The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is in the midst of a public consultation http://idnconsultation.ca on the use of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in the .CA domain. Specifically, CIRA is proposing to support the use of French characters in .CA domain names.

After making an initial proposal and conducting an extensive consultation in 2011, CIRA has recently published a revised proposed policy. In a nutshell:

[...] CIRA is proposing the "bundling" of character variants. This means that the holder of a particular domain name would have the exclusive right to register all of the variants of that domain name, and that no one else could register any of those domains. For example, only the holder of preside.ca would have the option to register préside.ca, prèsïdë.ca, prësîdê.ca, etc. In addition, only the holder of the domain name préside.ca would have the option to register preside.ca. A Registrant could also choose to only register an IDN domain name (e.g. grâce.ca) and not the ASCII version (grace.ca). As all variants of the same domain name could only be registered by the same Registrant, in the event a transfer of a domain name takes place, whether voluntary or involuntary (e.g. as a result of a dispute), all variants of the same domain name would have to be transferred at the same time.

The revised policy ensures that the registrant holding the rights to the bundle of accented variants of a .CA domain name will be free to choose which, if any, variants to register and how to use them. It protects existing and new domain holders from possible exploitation of the IDN versions of .CA domain names, while imposing no required additional costs. It eliminates the need for any sort of start up process involving Sunrise/Landrush periods, deadlines, etc. to protect existing .CA domain holders. Also, CIRA is "planning a comprehensive communication and education plan, in order to ensure .CA holders will be aware of their option to register variants of their domain names, and to address concerns about how Internet users will be able to access French domain names."

Opening up the .CA domain to both of Canada's official languages is a worthwhile endeavor. The revised policy proposal is most welcome, and is a substantial improvement on the initial proposal.

What do you think of the revised policy? Please consider getting involved by making a formal submission or by participating in the online discussion. The consultation closes on Friday, February 24.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry. They also develop policies that support Canada's Internet community. The 2012 CIRA Board of Directors Elections are coming up and the first part of that process is to round up a group of Canadian professionals to serve on the Nomination Committee.

The Nomination Committee's role is to solicit and select qualified Candidates for the Nomination Committee Slate of CIRA's Board Election. The Nomination Committee consists of six to 12 individuals appointed by CIRA's Board of Directors to identify a roster of Candidates who represent the diverse geographical, gender, linguistic, cultural, and professional make-up of Canada to help CIRA achieve its mission and strategic objectives.

The Benefits of Serving on the Nomination Committee

• Serve a two-year term with the objective of building a Member-elected Board of Directors that represents a wide range of views and interests.

• Make a valuable contribution to the strategic direction of .CA and Canadian Internet policy.

• Network and learn from professionals from across Canada.

• Gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Internet policy and organizational governance.

• Select Candidates at a meeting in Ottawa. Travel expenses will be reimbursed.

 
The Responsibilities of Serving on the Nomination Committee

• Solicit names of individuals who could help position CIRA and .CA for operational excellence.

• Develop and provide to the Board a list of skills, experience and demographic criteria for Directors, necessary to ensure balanced representation and effective governance that will help CIRA achieve its goals.

• Provide CIRA's Board of Directors and Members a slate of Candidates from which the Members will elect Directors.

• Identify, interview, and check references of prospective Candidates, as required, for vacant positions on the Board.

Application deadline is January 20, 2012! Apply today

Review the Selection criteria

Learn more about CIRA's Election process.

Review CIRA's by-laws.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has again launched its award program celebrating .CA websites that benefit the lives of Canadians.

Launched January 9, 2012, the .CA Impact Awards recognizes ".CA websites that make a difference" across four categories:

1.    Public Sector and Not-for-Profit - Acknowledging a government, NGO, or association whose website or application is making a difference in the lives of members, donors, and/or the public.

2.    eLearning - Recognizing youth and educators who use their .CA website to share knowledge and promote education.

3.    Small Business - Celebrating a company, with fewer than 100 employees, whose website or application has helped a business contribute to its community, foster sales or create jobs.

4.    Applications (including gaming and mobile) - Honouring a company whose mobile website, application, or game has made a impact.

 

What can I win?

1.    Visibility through the CIRA website and other CIRA communications. CIRA also announces your success to the news media and provide you with a coveted .CA Impact Awards badge which you will be allowed to post and display on your website.

2.    $5,000

3.    An expenses paid trip to the mesh conference in May 2012

 

Key Competition Details 

Deadline to Enter - March 23, 2012
 
Who Can Enter - The .CA Impact Awards program is open only to individuals and organizations that currently have a valid .CA domain name registered to them and who have reached the age of majority in their province of residence. [read the complete rules]

Click here for the judging criteria and to enter the competition.

