RE: [CCC] Regarding "End Game"Greetings Ken and All. I am pleased to see that several listers have been participating in the current discussion regarding what we can do to bring the Census issue and Bill S-13 to the attention of the public, the media and our parliamentarians. I hope that this discussion will continue. With this posting I hope to respond to several messages that have been posted. Several of the things suggested are looking forward a number of months and seem to be based on the assumption that Bill S-13 will not be passed. That is not necessarily the case. Although those suggestions could be followed up if in fact S-13 does fail to pass, I think that we need to do something more immediate to bring the need for amendments to S-13 to the forefront. Preferably, it needs to be done before, or during the time S-13 is being discussed in the House of Commons. I come back to my suggesting re: picketing/demonstrating before the Parliament Buildings. Ken suggests that such an activity would require many people to keep up this activity for 10 to 20 days. I do not think that it would take that long for a demonstration to attract attention to what we seek. The various political parties hold their Caucus meetings on Wednesday mornings. Following those meetings there are always media scrums at which TV and print media reporters interview the major players from the Caucus meetings. I believe these scrums are normally held at the noon lunch break. If we could see a number of people demonstrate for 3 or 4 hours on a Wednesay to cover the period when the media people are arriving before the scrum, and when they are leaving, that might be sufficient to attract some attention. This could be done on 2 or 3 successive Wednesdays. Of course, the greater the number of participants, the more attention it would attract. Such a demonstration would require someone local to organize it, and someone knowledgeable of the issue and what we seek to act as a spokesperson. The OGS, being the largest genealogical organization in Ontario and having their headquarters in Ottawa, would be the logical ones to take this on. As some of the OGS leaders subscribe to this list it is my hope that they will take on this challenge. OGS members might encourage them to do so. Engaging a professional lobbyist has a couple of drawbacks, not the least of which would be the cost of doing so. We sucessfully, and quickly raised the money for our legal action but there is no certainty that such would be the case to raise the funds to hire a lobbyist. Timing is also a problem here as there is a need to act now, rather than down the road. There are also rules under which professional lobbyists are governed, while we as individuals are not restricted by those rules. Steve White remains a subscriber to the CCC list and as such has access to all the posts. He has also corresponded privately with Muriel and myself. It is believed that he has been passing on information to other media people and that this will at some point result in some media activity. There are a couple of other media types that subscribe to the list and at least one of them has produced a very good article about the Census issue. Patty suggests making this an election issue, and to some extent this idea has merit, although the MPs have many times been made aware that their decision on which way to go on the Census issue could influence the way people vote in an election. This again, however, is a long range thing and the need is for something immediate. Except in a few instances, we have had no indication that the MPs that do not support our efforts are concerned about our support for their re-election. Wayne makes an interesting suggestion about hands across the bridge at Niagra Falls. That is something that would also take some time and organization. I am not so sure, Wayne, about your suggestion regarding a red wig for me. I think I would likely look more like Ronald McDonald than William Lyon MacKenzie <]:-). Let us keep the discussion going. I am sure that there are many others that have ideas on what we can do. Happy Hunting. Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: Hubley, Ken To: Gordon A. Watts Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2003 1:55 PM Subject: RE: [CCC] Regarding "End Game" Gordon: Good day! I've been reading the rhetoric on the list and observed that people are very passionate about this issue. Being new to the pleasures of genealogy I must say I'm not as emotional about Bill S-13 (an unfortunate no.) but do agree that it is not ideal and tries to correct something that was not broken! I certainly agree with you on the subject of civil disobedience. It is not immediately effective in any case and could lead to hardships for many people. Awhile back I e-mailed you suggesting a media blitz. I was hearten to see Steve ??, the media type join the list but have not seen any action. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he has but has not revealed his actions to the list. Has he done anything or is he just blowing smoke! I like your idea of demonstrations on the hill in front of Parliament but how much sustained exposure will this give us. Would people be willing to demostrate for 10 or 20 days straight? I think not! My thought on a way forward involves engaging the services of a professional lobbyist who can keep our collective position on this Bill in the face of our elected officials on a continuous sustained basis. Any comment? Do you know any professional lobbyist that is sympathetic and passionate about our cause? Can we find out what such a service might cost? I for one would be willing to donate $100 to the cause. If we could get say an average of $50 from the 500+ listers = $25,000 would this be enough? I offer this option because time is of the essence and I can't believe we can acted quickly enough with 1) civil disobedience, 2) demonstrations or 3) launching a legal challenge. Please feel free to share this idea with anyone you wish. Have a great Victoria day tomorrow! Yours in genealogy, Ken

