Digital Copyright Canada

Elections Canada Electoral district profile (Links to Map, Past Candidates, and Past Election Results)

Member of Parliament for London North Centre / London-Centre-Nord

Name: Mr. Glen Pearson
e-Mail: <PearsG@parl.gc.ca>
Party: Liberal Party of Canada
Gender: Male

Note: Database not yet current... working on it

Michael Geist reports that, "coming out of last night's election, 34 candidates who supported the copyright pledge during the campaign were elected - 11 Liberals and 23 New Democrats".

A Hill Times article by Simon Doyle, Abbas Rana and Bea Vongdouanchanh documents the 40 Conservative targeted ridings. The in-paper version included a table of the ridings, and I've linked this article with the 40 ridings so people will know if they are one of them.

Please try to talk to all Candidates about copyright, but especially talk to the Conservatives in these ridings. It would be great if during this election that the Conservatives could find their "Charlie Angus" -- someone who can switch the party from being anti-technology/modernization to being an advocate.

Michael Geist has identified a group of 27 MPs (nine percent of all MPs) who share two key attributes - they won their riding by 10 percent or less in the last election and their riding is home to a university. The combination is important since it is these MPs - not the very safe Jim Prentice - who will face the consequences of the Prentice bill that will harm a generation well versed in digital technologies, social networks, and the Internet.

A London Free Press article talks about an "environmental service" held last Sunday at Wesley-Knox United Church in London where Green party Leader Elizabeth May spoke.

Liberal MP Glen Pearson, who defeated her in a byelection last year, introducing her to his fellow congregants.

By-elections were called in Repentigny (Quebec) and London North Centre (Ontario) for November 27, 2006. The ridings returned the candidate from the incumbent party in both cases.

Preliminary Results follow

By-elections have been called in Repentigny (Quebec) and London North Centre (Ontario) for November 27, 2006. Close of nominations for candidates was November 6, 2006.

London North Center

Will Arlow (Canadian Action Party)
Robert Ede (Independent)
Dianne Haskett (Conservative Party of Canada)
Steve Hunter (Progressive Canadian Party)
Elizabeth May (Leader of the Green Party of Canada)
Glen Pearson (Liberal Party of Canada)
Megan Walker (New Democratic Party)

Repentigny

Mahmood Raza Baig (Canadian Action Party)
Réjean Bellemare (New Democratic Party)
Stéphane Bourgon (Conservative Party of Canada)
Raymond Gravel (Bloc Québécois)
Jocelyne Leduc (Independent)
Régent Millette (Independent)
Christian Turenne (Liberal Party of Canada)

An Ottawa Citizen article by David Reevely discussed the recent GOSLING MP awareness project.

McOrmond says GOSLING has had positive responses from a few MPs -- Tory James Rajotte is one. Unfortunately, he says, two enthusiastic open-source proponents have left the picture. Former Liberal labour minister Joe Fontana is quitting federal politics to run for mayor of London; Reg Alcock was an enormously influential supporter as president of the Treasury Board, McOrmond says, but lost his Winnipeg seat in the election that defeated his government last January.

It was Joe Fontana's hill staff that hosted an Open Source event on parliament hill on June 19th, 2006.

The Hon. Joseph Fontana is set to resign his federal parliament seat to run to become the mayor of London. Mr. Fontana became known by our community when his staff hosted an Open Source event on the hill.

The London Free Press indicated that, "Fontana said he will formally announce his resignation from Parliament after the next session opens Sept. 18, then return to London to file his nomination papers and officially kick off his campaign."

Another article in the London Free Press speculates about candidates in the byelection that would result.

It is great to see that some members of parliament are taking the time to learn more about FLOSS. While this introduction to the event focuses on using FLOSS to save money, it also provides an opening to discuss some of the policy issues facing our part of the software sector.

I am including below a letter I wrote to the MPs office introducing myself. I also sent a letter to my own MP's office informing them about the event and requesting that they go. In my case my MP is well aware of my interest in FLOSS as a practitioner and a policy person. I recommend that other people reading this write a letter to their MP as well, forwarding the invitation information and quickly informing them why it is important to you as a constituent that they be informed about FLOSS.