May 12 park squat, and anyone who wants to be involved is invited to come to a GA and connect with the ReOccupy committee which is organizing the May 12 event.

• When: Sunday, May 6 at 7pm
• Where: Confederation Park @ The Fountain

Everyone is Welcome!

General Assemblies consist of:

• Committee announcements
• Committee proposals
• Individual announcements
• and Individual proposals

In particular we are preparing for the May 12 park squat, and anyone who wants to be involved is invited to come to a GA and connect with the ReOccupy committee which is organizing the May 12 event.

The Harper Conservatives are fond of touting Canadian banks as more stable than other countries’ big banks. They claim all the credit for Canada’s stability during the 2008-10 global financial crisis. And, we’re often told that our banks needed no bailout during the crisis. What a big Whopper! Canada’s big banks actually received $114 billion in support from the federal government and the Bank of Canada during the crisis, according to a report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).

In this press release, the left leaning think tank tells us:

The study reveals that Canada’s banks received $114 billion in cash and loan support from both the U.S. and Canadian governments during the 2008-2010 financial crisis. The study estimates that at some point during the crisis, three of Canada’s banks—CIBC, BMO, and Scotiabank—were completely under water, with government support exceeding the market value of the bank. Due to government secrecy, the study raises more questions than it answers.

The study: The Big Banks’ Big Secret: Estimating Government Support for Canadian Banks During the Financial Crisis.

Article source: Canadian Progressive World (http://s.tt/1axPi)