 

Every day at Webnames.ca we interact with customers that meet the above criteria in spades with their websites, businesses and charitable endeavors. That's why we're excited to help raise awareness about the .CA Impact Awards. We would love to see one or more of our many deserving customers be recognized, so we're encouraging you apply!

Help us spread the word! If you don't meet the .CA Impact Award criteria outlined above, please pass it along to a friend, colleague or someone in your network who does. Let's celebrate Canadians that make a difference!

 

CIRA announced today their 2011 Board of Directors election. .CA Members cast a total of 968 ballots, which were tabulated by CIRA's Election Returning Officer, Eric Lay. This election saw a 22 per cent increase in voter participation over the previous year.

.CA Members voted to elect three candidates from the Nomination Committee Slate and one candidate from the Members' Slate. Each board of director elected will serve for a three-year term.

The following four newly elected individuals take office immediately:
Kerry Brown
Bill St. Arnaud
Susan Mehinagic
Andrew Escobar

A list of all the election candidates and their vote count is available at https://elections.cira.ca/2011/results/en.

Webnames.ca congratulates each of the newly elected board members and we thank all the candidates for taking an interest to serve on this volunteer board.

You can play an important role in growing Canada's Internet domain and shaping our Internet and our future.

The Campaign Forum for the 2011 Board of Directors Election begins today. The forum provides Candidates, .CA Members, and the general public an opportunity to discuss viewpoints, concerns, and positions related to how Candidates will serve Canada's Internet community if elected as a Director.

 The Campaign Forum will be available between September 13 and 20 at https://elections.cira.ca/2011/en/campaign.html. You can participate in the Campaign Forum--by asking your own questions to election Candidates.

 More information about the final candidates for the CIRA board of directors is available at https://elections.cira.ca/2011/finalslate/list/en

 Don't forget to vote September 21 to 28!

The CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP), which has been in effect since 2002, is a forum which is intended to provide quick, out-of-court arbitrations at relatively low cost for .CA domain names registered in bad faith

Last summer, CIRA (The Canadian Internet Registration Authority), held a public consultation on it's CDRP to gather information and feedback on the effectiveness of the CDRP, and to determine whether this Policy continues to meet the needs of its stakeholders. In response to the submissions from the consultation, CIRA made recommendations and proposed changes to the CDRP, inviting further comments from .CA owners during the spring of 2011.

Last week CIRA announced the implementation of a revised CDRP Policy and Rules to take effect August 22, 2011.

Many of the Policies and Rules were updated to mirror those found in ICANN's UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) to bring the rules and policies in line with Top Level domain names and other ccTLDs. Some elements of the CDRP that have changed include:

•    "Rights" and "Use" of a Trademark Removed. CIRA has removed the provisions in the CDRP Policy relating to "rights" and "use" of a mark. CIRA is of the view that these provisions have created overly technical and complex requirements in terms of qualifying for protection. This change will bring the CDRP in line on this issue with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) used for top-level domain names, as well as dispute resolution processes of other major ccTLD registries.

•    Clarification of "Confusingly Similar" Test. It has been clarified in the CDRP Policy that when determining whether a domain name is "Confusingly Similar" to a mark, the narrow resemblance test should be applied. The narrow resemblance test has been applied to most CDRP decisions, rather than the broader traditional test for confusion in trademark law, on the basis that the CDRP is not well suited to the kinds of factual determinations involved in a conventional confusion analysis applied in trademark disputes. CIRA has clarified this to ensure that all Panelists use the same test when determining whether a domain name is "Confusingly Similar" to a mark.

•    Bad Faith / Legitimate Interest Factors to be Non-Exhaustive. The list of bad faith and legitimate interest factors are now non-exhaustive. CIRA believes that the previous approach of having an exhaustive list was too restrictive and is in favour of adopting the non-exhaustive list as used in the UDRP.

More Information

For complete details about the new changes to the CDRP please visit CIRA's recent release CIRA implements revised CDRP Policy and Rules.
To review the CDRP in it's entirety please visit: http://www.cira.ca/legal/cdrp/

Starting August 2 to August 15, 2011, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority's (CIRA) is accepting applications for interested individuals across Canada to fill an open position on its Board of Directors. Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet are encouraged to apply. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, law, marketing and communications or technology.

