Apathy is Boring - News

The Election Connection

2008-10-14T14:00:01Z

They won't notice if you don't. On Oct. 14th VOTE.

Apathy is Boring is here to help. We have everything you need to know to make an informed decision. So keep checking back.......

Check out our press release here.

Elections Section

Party Platforms

How to vote

Press Release: The Youth Vote Counts

2008-10-14T00:00:01Z

For Immediate Release
Press Release

The Youth Vote Counts.

September 8th, 2008 Montreal - The 2008 federal election has begun and Apathy is Boring is launching a full fledged campaign to engage, inform, and educate youth and to make sure they get to the polls on October 14th.

“It is not only youth who need to make the effort to vote, it is candidates that must learn to better reach out to youth, and encourage young people to get to the polls on Election Day.”
Ilona Dougherty, Executive Director, Apathy is Boring

Apathy is Boring’s 2008 Get Out the Youth Vote Campaign will focus on bridging the gap between candidates of all political stripes and young voters across Canada. As a non-partisan youth-led organization, Apathy is Boring’s biggest concern is ensuring that Canadian youth have the tools and information they need to make their voices heard on Election Day.

Apathy is Boring’s get out the youth vote election campaign details:

Candidates Kit: Apathy is Boring is helping candidates outreach to youth and encourage them to vote. We will be sending this kit to EVERY candidate running in this Federal Election Campaign.

Concerts: Apathy is Boring is hosting three concerts in Halifax and Montreal during the election campaign to get young people energized about voting. Featuring artists including Hedley, ill Scarlett, Michie Mee, and many more.

Informative Website: Apathy is Boring’s website has everything young voters need to know before they go to the polls and when they get there! Voters can stay informed and learn about the issues through news coverage, clear and concise party platforms and basic info about how and why to vote.

Outreach Campaign: Throughout the Federal Election Campaign Apathy is Boring will work to get out the message that whether or not a young person decides to vote, it is critical that they know the issues and have the tools to get to the polls. We will do this through interactive / online technology, and a media campaign including print, radio, and TV ads airing across Canada.

Apathy is Boring is a national, non-partisan youth-led organization that educates youth about democracy through art and technology.

www.apathyisboring.com
– 30 –

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Ilona Dougherty, Executive Director, Apathy is Boring
Tel.: (514) 844-2472
ilona@apathyisboring.com

APATHY IS BORING CONCERTS: Every Party Should be Democratic.

2008-10-01T15:23:01Z

Apathy is Boring Halifax Concerts September 20 and 27

2008-09-28T00:00:01Z

Saturday September 20th, 2008 at Dalhousie University, with ill Scarlet, Jimmy Swift Band "JSB", Tom Fun Orchestra, & Alert the Medic. FREE!

Saturday September 27th, 2008 at Grand Parade Square with Hedley, ill Scarlet, Chad Hatcher, Jordan Croucher, and Stephanie Hardy. FREE!

Apathy is Boring, in collaboration with Democracy 250 wants youth to vote, and they are encouraging civic engagement through a series of concerts this fall in Halifax and Montreal.

The Halifax leg of the Apathy is Boring‘s 2008 Concert Series will feature artists, Hedley, ill Scarlett, Chad Hatcher, Stephanie Hardy, ill Scarlett, Jordan Croucher and more.

By using music to inspire, educate, and motivate youth, this concert series aims to encourage youth to vote and be an active part of democracy and promote the idea that apathy … is boring.

NATIONAL VIDEO CONTEST

2008-09-08T12:33:01Z

Stay tuned for more details.....contest deadline extended until December......

Tell us your vision for the next 250 years of Democracy in Canada and you could win!

So grab your cell phones, video cameras or webcams and make a video 30sec. – 3 mins in length. Grand Prize is a trip with a friend to attend and have your video showcased at Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada's Youth Dialogue in the spring of 2009.

Here are some suggested topics to get you going:

-    What does it mean as a young person to contribute to your country’s democracy?
-    We’re celebrating 250 years of parliamentary democracy in Canada, what is your vision for           the next 250 years?
-    What can you do to make sure your vote counts?
-    What would it take to get YOU to the polls?

Make sure to vote for your favorite video and spread the word that Apathy is Boring!

Tory 'war room' gets rocky debut

2008-09-08T10:09:01Z

Tory 'war room' gets rocky debut

Reporters grill candidates at early-morning media session

Last Updated: Monday, September 8, 2008 | 10:08 AM ET Comments33 Recommend26

CBC News

The federal Conservatives finally got to use their high-tech war room in an election campaign on Monday after the party officially opened the sprawling Ottawa facility in April of last year.

