Is Canada s Government Keeping a File on You? Find Out with this Tool!

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 14:00

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You Have Information Rights

Dear PAOV,

Recent disclosures of spying against Canadian community organizations have sparked concern that involved citizens across the country have been spied on by CSIS and the RCMP.

At the BCCLA, we believe these actions are illegal and unconstitutional, so we've taken action .

But there is something that you can do for yourself. You have the right to access information about you that is being held by government bodies.

The Access to Information Act allows individuals and groups to access information held by federal government bodies, but preparing an Access to Information (ATI) request and the follow-up process can be confusing.

We're here to help.

With the help of Mike Larsen, who has literally written the book on Access to Information requests, we've prepared an online resource to walk you through the ATI process.

Click here to see the tool.

This guide was created to simplify the process and help people get useful and informative results from their ATI requests.

If you want to know what information Canada's government is keeping on you, find out! We hope you'll find this tool helpful. If you have any questions, reach us on twitter! Mike Larson will join us next Wednesday, April 30 from 12:00 - 1:00pm at #ATIP.

Read more: Is Canada s Government Keeping a File on You? Find Out with this Tool!

Massive internal divisions

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 14:00

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Stephen Harper is about to sign off on the world's biggest corporate power grab, the TPP.
But the talks are in trouble.

Can you tell Stephen Harper and his minister to stand up for Canadian democracy and to reject the TPP?

What do Google, Pfizer and Honda have it common? Uncovered lobbying documents show that they're pressuring the Harper government to sign off on the world's biggest corporate power grab, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

These corporations are trying to convince Harper the deal is a good deal for Canadians -- but what do they gain? The ability to sue the Canadian government for future laws around making more affordable generic drugs, internet freedoms, and emissions rules.

Harper is refusing to make the deal public, so while we're in the dark, 600 corporate lobbyists from companies like Google, Pfizer and Honda have the inside scoop. Leaks so far indicate this deal is bad news. That’s why Harper wants it to stay confidential -- if people actually knew what was in this secretive deal, they’d never agree to it.

Can you tell Stephen Harper to reject the TPP now and protect our democratic rights?

Experts say the TPP negotiations are being conducted with a level of secrecy never witnessed before in any previous trade agreement. The 29-chapter megapact covers everything from restricting internet freedoms to weakening environmental protections and making it illegal for farmers to save seeds. But that’s not the worst of it. One of the key parts of the deal is a system that will allow the world’s biggest companies -- like Google, Pfizer and Honda -- to overturn our democratically decided laws in secret and unaccountable courts.

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For the love of seltzer

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 14:00

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Campaign Update

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Have you seen? Earth Day Cuts Ties with SodaStream.

Have you heard? The best resource to Burst the Bubble on SodaStream arrives in your inbox.

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This may be a bit immodest, but I think the Seattle chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace may have just launched the single best new resource for understanding the role SodaStream plays in Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land.

Find out if you agree.

Go to their interactive BurstTheBubble.org website and watch the videos. Then, please, click on the Facebook and Twitter share buttons on the lower left side of your screen to spread the word.

Read more: For the love of seltzer

Can you join us at this crucial moment

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 14:00

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This just in from Tokyo1:

Leaders from Japan and the U.S. have released a statement showing they fully intend to implement an Internet censorship plan that could kick whole families off the Internet.2

They’re watching our Stop The Secrecy campaign closely and we’ve only held them off because over 2.8 million people have joined the fight against secrecy and binding Internet censorship.

Can you join us at this crucial moment when decision-makers are monitoring our momentum? This could be our last chance to show them our numbers.

Get this -- reddit, one of the most popular social networking websites, has officially joined this historic campaign. We can win this.

Every single person that joins now ensures our hard-hitting...

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My sisters rights were taken away

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 14:00

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There's a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it:

Tell the Ontario Government, Human Rights Should Never Be Disabled.

By Franke James Toronto Sign Franke and Teresa's Petition

With the stroke of a pen, my disabled sister's human right to decide where she lives was wrongly taken away.

In a heart-breaking move, Teresa who has Down syndrome, was forced against her will into an old-age nursing home, by the Toronto Central CCAC (Community Care Access Centre) and two of my siblings. Four days later, she was rescued by my 91-year old father who was "adamant" he did not want his daughter living in a nursing home. But then the nursing home called the police, in a shockingly callous and bizarre effort to force her back.