You can play a valuable role in contributing to corporate strategic direction by directly participating in annual governance activities. Now is your opportunity to take a leadership role in the development of the Internet of the future to ensure it continues to be an open and accessible public resource. Take part in the exclusive Members-only Nomination period by nominating yourself or someone you know for the 2011 CIRA Board of Directors Election.

Who should apply?
Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, law, marketing and communications or technology.

Why should this interest me or someone I nominate?

This is a unique opportunity to work with Canada's Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence.
You will gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Canadian and international Internet policy, and organizational governance.
Board members are compensated for their time and reimbursed for expenses. For detailed information, please visit: cira.ca/about-cira/about-the-board/compensation/.
The yearly commitment includes five in-person meetings in various cities across Canada and committee work.
Nominees are not required to be Members or .CA domain name holders.

 
Help spread the word:

To apply or for more information: https://elections.cira.ca/2011/en/member_nominees.html.

Feel free to circulate the 2011 CIRA Election Info Sheet to interested parties.

Tweet about the election and use the hashtag #ciraelection

Webnames.ca would like to congratulate the
winners of the first annual .CA Impact Awards.
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority recently announced the winners at the Mesh Conference in Toronto.

The .CA Impact Awards celebrate people and organizations using their .CA websites to make a positive difference in the lives of their users and their communities. Impact can be social, cultural, political, technological, or economic.

 "At CIRA, we try to keep track of all the great .CA websites out there, but with over 1.6 million registered .CA sites it's hard to keep up," says Byron Holland, President and CEO of CIRA. "The .CA Impact Awards has really opened our eyes to some of the amazing work done on the web by Canadians. It's truly inspiring."

Four winners received $5,000 each as well as national recognition. The winners for each category are as follows:

• eLearning: ArtsAlive.CA, an educational performing arts website produced by the National Arts Centre, is the pre-eminent resource for performing arts education in Canada, engaging Canadians through information, multimedia and activities.

• Small Business: OpenMedia.CA uses its .CA website to protect the open Internet and to promote the innovation and free speech that it enables. OpenMedia.ca is currently the home of the viral Stop the Meter campaign, that brings the public together to fight for a more affordable Internet.

• Non-Profit: UppercaseGallery.CA is now an online artist community, featuring a blog, exhibitions, and a magazine. UppercaseGallery began as a gallery in downtown Calgary that featured the work of emerging and established graphic designers before moving online. Its .CA domain name allows Uppercase Gallery to clearly define itself as Canadian, as much of its web traffic is international.

• Web Technology and Design: NewPad.CA is an online apartment-hunting portal intended to make apartment hunting easier by mapping out online apartment listings in cities across Canada.

The .CA Impact Awards are part of CIRA's ongoing commitment to invest in Canada's Internet community and are designed to recognize youth, educators, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, technology developers and web designers.

Check out the winners at http://www.cira.ca/awards/en/awards.html

CIRA (The Canadian Internet Registration Authority) is a member-driven organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally. Every year CIRA accepts nominations for their Board of Directors, which then gets brought to a National Vote.

CIRA's Nomination Committee is seeking interested individuals from across Canada to apply to fill three open positions for the Nomination Committee Slate of CIRA's Board of Directors Election. Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet are encouraged to apply. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, law, marketing and communications or technology.

What is the role of CIRA's Board?
CIRA's Board of Directors has a unique role to play in setting policy and strategy to help CIRA continue to be a leading-edge organization that strives for excellence as a registry and supports Canadians in building their presence in the global digital economy.

Why should this interest me or someone I nominate?
Becoming a CIRA Board Member is a unique opportunity to work with Canada's Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence. You will gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Canadian and international Internet policy, and organizational governance. Members of CIRA's Board of Directors are remunerated for their time and reimbursed for expenses. For detailed information, please visit: www.cira.ca/board-compensation. The yearly commitment from Directors includes five in-person meetings in various cities across Canada and committee work.

Who should apply?
Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, law, marketing and communications or technology.

How do I apply?
Interested individuals can submit an application between May 12 and June 10. CIRA's nomination committee will review applications and select the Final Nomination Committee Slate, which will then be voted on by CIRA Members during the September election. There are three nomination committee seats available; each will hold a three-year term. To learn more, please visit: www.ciraelections.ca.

Make sure you get your nominations in before June 10th and best of luck to all nominees! The voting will commence September 21st, 2011- September 28th, 2011. For more details on voting visit the CIRA elections website.

CIRA has recently reported a phishing attack that is targeting .CA registrants by email and using images from the CIRA website. If you do receive an email from CIRA asking for any type of payment, please disregard it, as CIRA will never ask you for any type of payment.

