Etopia News Interview

http://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_pahlka_coding_a_better_government.html

CRTC Empire strikes back: UBB Redux (by Online Party of Canada)

Join our Online Press Conference: Sat Jan 7th, 11AM EST | www.onlineparty.ca

The DASH Show episode ‘Digital Economy’: www.thedashshow.com/show08.html

TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2012 /CNW/ – A year ago, Canadian RadioTV and Telecomm Commission (#CRTC) caused a nationwide uproar trying to impose Internet Usage-Based Billing (#UBB) culminating with demagogic and improper Government intervention that put the decision on hold. CRTC stepped back while the public and Government celebrated, but quietly introduced UBB Redux, a less outrageous decision, successfully stemming opposition while advancing the agenda of the Telecomm Empire, Bell and Rogers.

OPC is calling for a public inquiry into the activity and staffing of CRTC stating that:

(1) Under their policies Canada ranks embarrassingly low in terms of quality and outrageously high in terms of prices of Internet, phone and television services compared to many third-world countries.

(2) CRTC staff (many former Bell or Rogers employees) are enmeshed with the large telecom corporations and industry lobby groups hence their decisions protect the market share and profitability of the Telecomm giants.

(3) The relaxed regulations have allowed telecomm companies to grow into dangerously big and diversified (Internet, television, radio, printed) media behemoths. The end result is that lately they make or break political campaigns at will as we’ve seen during last year’s elections.

Michael Nicula, the party’s founder: “Since the current political establishment is not helping and major media is owned by the telecomm giants, OPC is calling on Canadians to take political action via Internet by commenting, voting and sharing the many telecomm-related issues on our website – the only way of fighting the system effectively”.

Online Party of Canada – OPC, www.onlineparty.ca, @onlinepartyca – is a new federal political party pending registration, offering a modern, direct-democracy political alternative. We promote continuous ‘referendum-like’ online voting based on issues, not parties, platforms or individuals. Our elected officials are legally bound to act based on the majority vote on every issue – the first and only political party that enforces accountability.

The Dash Show – www.thedashshow.com – our new political talk show; 11 insightful, informative, fun episodes released so far.

For further information:

Media Relations: mnicula@onlineparty.ca | Phone: 416 567 6913

THUNDER BAY – There is a new political party in Canada – The Online Party of Canada. The party offers Canadians yet another choice from the traditional parties. The party, which has not achieved official status as yet has set some lofty goals. The Online Party seeks “To become the backbone of a truly democratic system where everyone who has the right to vote can freely express their opinion in an open forum in regards to any issue, vote and have their vote counted equally to any other voter, in a real-time and verifiable manner”.

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TORONTO, Jan. 28 /CNW/ – A well-known fact, not even the politicians dispute it: most Canadians are turned off by politics, distrust politicians and government. Politicians work on their own agendas, making political deals, largely ignoring that the voters want them to do, until the next elections. The promises made during the campaigns are widely accepted as lies, yet, we re-elect people we don’t trust. There’s absolutely no mechanism in place to hold them accountable – well, they also make the rules..

The current political system is set in such way that the incumbents have a huge, unfair advantage at the polls due to name recognition and years of using their position to secure more funding. Given the high rate of incumbency, sweeping changes are next to impossible, and the newcomers to the political scene are perceived to become ‘tainted’ quickly as they often forget what they promised during the campaign and join the political games in preparation for next elections.

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TORONTO, Jan. 26 /CNW/ – The big political parties have started their covert election campaigns as usual. Canadians will soon be proposed another round of elections with a predictable outcome, within few percentage points, but this time there is a viable alternative to the old-fashioned “left against right” or “red against blue” quarrel.

Online Party of Canada (OPC, www.onlineparty.ca) offers a radically different alternative: Real democracy based on the direct input from the voters via an internet-based voting system where voters can express their opinions and vote continuously, not only once every 4 years. The system comes with a totally new and refreshingly simple concept of ‘Accountability’, legally enforced, whereby a candidate is bound to act in accordance with the majority vote. This is a unique proposition; no other political party in Canada can offer something even close in respect to the basic democratic principles. Canada is one of the first countries where the political system is ready to embrace technology as a backbone of a modern and democratic government.

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TORONTO, Jan. 25 /CNW/ – A recent survey published by Elections Canada entitled, “Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections” analyzed the reasons given by non-voters in the 2000 Federal election for not going to the polls. Those reasons included a lack of interest in the election, negative attitudes toward politics, and personal/administrative factors. Young non-voters were more likely to cite a lack of interest and personal/administrative reasons for not voting.

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TORONTO, Jan. 24 /CNW/ – Online Party of Canada (www.onlineparty.ca, OPC) is gearing up for a very eventful year in Canadian Politics. The deep economic crisis, prolonged war in Afghanistan, continuing exports of jobs overseas and mounting national and household debts will bring more hardship to most Canadian families. What adds insult to injury is the brick wall between the Canadian voters and their representatives; the government acts in spite of what Canadians want, in regards to many major issues.

OPC is poised to grow rapidly and become a major political force. The specialists have concluded a long time ago that the Internet is safe and capable to provide the foundation of a new political system where the votes are counted in real-time and a verifiable manner. Also, the Internet offers the perfect forum for leadership, voter information and political debate, removing the spin, deceit and demagogy from the dialogue. The political parties are springing into action to prepare for early elections this year, but all they have to offer is another round of empty promises.

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As part of our effort to track new political trends and movements, Libertas Post recently interviewed Michael Nicula, founder of the Online Party of Canada. As its name implies, the OPC is an exclusively Internet-based organization at present.

Nicula’s unique vision mixes high-tech tools with electoral populism. Essentially, party members get to create the party’s platform. Whether this leads to meaningful change or mob rules, we’ll leave to your judgment.

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TORONTO, Nov. 10 /CNW/ – The members of the press are invited to join us this Saturday, November 13th, at Room 222 – Drake Hotel in Toronto, around brunch time (11:00 AM) to discuss the arrival of online voting, what it means to the immediate future of Canadian politics. Important announcements will be made – don’t miss a historical moment in Canadian politics!

Would online voting make our system more democratic? Reading the comments in the press over the last month about the newly created Online Party of Canada (OPC) shows that the general opinion is cautiously optimistic; most commentators think this is a good idea, the next logical step, while others see the pitfalls of Democracy 2.0. The common aspect is that everyone has something to say! OPC has managed to put together a credible alternative to the old-fashioned politics by combining the simple idea of providing Canadians an online tool for political debate and voting, with a state-of-the-art, secure website (www.onlineparty.ca)

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