Teresa is demanding an apology from these two institutions, the CCAC and the Rekai Centre. This is a sorry mess. Her records show that the crisis list was manipulated to get Teresa to the very top, and placed in the nursing home. Her profile contained false information which made her appear to need 24/7 care. See the presentation I made with Teresa, to the Ontario Government's Select Committee:

Teresa’s story: Crisis, Capacity and Courage
http://teresapocock.com/capacity-and-courage/

Read more: My sisters rights were taken away

Pepsi

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 13:40

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The rainforest is being bulldozed for palm oil.

PepsiCo could help stop it right now -- and the pressure on it just got a lot more intense.

Demand PepsiCo adopt a responsible palm oil policy.

We can win big for the rainforest. And we can win quickly.

The biggest threat to the rainforest right now: palm oil plantations are clear-cutting the rainforest so they can expand. And the world’s largest global snack food company could help end that with one piece of paper.

PepsiCo buys staggering amounts of conflict palm oil every week. Unlike other companies (like Kellogg’s and Mars), it's okay with buying oil that comes from rainforest destruction. If PepsiCo committed to buying responsible palm oil, it could help reshape the entire global supply chain for the better.

The timing is perfect. Major companies like Kellogg’s have just adopted new palm oil commitments. And a hot new TV show just shined the media spotlight squarely on PepsiCo.

Tell PepsiCo: Commit to buying responsible, rainforest-healthy palm oil.

We all have a stake in stopping the destruction of the rainforest. Deforestation in Southeast Asia has made Indonesia the third largest carbon emitter on the planet. The orangutan, the Sumatran tiger, and countless other endangered species are being pushed the brink of extinction. Meanwhile, the remaining forests of Indonesia are storing as much carbon dioxide as the entire earth emits in a year, meaning that allowing the destruction to continue could detonate a carbon bomb.

Read more: Pepsi

Urgent: It's happening now behind our back

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 13:40

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President Obama is holding secret meetings in Asia to ram through the TPP’s Internet censorship plan, which would force ISPs to monitor our Internet use, censor content, and remove entire websites. To fight back we need your help to project an attention-grabbing message on key buildings in Washington D.C. Tell decision-makers to stop the secretive TPP now so we can deliver the message before it’s too late.

This is urgent. An Internet censorship plan is being finalized in secret meetings right now. We need all hands on deck at this crucial moment. Click HERE to learn more and speak up.

Here’s the situation: Obama himself is in secretive meetings with key political figures and lobbyists in Asia to lock the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s Internet censorship plan into place.

We know from leaked documents that it will strip away your most basic privacy rights, exposing you and your family’s most sensitive private information.1 The TPP would even force ISPs to act as “Internet Police”, monitoring your Internet use, censoring content, and removing whole websites.2

It will give media conglomerates centralized control over what you can watch and share online.

We urgently need your help to fight back. Add your voice right now and we’ll project a Stop the Secrecy message on key buildings in Washington D.C. to ensure Obama, the media, and everyone else knows this censorship plan must be stopped.

This is huge: covering 40% of the global economy, the TPP is being called a legal “blueprint” for the rest of the world.[3] Once key leaders finalize TPP Internet censorship plans today it will be used to globalize censorship across the world. You will be affected and this may be our only chance to stop it.

Our attention-grabbing message will shine a light on their secret plan and will make clear to Washington lobbyists that the Internet community will never accept the TPP’s secrecy or censorship. The more who speak out, the larger our projection will become, and the more people we can reach.

Read more: Urgent: It's happening now behind our back

Help make Fair Elections Act actually fair

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 13:40

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This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=http%3A//democracywatch.ca"> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=http%3A//www.facebook.com/DemocracyWatch"> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=https%3A//twitter.com/democracywatchr">

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The federal Conservatives have proposed a new “Fair Elections Act” (Bill C-23). The problem is the bill will make federal elections more unfair in 5 key ways, and the bill also fails to correct 5 key unfair flaws in our current federal elections system.

Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=http%3A//democracywatch.ca/campaigns/makefairelectionsactfair/">click here to send your letter now, and also This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=http%3A//www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/prime-minister-harper-make-the-fair-elections-act-actually-fair">click here to sign the petition, calling on federal politicians to Make the Fair Elections Act Actually Fair!

And please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.&u=http%3A//democracywatch.ca/donate">click here to help keep this campaign going until federal elections are fair in every way.

Dear friend,

The so-called “Fair Elections Act” will actually make federal elections more unfair by:

Read more: Help make Fair Elections Act actually fair

This week @ rabble.ca: Celebrating 13 years of independent media!

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 13:20

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17 Apr 2014

Hey rabble readers!