CIRA has taken to their website to discuss this scam:

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has received reports of a phishing scam, using images from the CIRA website, which is designed to collect personal information, including credit card numbers. This is a targeted phishing attack. CIRA is advising Internet users that CIRA does not ask for credit card information, as all registrations are performed through Registrars.

What is Phishing?
Phishing is a practice of luring unsuspecting Internet users to a fake website by using an authentic looking email in an attempt to steal passwords, account information or other sensitive data.

About CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

To find out more please visit CIRA's Website or call our support team at 1-866-221-7878 if you have any questions or concerns.

Why should you enter? Winning .CA websites will get $5000 and free publicity!

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is celebrating .CA based websites and applications that benefit the lives of Canadians.

This past week CIRA kicked off an exciting initiative called the .CA Impact Awards to recognize ".CA websites that make a difference" across four fields: e-learning, small business, not-for-profit and web technology. Up for grabs is a $5000 prize in each category - as well as nationwide publicity for the winning websites.

"We understand the Internet is more than technology," says Byron Holland, President and CEO of CIRA, "it is a significant force, a catalyst, and a powerful agent of social change. That's why the .CA Impact Awards celebrates the impact of .CA websites and applications."

Entries will be judged on the impact that they make on the lives of their users - they don't have to be huge projects, or world changing in scope, but they do need to add value to a community of stakeholders, constituents, customers, or the public at large. The impact can be social, cultural, political, economic or technological in nature, but will have utilized the internet to make a positive difference.


Every day at Webnames.ca we interact with customers that meet the above criteria in spades with their websites, businesses and charitable endeavors, that's why we're excited to help raise awareness about the .CA Impact Awards. We would love to see one or more of our many deserving customers be recognized, so we're encouraging you apply!

CIRA has made the application process quick and painless, all it requires is your website URL (.CA of course), a couple hundred words about what you are trying to accomplish, how you are being innovative and how you are serving the interests of your audience. Pretty straightforward stuff ... and well worth the effort in considering what winning could to raise your project's profile.

A panel of 5 to 7 judges will rate the entries and select four winners - one from each category - in May 2011 and the winners will be announced at Mesh, Canada's largest Web Conference, on May 25, 2011 in Toronto.

Key Competition Details 

Deadline to Enter - March 25, 2011
 
Who Can Enter - The .CA Impact Awards program is open only to individuals and organizations that currently have a valid .CA domain name registered to them and who have reached the age of majority in their province of residence. [read the complete rules]

Click here for the judging criteria.

Click here to enter the competition.

Complete details can be found on the .CA Impact Award mini-site.

Help us spread the word! If you don't meet the .CA Impact Award criteria outlined above, please pass it along to a friend, colleague or someone in your network who does.

 

We would like to update you regarding this week's postponement of the CIRA TBR.

An ambiguity in the TBR submission rocess resulted in some registrars not being able to participate in yesterday's release.

As a result, and in keeping with CIRA's commitment to fair and equal access in the TBR process, yesterday's TBR results have been cancelled and rescheduled to run on December 1, 2010.

Below is an excerpt from the CIRA communication regarding the latest cancellation:

 

"Dear Registrars,

I would like to provide you an update about today's TBR session at 2 p.m. ET.

CIRA plays a stewardship role in managing the .CA domain space on behalf of all Canadians. This entails a responsibility to ensure that our processes meet the highest standards. We have encountered an issue that has affected the integrity of today's TBR session.

Ambiguity in the usage of some fields created the situation where some Registrars were not able to participate in the session. This was not a result of any changes to the new .CA registry system or the TBR system, which remains unchanged. Accordingly, there will be no changes to either of these systems as a result of this issue.

Fair and equal access is an important aspect of the TBR process. As today's session was not fair and equitable to all participants, we have cancelled today's TBR.

The TBR session of December 1, 2010 will include the exact same domain names as were in the November 24, 2010 session. No domain names will be added or removed from this list. Domain names cancelled after November 18, 2010 at 9:45 a.m. (ET) will be part of the December 8, 2010 TBR session. 

We understand the disruption this has caused and apologize for the inconvenience. We are strongly committed to ensuring the integrity of the TBR session and have acted accordingly."

 

The TBR session of Wednesday, December 1, 2010 will include the exact same domain names as were in the November 24, 2010 session. No domain names will be added or removed from this list.

We hope this sheds some light on the issues surrounding TBR, if you have any further questions about the .CA TBR pre-booking process, or want help completing your pre-bookings, simply contact support@webnames.ca or call 1-866-221-7878.