Gordon The OGS (The Ontario Genealogical Society) headquarters is not in Ottawa but in Toronto. But they do have an Ottawa Branch. And their yearly Seminar is being held this coming weekend in Cornwall, Ontario. WANDA SINCLAIR Rexdale, Ontario ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gordon A. Watts" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 1:39 PM Subject: Re: [CCC] Regarding "End Game" > RE: [CCC] Regarding "End Game"Greetings Ken and All. > > I am pleased to see that several listers have been participating in the current discussion regarding what we can do to bring the Census issue and Bill S-13 to the attention of the public, the media and our parliamentarians. I hope that this discussion will continue. With this posting I hope to respond to several messages that have been posted. > > Several of the things suggested are looking forward a number of months and seem to be based on the assumption that Bill S-13 will not be passed. That is not necessarily the case. Although those suggestions could be followed up if in fact S-13 does fail to pass, I think that we need to do something more immediate to bring the need for amendments to S-13 to the forefront. Preferably, it needs to be done before, or during the time S-13 is being discussed in the House of Commons. I come back to my suggesting re: picketing/demonstrating before the Parliament Buildings. > > Ken suggests that such an activity would require many people to keep up this activity for 10 to 20 days. I do not think that it would take that long for a demonstration to attract attention to what we seek. > > The various political parties hold their Caucus meetings on Wednesday mornings. Following those meetings there are always media scrums at which TV and print media reporters interview the major players from the Caucus meetings. I believe these scrums are normally held at the noon lunch break. If we could see a number of people demonstrate for 3 or 4 hours on a Wednesay to cover the period when the media people are arriving before the scrum, and when they are leaving, that might be sufficient to attract some attention. This could be done on 2 or 3 successive Wednesdays. Of course, the greater the number of participants, the more attention it would attract. > > Such a demonstration would require someone local to organize it, and someone knowledgeable of the issue and what we seek to act as a spokesperson. The OGS, being the largest genealogical organization in Ontario and having their headquarters in Ottawa, would be the logical ones to take this on. As some of the OGS leaders subscribe to this list it is my hope that they will take on this challenge. OGS members might encourage them to do so. > > Engaging a professional lobbyist has a couple of drawbacks, not the least of which would be the cost of doing so. We sucessfully, and quickly raised the money for our legal action but there is no certainty that such would be the case to raise the funds to hire a lobbyist. Timing is also a problem here as there is a need to act now, rather than down the road. There are also rules under which professional lobbyists are governed, while we as individuals are not restricted by those rules. > > Steve White remains a subscriber to the CCC list and as such has access to all the posts. He has also corresponded privately with Muriel and myself. It is believed that he has been passing on information to other media people and that this will at some point result in some media activity. There are a couple of other media types that subscribe to the list and at least one of them has produced a very good article about the Census issue. > > Patty suggests making this an election issue, and to some extent this idea has merit, although the MPs have many times been made aware that their decision on which way to go on the Census issue could influence the way people vote in an election. This again, however, is a long range thing and the need is for something immediate. Except in a few instances, we have had no indication that the MPs that do not support our efforts are concerned about our support for their re-election. > > Wayne makes an interesting suggestion about hands across the bridge at Niagra Falls. That is something that would also take some time and organization. I am not so sure, Wayne, about your suggestion regarding a red wig for me. I think I would likely look more like Ronald McDonald than William Lyon MacKenzie <]:-). > > Let us keep the discussion going. I am sure that there are many others that have ideas on what we can do. > > Happy Hunting. > > Gordon

I am surprised that some organization has not taken on the designing and selling of buttons to promote/ advertise the census issue. They could be sold at genealogical conferences and the like and the money could be used to support the campaign. Ever noticed the discussions that can be generated by wearing a button promoting some cause...? Surely this would help get the word out Patty ----- Original Message ----- > RE: [CCC] Regarding "End Game"Greetings Ken and All. > > I am pleased to see that several listers have been participating in the current discussion regarding what we can do to bring the Census issue and Bill S-13 to the attention of the public, the media and our parliamentarians. I hope that this discussion will continue.

"Gordon A. Watts" wrote: > RE: [CCC] Regarding "End Game"Greetings Ken and All. > > I am pleased to see that several listers have been participating in the current discussion regarding what we can do to bring the Census issue and Bill S-13 to the attention of the public, the media and our parliamentarians. I hope that this discussion will continue. With this posting I hope to respond to several messages that have been posted. > > Several of the things suggested are looking forward a number of months and seem to be based on the assumption that Bill S-13 will not be passed. That is not necessarily the case. Although those suggestions could be followed up if in fact S-13 does fail to pass, I think that we need to do something more immediate to bring the need for amendments to S-13 to the forefront. Preferably, it needs to be done before, or during the time S-13 is being discussed in the House of Commons. I come back to my suggesting re: picketing/demonstrating before the Parliament Buildings. > > Ken suggests that such an activity would require many people to keep up this activity for 10 to 20 days. I do not think that it would take that long for a demonstration to attract attention to what we seek. Hi Everyone I would like to suggest that 10 to 20 days would be too long a session and most politicians would just say "Oh them again" and dismiss our actions. Back in 1990 I was on a bus from Summerside (5 busses went) to Ottawa to protest the closing of CFB Summerside. I had never protested anything in my life but felt very strongly about the closure and what it would do to our then "Town of Summerside". We arrived on "the hill" and there were speeches made but the most moving and solid feeling came when the Main Leader said "We will now have a 2 minute silence for the death of our Town". It was fantastic, over 2,000 people (many were Union reps for the various Base civilian personnel) standing with heads bowed and not a word spoken. I still get goose bumps remembering it. We didn't stop the closure but we did gain the base property with all its buildings intact and it is a fast pased Aerospace facility at the present time. They repair and overhaul turbine engines, manufacture airplane modules, build and repair wire harnesses, repair and overhaul various small engine parts. We did not stop the closure but we gained more and today we are a CITY and I believe it was because we protested with silence and dignity. Something to think about. Mom always told me "you can get more with Honey than you can with Vinegar". Just my two cents for the morning Cheers Rita in Summerside, PEI