Happy 13th birthday to us! Imagine: 13 years ago on the Internet, rabble was founded, to provide a counterbalance to the mainstream media and to tell the stories of Canadian social movements. Today, we need a progressive, independent media more than ever -- to gather together the voices, stories and analysis of Canadian social movements, and counter right-wing reframing of Canada. Can you donate $13 in honour of our birthday to keep rabble going? If a tiny fraction of our readers send us such a gift, it will be a great birthday indeed. Thank you for your part in rabble's history!

It was Equal Pay Day on April 16, a day to recognize the unfairness of women's wages and the need for equal pay. When pay...

Read more: This week @ rabble.ca: Celebrating 13 years of independent media!

Another Week of Global Warming News, April 13, 2014

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 13:20

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Model ensemble predictions showing a coming El Nino Models are converging on a prediction of a large El Nino for 2014-2015.

This weekly posting is brought to you courtesy of H. E. Taylor. Happy reading, I hope you enjoy this week’s Global Warming news roundup

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Confronting a New Age of Consequences

April 13, 2014

• Chuckles, COP20+, COP15, WG3 Report, WG3 Comments, WG3 Leaks, WG2
• Carbon Limit, Statistics, Energiewende Bottom Line, Subsidies, World Bank, Cook
• Fukushima: Note, News, Policies
• Melting Arctic, Polar Bears, Methane, Geopolitics, Antarctica
• Food: Crisis, Fisheries, Prices, GMOs, GMO Labelling, Production
• Hurricanes, Notable Weather, GHGs, Carbon Cycle, Aerosols, Sensitivity
• Ozone, ENSO, Temperatures, Satellites, Paleoclimate, Uncertainties
• Oceans, Biosphere, Extinctions, Bees & CCD, Insects
• Impacts, Forests, Climate Refugees, Desertification, Disease
• Tornadoes, Wildfires, Corals, Glaciers, Sea Levels, Floods & Droughts
• Mitigation, Transportation, Buildings, Geoengineering, Conservation, Adaptation
• Journals, Other Docs, Misc. Science, Science Orgs, Free Science, Lovelock
• International Politics: UN, IPCC, Carbon Tax, Hormuz, South China Sea, Solar Spats
• Treaties, Ukraine, Petrodollar, Misc, Activism, Climate Movement, Divestment, H2O Biz
• National Politics: Britain, Europe, Australia, Abbott, RET, MDBP, Tas Forest Deal, India, Japan,Asia, South America
• Canada, Ethical Oil, Pipelines, ELA, DGR, Salmon, BC, Tar Sands, Ontario, Quebec
• America, Keystone, Spills & Leaks, Coal Exports, Alberta Clipper, ANR, 2016, USAdmin,Congress, Lobbyists
• Ecological Economics, Recycling, IPAT, Apocalypso, Another Day, Fixes, Media, Video, Courts,Mann Suit
• Energy, Transitions, Energy Investments, Fracking, Coal, Oil & Gas, Fossil Fuel Corps
• Pipelines, Oil Transportation, US Tar Sands, Energy Independence, Biofuel
• Wind, Solar, Nukes, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Fusion, FITs, Hydrogen, Grid, Utilities, Efficiency,Cars, Energy Storage
• Business, Insurance, Other Lists, Quotes, Carbon Lobby, Recursive Fury, Misc., Useful Links
• Shameless Self Promotion, A Simple Plea, .sig

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Here’s some bleak humour for ye:

• 2014/04/09: JamiolsWorld: (cartoon – Jamiol) SCOTUS and Kochzilla$
• 2014/04/07: TruthDig: (cartoon – ???) Climate Change Affects the Poor

Looking ahead to COP20 and future international climate negotiations:

• 2014/04/11: UN: In Washington, Ban urges world leaders to work towards climate action
• 2014/04/10: RTCC: IPCC report ‘key’ to 2C global warming target review – US, EU
  Nations must consider findings of IPCC when deciding whether to limit warming to 1.5 or 2C, say developed countries The United States and the European Union said that countries must use a recent climate report by a UN panel of scientists to review an agreed limit on global warming, but made no hint that they would urge greater ambition.
• 2014/04/09: RTCC: US, UK, Germany canvass private sector on boosting climate finance
  World Bank and Merrill Lynch among those working on ‘Climate Finance Lab’ to speed up $100bn fundraising goal

Read more: Another Week of Global Warming News, April 13, 2014

First Nations and Tribal Leaders Stand Their Sacred Ground in Washington DC

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 10:40

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FIRST NATIONS, TRIBAL LEADERS, & LANDOWNERS SEND MESSAGE TO CANADA, STOP TAR SANDS AT THE SOURCE

Idle No More stands in solidarity with the mass mobilization Reject and Protect happening in Washington, Deceit, as well as the Moccasins on the Ground blockade training in Red Shirt, South Dakota, and the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe Spiritual Encampment in Green Grass, South Dakota, and recognizes the words of Protect the Sacred spokesperson, Faith Spotted Eagle, “These three encampments represent the physical, spiritual, and political manifestations of our movement.”

