October 13, 2006, Toronto - Freedom Party of Ontario today has launched "FPTV", a "channel" on the popular website YouTube.com: https://www.youtube.com/fpontario .  FPTV will facilitate publicly-viewable two-way communications between party leader Paul McKeever and those who would like him to address questions or comments concerning the party, its leader, and the governance of Ontario.  In the first of many personal FPTV "fireside chats" to come, McKeever addresses the question: "Why not just join the Progressive Conservatives, and change that party from within?".

"As far as I can tell", says McKeever, "Freedom Party of Ontario is the first party in the world - certainly, at least, in Ontario - to engage the electorate in this way.  I would challenge Ontario's Liberals and Progressive Conservatives to follow suit, but I am reasonably certain that we're not going to see Dalton McGuinty or John Tory answering questions put to them publicly on YouTube.com.  If they allowed questions to be put to them so publicly, their failures to answer the questions asked would undermine their strategy of avoiding questions or answering them with bluster.  Bluster and half-truths don't work when the general public can ask follow-up questions while the whole electorate watches." 

YouTube.com allows viewers to post not only written, but also video responses to videos posted on its various channels.  YouTube.com technology also makes the distribution of videos more "viral" in nature, because videos on YouTube channels can be inserted into blogs, and links to the videos (and to video responses) can be easily distributed via e-mail and other communications technologies.

"For the first time ever", explains McKeever, "an emerging political party like Freedom Party will be able to communicate not only the nouns and verbs of its message, but the look, tone and feel of its message as never before.  Folks who want to speak directly with me, in full view of everyone else, will be able to do so by posting a video response.  They will be able to vent or to cheer, to question or to suggest.  It will be just like a real town hall meeting, but it will operate 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and with global reach.  And, perhaps best of all, viewers will be able to subscribe to FPTV for free, so that they can be notified every time a new episode of FPTV is made available for viewing.

"This is really an amazing opportunity not only for people to learn about and get a feel for Freedom Party, but to get involved in the political process in an exciting and influential way.  I don't think it would be incorrect to state that Freedom Party is breaking new ground for democracy in Ontario."

For further details, contact: Paul McKeever

Office: 905-721-9772
Cell: ***-***-****
website: https://freedomparty.on.ca
e-mail: ****
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/fpontario