SaveourNet.ca is Partnering with Telecommunities Canada, TheTyee and Rabble.ca for Ottawa's Open Internet Town Hall.

Where:
Ottawa Public Library Main branch 120 Metcalfe Ottawa ON K1P 5M2

When:
June 10th, 2009 at 7pm

Speakers include:
Michael Geist – law professor at the University of Ottawa where he is Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, blogger
Charlie Angus – NDP MP, Heritage and Culture
Rocky Gaudrault – CEO, Teksavvy Solutions Inc.

Introduction by Steve Anderson – Co-founder, SaveOurNet.ca
Discussion Facilitator: Marita Moll – TeleCommunities Canada

Special guests:
*Jacob Glick – Canada Policy Counsel, Google Canada, * Mike Gifford – founder of Open Concept Consulting Inc * Leslie Regan Shade – Communications Professor, Concordia University * Graham Cox – Canadian Federation of Students
David Fewer - Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)

Sponsored by:

Until now, Canada’s Internet has been an open network and a level playing field for free speech, innovation, and consumer choice. All that is now under threat.

Ottawa’s Open Internet Town Hall is designed to give local citizens the chance to shape Canada’s broadband future. As Canada falls behind other OECD countries on Internet speed, cost, and openness, SaveourNet.ca will host a lively discussion guided by panelists representing web innovators, social change leaders, and public policy gurus.

We will gather citizen testimony that SaveOurNet.ca’s Steve Anderson will use to guide his presentation to the CRTC at the July 6 “Traffic Management” hearing. We will also record the town hall meetings and present video testimonials to the CRTC and share them online. Information gathered at the town hall meeting will also help us develop the “Open Internet Declaration” which we will put before MPs and policy makers.

We want to engage the public in discussion on what the future of the Internet should look like by addressing the following questions:

* How can we ensure Internet services for everyone in Canada?
* How do we expand consumer choice and lower costs for Internet services?
* How can the Internet be a catalyst for economic growth, jobs, and prosperity?
* How do we preserve the Internet’s level playing field so everyone can access the content, applications, and services of their choice?
* What roles should the federal government, local governments, private industry, and everyday citizens play to build a better Internet?
* What can and should citizens do right now?

For more information about the campaign, visit http://saveournet.ca/

This event was made possible through the generous support of The National Union of Public and General Employees and The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Speaker Bios:

Michael Geist:

Dr. Michael Geist is a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. He has obtained a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School. Dr. Geist has written numerous academic articles and government reports on the Internet and law and was a member of Canada's National Task Force on Spam. He is an internationally syndicated columnist on technology law issues with his regular column appearing in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and the BBC. Dr. Geist is the editor of In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law, published in 2005 by Irwin Law, the editor of several monthly technology law publications, and the author of a popular blog on Internet and intellectual property law issues.

Rocky Gaudrault:
Rocky Gaudrault is CEO of TekSavvy Solutions Inc. - based in Chatham, Ontario. Rocky is consider a hero to many who believe in the importance of the open Internet both for his open Internet offerings, and for Rocky's weigh in on telecom policy issues and evening taking on the biggest telecom carriers in the country. In May 2008 Rocky even went so far as to bus most of his employees to Parliament hill to rally for Net Neutrality.

Charlie Angus:

Charlie Angus was elected the Member of Parliament for Timmins—James Bay in 2004, re-elected in 2006. he has worked as a writer, broadcaster and musician; was a member of the Juno-nominated band Grievous Angels. Charlie has been honoured for “Outstanding Contribution to Northern Culture” at the 1999 Festival Boreal in Sudbury. Has been a regular contributor to CBC, TVO and national newspapers

Bill St. Arnaud:

Bill St. Arnaud is the Chief Research Officer for CANARIE Inc., Canada's Advanced Internet Development Organization. At CANARIE Bill St. Arnaud has been responsible for the coordination and implementation of Canada's next generation optical Internet initiative called CA*net 4. He has been the principal architect of the User Controlled LightPath concept of applying Service Oriented Architecture to network elements to allow users to create their own Internet network topologies and architectures fully integrated with their specific application and instrument needs.

Currently he is involved with a Green IT broadband and cyber-infrastructure initiative to build a "zero-carbon" next generation Internet in order to help reduce global warming by reducing CO2 emissions at universities and society in general. As part of this initiative one project is to encourage the use of carbon rewards rather than using carbon taxes to encourage consumer to reduce their carbon footprint through the provision of free fiber to the home and other free Internet services and applications.

Steve Anderson:
Steve Anderson is the current National Coordinator of the Campaign For Democratic Media and co-founder of the SaveOurNet.ca coalition. Steve is an active writer, video producer, and social media consultant, and has worked for The Real News, FreePress, The Center For Media and Democracy, and Free Speech TV. Steve’s writing has appeared in numerous local and national print and online publications such as TheTyee, The Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Adbusters, Canadian Dimension, Rabble.ca, Common Ground, Vue Weekly, and Social Policy Magazine. Steve is a contributing author to Censored 2008: The Top 25 Censored Stories, and Battleground: The Media. Steve also writes a monthly syndicated column called “Media Links”.