Digital Copyright Canada

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

Member of Parliament for Willowdale / Willowdale

Name: Martha Hall Findlay
e-Mail: <HallFindlay.M@parl.gc.ca>
Party: Liberal Party of Canada

Current Member of Parliament for Willowdale / Willowdale

Name: Mr. James Scott Peterson
e-Mail: <Peterson.J@parl.gc.ca>
Party: Liberal Party of Canada
Gender: Male
MP Prior to 2006 election: Hon. Jim Peterson

Election 2006 candidate information for this riding

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

Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River: Rob Clarke (Conservative) with 47.8% of vote

Toronto Centre: Bob Rae (Liberal) with 59.2% of vote

Vancouver Quadra: Joyce Murray (Liberal) with 36.1% of vote

Willowdale: Martha Hall Findlay (Liberal) with 59.3% of vote

See elections Canada, 2008 By-elections for more details.

One of the things I often say in interviews is that Copyright is not a partisan issue in Canada, that you can't focus on parties, and that the issue comes down to the personal experience and ideas of individual representatives. Given this it is important to talk to sitting members of parliament, as well as candidates running to replace them.

On Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that by-elections will be held on Monday March 17, 2008 in the ridings of Toronto Centre (Ontario), Willowdale (Ontario), Vancouver Quadra (British Columbia) and Desnethé-Missnippi-Churchill River (Saskatchewan).

According to the Hill Times, the following current MPs will not be running in next election. There are 7 vacancies expected by end of summer, with 5 after byelection. Many believe that narrow partisan reasons were used to not call the remaining 5 byelections to happen at the same time.

I'm waiting with baited breath for some by-election calls.

According to Elections Canada (links below), these are the deadlines by which the four by-elections must be called:

Outremont (Quebec), July 28th.
Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot (Quebec), August 25th.

Hill Times reporter Abbas Rana provided a table in this week's Hill Times listing the 15 MPs that have already announced they will not be running in the next election, as well as the 2 vacant seats.

1. Liberal MP Ray Ronin (Nickel Belt)
2. Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain (Guelph)
3. Liberal MP Stephen Owen (Vancouver Quadra)
4. Liberal MP Bill Graham (Toronto Centre)
5. Liberal MP Paul Martin (LaSalle-Emard)
6. Liberal MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell (Nunavut)
7. Liberal MP Andy Scott (Fredericton)
8. Liberal MP Paul Steckle (Huron-Bruce)
9. Liberal MP Joe McGuire (Egmont)
10. Liberal MP Jim Peterson (Willowdale)
11. Conservative MP Brian Fritzpatrick (Prince Albert)
12. Conservative MP Ken Epp (Edmonton-Sherwood Park)
13. Conservative MP John Williams (Edmonton-St. Albert)
14. Conservative MP Normal Doyle (St. John's East)
15. NDP MP Bill Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona)

Vacant seats:

1. Bloc MP Yvan Loubier (Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot)
2. Liberal MP Jean Lapierre (Outremont)

Joseph R. (Joe) Comuzzi (Thunder Bay--Superior North) is expected not to run, but has not yet made an announcement.

Public interest group Online Rights Canada is hosting a Balanced Meal event to coincide with the big-money/big-copyright/big-media lobbiests event for Sam Bulte.

If politicians take tens of thousands of dollars from the industries they regulate, are independent artists, educators, librarians and the general public really going to get a fair shake? So come out on Thursday, have a bite to eat, and find out how regular Canadians can get a seat at the copyright reform table.

Covered by: p2pnet

Celebrated author and UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, journalists Linda McQuaig and John Stackhouse, and anti-poverty activist Josephine Grey will query party representatives on their plans to Make Poverty History through policies of foreign aid, trade, debt and child poverty in Canada. Please read earlier articles about the connection between PCT and poverty issues.

Where:

Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery
100 Queens Park
Queens Park Entrance

When:

January 12, 2006
6:45 PM

Tickets:

Free, seats will be distributed on a first come
first served basis.

To reserve tickets contact info at cciorg.ca or call 416.967.1611 ext 221.