Two cabinet members, Jason Kenney and Lawrence Cannon, summoned reporters to the war room early Monday for a press conference to release the latest in a long series of ads attacking Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion.

The pre-dawn media sessions are an attempt by the Conservatives to get a jump on the opposition and control the daily news cycle, but Monday's session didn't work quite as planned, the CBC's James Fitz-Morris reported.

Only two media outlets, CanWest and the CBC, were present, and the journalists attending peppered the two candidates with questions on gas prices, tax policy and reports of the party attempting to prevent some of its candidates from talking to the media.

Kenney and Cannon targeted Dion's "risky" leadership that they said could reverse popular Tory policies, such as the $1,200-a-year child-care benefit and the reduction in the federal goods and services tax.

Dion has not said he would reverse the child-care benefit or the GST cut, which the Conservatives reduced by two percentage points to five per cent since they took power in 2006.

The Tory facility, located in an industrial park on the outskirts of Ottawa, is far away from media offices in the capital, but is kitted out with high-tech communications gear and its own state-of-the-art television studio.

Liberals refute campaign plane criticism

Meanwhile on Monday, the Liberals sought to buffer criticism of the party's apparent challenges to secure a plane for its cross-country campaign tour, the CBC's Susan Bonner reported from the campaign.

While the Conservatives and NDP locked in modern jets with Air Canada, the Liberals signed a last-minute deal with Air Inuit for a former cargo plane. The plane's primary use had been to evacuate aboriginal communities in crisis.

Liberal spokesman Mark Dunn said Monday that media reports of the plane had been misleading, and insisted the plane can get in and out of more places than the Airbuses being used by other parties.

Dunn said the plane can land on gravel runways and "can get us closer to the people."

Tories suggest Dion would reverse popular policies

2008-09-08T09:57:01Z

Conservatives Lawrence Cannon and Jason Kenney, incumbent MPs, raised concerns about any Liberal plans to tinker with the child-care benefit and GST when they spoke at a news conference Monday. (CBC)The federal Conservatives kicked off their first full day of campaigning early Monday, as two prominent party members attacked Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, criticizing his "risky" leadership that could reverse popular Tory policies.

At a news conference in Ottawa, Lawrence Cannon, incumbent for Pontiac riding in Quebec, and Jason Kenney, incumbent for Calgary Southeast, suggested any move to take away the Tories' $1,200-a-year child-care benefit would hit low-income Canadians.

Tory campaign ads released early Monday also said Dion would "consider" raising the federal goods and services tax.

"Mr. Dion says that he's in favour of reducing poverty, but by raising the GST, by taking away the family child-care allowance, by driving up the costs of groceries, fuels, electricity and everything else, he's increasing the number of Canadians who are in a low-income situation," said Kenney.

Allegations of Dion supporting a GST increase is "yet another lie from a party whose leader has allowed the price of gas the pumps to rise 70 cents a litre since the Conservatives took office," Liberal spokesman Mark Dunn said in an e-mail to media Monday.

Dion has not said he would raise the GST, which the Conservatives cut by two percentage points to five per cent since they took power in 2006.

"Privately Liberals have been saying that if they increase the GST, it would be suicidal," reported the CBC's Julie Van Dusen, who is covering the election.

Benefit cheques criticized

While Dion has criticized the Tory plan to grant families a $100-a-month benefit cheque for each child under age six, he has not said he would revoke the credit.

"The Conservatives took a more retail approach in the last campaign and it was quite popular," said Van Dusen, referring to the cheques of up to $100 a month the Tory governments send to families for each child under six years old.

"The other parties, the NDP and the Liberals have always denounced this as not a real plan and it doesn't create [child-care] spaces."

The comments came at what will be the first of daily early-morning briefings by the Conservatives designed to define the subject matter of the day's campaigning, said Van Dusen.

"The bottom line is ... they're out there bright and early on the offensive putting [Dion] on the defensive and we'll expect to hear what he has to say about this later," she said.

Harper to call federal election Sunday morning

2008-09-05T11:13:01Z

A federal election campaign will kick off Sunday morning with Prime Minister Stephen Harper expected to visit the Governor General, reported The Canadian Press on Thursday.

Sources told CP that the prime minister is expected to ask Gov.-Gen. Michaelle Jean at 9 a.m. ET to dissolve Canada's 39th Parliament, which would send Canadians to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Harper is expected to repeat an argument he has been airing recently -- that he has lost the confidence of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion cancelled a speech he had been scheduled to give in Winnipeg on Thursday morning and started his election rhetoric as his MPs headed to their ridings.

