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No Oshawa pirates yet

Pirate Party of Canada

Pirate Party of Canada leader Ric Lin says the party does not have a candidate in Oshawa, and is instead putting up signs, like this one at Rossland and Harmony, to raise awareness of the party.

By Graeme McNaughton/The Oshawa Express

Residents may have noticed purple campaign signs promoting a political party that some may think is for the swashbuckling variety – however, the party’s leader has confirmed that there are currently no candidates in Oshawa.

A sign for the Pirate Party of Canada was recently set up at the corner of Harmony Road and Rossland Street, as well as other places throughout the region, in order to help promote the party which many have not heard of.

“We currently don’t have a candidate in the riding,” Ric Lim, the leader of the Pirate Party of Canada, tells The Oshawa Express in an email. “The signs were being put up to raise awareness about the party since a lot of Canadians know about the European Pirate Party and still have no idea one exist in Canada. Some people might step up after seeing the sign. We are still receiving applications at this stage.”

The party currently has eight confirmed candidates in the upcoming election.

According to the party’s website, the main issues the party is campaigning on is copyright and patent reform, open democracy and a basic income guarantee.

The party ran 10 candidates in the 2011 federal election, garnering a total of 3,198 votes.

There are various Pirate Party groups around the world, the earliest being established in Sweden in 2006. There are currently five Pirate Party members holding office in various levels of government throughout Europe, including three members of parliament in Iceland.

Lim says the Canadian branch of the party is looking to branch out in the near future.

“We hope to be able to establish riding associations across the country after this election, and have more resources to promote the party and run candidates in more ridings in the future,” he says.

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