Fair Vote Canada Organizing Townhall on Robocalls

Oh no, the game's not over. If you thought Michael Sona being sentenced to a turn in prison was all you were ever going to hear about the robocall scandal of 2011, think again! With the 2015 Federal Election in the not-too-distant future, Fair Vote Guelph is understandably concerned about the possible return of Pierre Poutine or a confederate. But what are we to do? Did you say "townhall?" Well, Fair Vote Guelph had the same idea, and there's one taking place later this month.

Here's the press release from Fair Vote Guelph:

Fair Vote Guelph is starting 2015 with a town hall meeting to address the 2011 robo-call scandal. While much has been written about this attack on our electoral system, there has not been an opportunity for average citizens to come together to discuss this event thoroughly

On Sunday January 25th starting at 2 p.m., Fair Vote Guelph and the St. James' Environment and Social Justice Committee are hosting a town hall meeting on robo-calls. The goal will be to review ‘what happened’, to understand how the work of Elections Canada led to the conviction of Michael Sona, and to collect input from voters who received the misleading robo-calls at the time of the 2011 election. We anticipate a lively discussion.

Candidates from the 2011 election are being invited to speak and discuss how they were affected by the robo-call issue. There will also be an opportunity for citizens and experts to speak on this matter as well as a question and answer section from the audience. We will also be speaking about ways to take action to prevent robo-calls from occurring again. This will be done by presenting the merits of updating the electoral system from the current first past the post to a proportional representation system.

There are a lot of voters in Guelph who would like to see the robo-calls issue examined thoroughly", explains John Dennis, who is a member of the committee organizing the meeting. "This town hall will provide an opportunity to hear community members share their concerns and to learn about an alternate electoral system that would discourage robo-calls.

This event is being sponsored by the Guelph Chapter of the Council of Canadians, Guelph Solar, and the Guelph Wellington Coalition for Social Justice.

If you have questions or need further information, please contact Ken MacKay of Fair Vote Guelph at ken.mackay@xplornet.ca

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About Fair Vote Guelph
Fair Vote Canada (FVC) is a grassroots multi-partisan citizens’ campaign for voting system reform. We promote the introduction of an element of proportional representation into elections for all levels of government and throughout civil society.

About St. James' Environment and Social Justice Committee
St. James the Apostle is located at 86 Glasgow Street North. The Environment and Social Justice Team (also known as The Green Team) was formed in response to Bishop Michael Bird and the Diocese of Niagara creating the "Greening of Niagara Committee" and is part of the new arm of ministry that will help us more fully express ourselves as Christians. The group meets the first Tuesday of each month in the church library.