"We are a strong team and we are ready to work hard for Canadians at a time when Prime Minister Stephen Harper is determined to break his word and force an early election," said Dion. "We Liberals are prepared to defeat the Conservatives because we know that Canadians are tired of this government and want change."

The Tories were elected Jan. 23, 2006, and enter the upcoming campaign after running the third-longest parliamentary minority in federal history, including the longest since the 1920s.

CP reports Harper was meeting with his cabinet Thursday for a pre-election meeting in Meech Lake, Que.

Tories losing veteran MPs

CTV's parliamentary correspondent Graham Richardson reported Thursday that Monte Solberg, a 15-year MP and current minister of Human Resources and Social Development will not seek re-election.

Additionally, the Conservatives officially announced that Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson and Fisheries Minister Loyala Hearn will also not be running in the election.

Emerson and Hearn, who both faced tough re-election fights, had not been expected to run again but Solberg's departure was a surprise.

On CTV's Mike Duffy Live, Solberg said it was the right time for him to call it a political career.

"I never meant to be a career politician," he said.

The three departures mean that the Conservatives are losing some of their most experienced, and acclaimed, cabinet ministers.

"Someone like David Emerson, someone with experience like Monte Solberg, losing those two people is difficult, even for a governing party," Richardson said.

Losing Emerson, who crossed the floor from the Liberals to join the Conservatives cabinet in 2006, will be a particularly significant loss for the Tories, Richardson said.

Emerson has, by all accounts, performed admirably in the high-profile Foreign Affairs portfolio, after taking the position from the beleaguered Maxine Bernier.

Prior to that post he was the Industry minister, and played a key role negotiating an end to the softwood lumber dispute.

Solberg said despite the resignations the Conservative Party is in good shape for an election.

"I'm a bit biased, but I think we have a great record to run on for an election," he said.

Targeting Harper

CTV parliamentary correspondent Roger Smith, at the Liberal caucus meeting in Winnipeg, said Liberal pollster Michael Marzolini told the party on Wednesday that the campaign must target Harper.

The prime minister is "vulnerable on questions of trust and likeability, especially among women," Smith told Newsnet.

On Wednesday, Dion attacked Harper as the most right-wing prime minister this country has ever seen.

Dion also announced changes to his centrepiece Green Shift plan that would see subsidies for farmers, fishers, forestry workers and truckers to help them cut down on carbon fuel consumption. Truckers had protested outside the meeting on Tuesday.

The Green Shift, while complicated, boils down to shift the tax burden onto most carbon-based fuels while simultaneously cutting income taxes as a way to encourage a reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change.

The Conservatives have vigorously attacked the plan as a tax grab that would damage the economy.

Smith said the Liberals had planned to space out the announcement of its Green Shift changes over the fall, but then decided to announce it all in advance of the expected campaign.

Canadians being 'nickel and dimed': NDP

NDP Leader Jack Layton focused on the economy at a rally in Toronto on Thursday. He said ordinary Canadians are being "nickel and dimed" by government and businesses.

"There is a widening gap between the rich, those who are doing very well and those who are really struggling," he said.

Layton told a cheering crowd that some people are working two or three jobs and still not making ends meet.

"Why we have food banks and homelessness in a country as affluent and strong as ours is something that just makes you shake your head," Layton said.

"It's time we close the gap (between rich and poor) with policies that are fair to every Canadian."

Obama's Internet mastery noticed in Canada

2008-09-04T12:09:01Z

VANCOUVER -- Democrat Barack Obama's historic run to his party's presidential nomination owes a lot to his campaign's stunningly successful use of the World Wide Web to mobilize support and raise money.

The lessons of how the Obama campaign exploited Web 2.0 tools such as social networking, video sharing and blogs have not been lost on Canadian political parties as they gear up for an expected federal election.

"It's more than fair to say that we will see the web is going to have a larger effect on this election than any election before in history," says Adam Miron, national director of Young Liberals of Canada.

Politicians have been using the Internet to reach confirmed and potential supporters for more than a decade. But Obama's campaign used the web to build a two-way conversation and recruit a political cyber machine that was both huge and quick on its feet.

That interactivity was a key part of the campaign's effectiveness, says Micah Sifry, executive editor at the New York-based Personal Democracy Forum, a non-partisan group that looks at the evolution of web politics.

"The lesson that Obama taught Hillary Clinton was that in 2008 it isn't enough just to have high name recognition and a kind of one-way conversation using the web," says Sifry.

"That's what she did. She emphasized building a big email list and projecting, using the platform of her website, a message onto other people."

