By Gary Shaul, Catch 22 campaign co-ordinator

Greetings and welcome to all the new members who have joined since our last update on January 16. With the federal budget around the corner and election talk in the air, the Catch 22 campaign has noticed an increase in traffic and interest. We don't know if there will be a spring election, but we have begun to discuss some contingencies in case there is.

BC Update

We had a successful meeting with about a dozen folks on January 17 in Vancouver. It was great to meet everyone. Thanks to Masrour Zoghi for helping to organize the meeting. We had a chance to meet a very astute group of people, exchange views on strategy and talk about Vancouver-area ridings.

As a result of part of the discussion, we are adding Con MP Randy Kamp from Pitt Meadows - Maple Ridge - Mission to the Catch 22 list of (more challenging) Con ridings. The profile page and group will be up in the next couple of days.

The Catch 22 campaign was featured in an article in this week's Georgia Straight and The Mark.

Catch 22 strategy aims to vote out Stephen Harper government

“We feel that some strategic voting is needed because our dysfunctional electoral system doesn’t really allow Parliament to represent the full range of views of people,” Masrour Zoghi, the campaign’s local spokesperson, told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

Fundraising - Can you donate $22.00?

We've now opened a bank account and have begun to raise money to meet our main goal of communicating with voters in the 30+ target ridings. Your support will go a long way. You can donate online with Paypal or by cheque.

Ottawa debate on strategic voting

We have been invited to send a panelist to a discussion on strategic voting being organized by the Ottawa chapter of Fair Vote Canada. The debate will be some time closer to the budget. Details to follow.

New Calgary Catch 22 group

While we have not identified any winnable ridings in Calgary, there are a number of supporters there who would like to network and discuss ways in which they can help the campaign. We've now set up an online Calgary Catch 22 group that includes supporters from all Calgary ridings including the PM's riding of Calgary SW.

Outreach

Please continue to help spread the word about our campaign to your friends and networks. One way to do that is to use our website's "Invite" tool.

Website

The Catch 22 website was designed with networking and organizing in mind. Please consider adding a picture of yourself if you haven't already done so to add that personal touch. 

Sincerely

Gary