Moccasins on the Ground

The Moccasins on the ground training developed by Owe Aku's Sacred Water Protection Project focuses focuses on skills, tactics, and techniques of nonviolent direct action in three day training camps. The skills that are discussed include such things as blockading heavy equipment, workshops on strategic media, street medic training, knowing your legal rights with respect to civil disobedience, building solidarity and alliances, applicable international human rights and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Lakota sacred teachings on water, and many other topics under the umbrella of direct action. Moccasins on the Ground

Sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman Pipe Spiritual Encampment: U-WI-TA - COMING TOGETHER

In 1994, the birth of a white buffalo calf revealed Pte San Win’s (White Buffalo Calf Woman’s) prophecy: “when a white buffalo calf stands upon the Earth it will be the sign of great changes to come”. - Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle.

We are inviting all Nations to the home of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle to pray with the sacred fire and one another. This gathering will take place here in Green Grass, SD, lighting the sacred fire on April 23rd, 2014 and ending on the 26th of April. Facebook Event

Stand Our Sacred Ground and Reject and Protect Actions in DC

Throughout this week of sustained action in DC, Idle No More will be reporting out on the vision, leadership, and organizing happening of this unprecedented alliance between Natives and ranchers in opposition to the KXL pipeline.

Yesterday, Day 2, representatives of the Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, Ponca, Ojibway, and Cree Nations stood at the Canadian Embassy alongside ranchers and farmers to hold up huge letters spelling out “Honor The Treaties” and blown-up images of Treaty 8, Treaty 6, and the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which cover Indigenous people’s lands affected by the controversial Canadian tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline.

Read more: First Nations and Tribal Leaders Stand Their Sacred Ground in Washington DC

First Nations and Tribal Leaders Stand Their Sacred Ground in Washington DC

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Published on Wednesday, 07 May 2014 16:00

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Join Us: BCCLA AGM & Report to Community

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Published on Thursday, 24 April 2014 05:20

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You’re invited to the BCCLA’s 2014 AGM!

BCCLA members and friends are invited to hear highlights of the BCCLA’s work over the past year, as well as our key priorities into the months ahead.

This is a great opportunity to hear directly from the BCCLA’s board and staff on how we are continuing to protect and promote freedoms in Canada.

• When: Wednesday, May 7
• Where: SFU Harbour Centre, Labatt Hall (Room #1700)
• Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm

All members and members-to-be are encouraged to attend. Only members in good standing for three full months before the AGM will be able to vote in the AGM portion of the evening. 

If you need to renew your membership, you can do this online here. If you have questions about your membership status, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 604-630-9750.

Registration Required

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To make sure everyone has a seat, and we have the right number of voting cards, please let us know if you’re coming!

More event details and registration can be found on this page.

Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors

The election will take place at our Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2014. People who have been members in good standing of the BCCLA for three months prior to the AGM are entitled to one vote. Only those members who attend the AGM in person may vote. There is no voting by proxy.

Get to Know the Candidates

We hope you'll join us, and bring some friends!

Sincerely,

The BCCLA Team

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The BCCLA gratefully acknowledges the financial support provided by The Law Foundation of BC and the Gaming and Policy Enforcement Branch of the BC Ministry of Finance.

RAVEN - Feedback re our new donation system

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Published on Wednesday, 23 April 2014 17:00

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Dear RAVENers,

We received some important feedback from our wonderful overseas donors about the shift to CanadaHelps.org as our donation platform. It seemed that others may wish to know about it. We made the switch from PayPal for new donations for a couple of reasons. The main reason is that it assists us - as a small yet nimble non-profit - because it streamlines the back end of the donation process. CanadaHelps issues the tax receipts, and that is an enormous help to us. Also, it is less commercial and based in Canada.

However, some donors in the UK noted that there is no longer a currency choice in the drop down boxes. We asked about this at CanadaHelps and this is what they replied: If someone donates from overseas, the charges on their credit card would be in the original currency but the amount entered on our website must be in Canadian dollars. Donors simply need to use a basic converter that can be found on the internet to estimate the donation.

We hope our regular supporters are not deterred by the shift to this new donation system. Please let us know if there is anything else you need to know or have any other concerns.

Read more: RAVEN - Feedback re our new donation system