"The message back was 'No, we want a real conversation, not a fake one.' "

Much of the heavy lifting for Obama was done by Blue State Digital, which manages the campaign's online fundraising, support building and networking.

The Washington, D.C., company, which has a long list of political clients on the "progressive" end of the spectrum, says the campaign raised more than US$200 million in small donations through more than two million individual donors.

The campaign's MyBO social-networking application has more than a million individual user accounts, Blue State says. Those users set up thousands of campaign events and through virtual phone banks made more than two million calls to voters during the primary campaign.

Canadian politicos are fascinated by the campaign's use of social networking.

"There's eight million Canadian accounts ... on Facebook," says Nammi Poorooshasb, federal New Democrat director of communications

"We've been looking at ways to mobilize these people in those communities."

Poorooshasb says the party got a potent demonstration of the medium's power in July when it launched a campaign against new fees for incoming cellphone text messages.

"We created a group to oppose those fees," he says. "Nearly 40,000 Canadians joined that group, and this is actually the largest Facebook group to our knowledge that was created by a political party."

That's a major lesson taken from Obama's use of the web, says the Liberals' Miron.

"It's about reaching out, giving back and calls to action, which really makes the big difference," he says.

"You actually ask people for specific help ... on a specific issue. You're asking them to just do something, whether it's start a petition or actually just give money."

Sifry points out it takes time to build up social networks and isn't sure the strategy would translate well in a six-to eight-week Canadian election campaign.

But Blue State's managing partner, Thomas Gensemer, says he's had recent "conversations" with unnamed Canadian political party officials, though there's been no deal to work together.

Gensemer says he believes Blue State's web tools and strategies would, if anything, work better in a parliamentary system.

"The shorter the better, in some ways, for the basics of engagement, because so much of it relies on having immediate calls to action and the sense of timeliness," says Gensemer.

And unlike the U.S. situation, Canadian parties have formal membership lists that can be used via the web to keep people active and engaged between votes, and then to activate them when the writ is dropped.

The bonus for cash-strapped Canadian parties is that web campaigning is fairly cheap compared to advertising in traditional media such as newspapers and television.

"There are things that require really almost no money and almost no technological know-how," says New York web designer Doug Jaeger, who has analyzed the presidential candidates' web presences.

Sifry agrees.

"A very cheap, well-made video on YouTube can amass millions of views," he says. "It just has to have compelling content.

"The blogosphere will spread the word for you. The activists are already linked together and talking to each other."

Besides its main website, the NDP has set up unite4change.ca to build a social network around next Monday's scheduled federal byelections, which would be cancelled if a general election is called.

The Liberals, meanwhile, have set up forum.liberal.ca to solicit grassroots discussion on the party platform.

No Conservative spokesman responded to a request for information on the party's web strategy.

The experts say there's still a demographic gap that sees many people over 35 getting most of their information from traditional sources.

But campaigns that ignore online communities - reasoning they're young and less likely to vote - are also neglecting the activist base that lives increasingly on the web, says Sifry.

"Political news or causes are just part of their daily stream of information," he says.

This kind of web-based mobilization does carry risks. It's harder to control the message if thousands of supporters are doing their own thing on blogs and social networks.

"This is the power of the web, and it's also some of the challenges that come with it," says Poorooshasb.

"What we've found is that the communities in these blog posts and things like that, they set the record straight amongst themselves."

Adds Sifry: "What the net is doing in politics is putting all those conversations that we have around the water cooler on steroids."

"You might see a few people around the water cooler, but it takes you just a few minutes to email 100 people."

Ottawa to spend $4.9M to keep at-risk Toronto youth out of gangs

2008-09-04T12:06:01Z

Apathy is Boring - News

The Election Connection

Press Release: The Youth Vote Counts

APATHY IS BORING CONCERTS: Every Party Should be Democratic.

Apathy is Boring Halifax Concerts September 20 and 27

NATIONAL VIDEO CONTEST

Tory 'war room' gets rocky debut

Tory 'war room' gets rocky debut

Reporters grill candidates at early-morning media session

Last Updated: Monday, September 8, 2008 | 10:08 AM ET Comments33Recommend26

CBC News

Liberals refute campaign plane criticism

Tories suggest Dion would reverse popular policies

Benefit cheques criticized

Harper to call federal election Sunday morning

Obama's Internet mastery noticed in Canada

Ottawa to spend $4.9M to keep at-risk Toronto youth out of gangs

Last Updated: Monday, September 8, 2008 | 10:08 AM ET Comments33 Recommend26