With a 32% increase in voter participation in the 2010 Board of Directors election, CIRA Members have elected four Candidates from the Nomination Committee Slate and one Candidate from the Members' Slate to CIRA's Board of Directors.

The successful Candidates from the Nomination Committee Slate include:

• Paul Anderson
• Louise Macdonald
• Rowena Liang
• John King

On the Member's Slate, Rick Anderson narrowly defeated Andrew Escobar by 4 votes.

To view complete 2010 CIRA Board of Directors Election result details, including the numbers of votes case for each candidate, please visit https://elections.cira.ca/2010/results/en.

Webnames.ca congratulates all the newly elected and re-elected Board Members. We look forward to the future of CIRA under the upcoming improved registry.

In it's official release CIRA also thanked departing Directors Ron Kawchuk and Rick Sutcliffe for their time and efforts dedicated to CIRA.

For more information on the Board of Directors, please visit http://www.cira.ca/board-of-directors.

About CIRA - The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the member-driven organization that manages Canada's .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally. CIRA processes over 600 million requests per day to connect Internet users with over 1.4 million .CA Internet addresses.

Learn more about the CIRA Registry Rewrite being implemented on October 12, 2010.

Life is about to get a whole lot easier for those who own or manage .CA domain name portfolios.

 

On Tuesday October 12, 2010, CIRA (the Canadian Internet Registration Authority) will be migrating to an EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) platform for .ca domains. 
This protocol is favoured and used by other domain extensions such as .COM, .NET, .ORG, etc.

How will the changes impact .CA owners? Keep reading to find out!

Simplified Administrative Contact Updates

Well, for starters, your CIRA account (used to approve administrative contact updates or to transfer a domain) will be a thing of the past. Moving forward, administrative contact changes will be done entirely through your registrar and will not require subsequent confirmation with CIRA making the entire process faster and easier to complete.

Easier .CA Transfers

Registrar transfers will now require an authorization code (called an EPP code) as well as the domain status to be either 'unlocked' or 'ok'. This authorization code can be obtained from the registrar you are transferring away from. After you have obtained the authorization or "EPP" code you can simply return to the Webnames.ca site to initiate your transfer. The transfer process will no longer be require you to login to your CIRA account to approve .CA transfer requests.  For those of you with large.CA domain portfolios, the above changes will make bulk .CA transfers much easier to process. 

Please note that CIRA will still continue to enforce Canadian Presence Requirements for registrants, though, as well as the other requirements of the registrant agreement.

Grandfathering of 3rd and 4th Level .CA Domain Names

One of the bigger changes though, is how the switch to EPP will affect 3rd and 4th level domains (like abc.bc.ca or xyz.on.ca). These domains will be maintained by CIRA, and registrants can continue to use and renew them; however, be warned that if these domains were to expire and lapse completely, you will no longer be able to re-register 3rd or 4th level extensions.

CIRA won't be supporting any new registrations of either provincial extensions, nor 4th level registrations of municipal domains (like town.nameoftown.bc.ca) as of October 12, 2010.

If you currently have a top level domain (for example, www.webnames.ca) and want to register your domain in the 3rd level (for example, www.webnames.bc.ca) you must do so before Tuesday, October 12, 2010.

To register a 3rd level domain name, please call Webnames.ca Customer Support toll free at 1-866-221-7878 or email your request to support@webnames.ca and one of our representatives can help process your registration.

Registration Tip! - Mobile internet use has made local search an important trend in search engine optimization. Registering your business name in the 3rd level may help your business rank better against your local and regional competitors!

Also, in the week leading up to the migration, CIRA will not be accepting any modifications to .CA domains that would typically require approval in one's CIRA account. That means that contact information updates, registrar transfers and registrant transfers will all be disabled starting October 4th, 2010.

To learn more about the upcoming changes at CIRA and the move to the new and improved .CA domain name registration system, go to cira.ca/ca-faq-10-12.

If you have any questions about the content of this blog post or the CIRA registration system transition, please email support@webnames.ca.

Help Shape Canada's Internet!

Are you an experienced professional with Board of Directors experience?

Are you looking for an opportunity to have a positive impact on the .CA domain?

Member Nominations are being accepted from August 3 - 16.

Who should apply?

Professional Canadians with Board experience and/or an interest in technology and the Internet. Expertise in one of the following areas would be an asset: accounting, education, law, marketing and communications, human resources, or technology.

Why should this interest me?

Becoming a CIRA Board Member is a unique opportunity to work with Canada's Internet leaders as they develop strategy and policy that positions .CA for operational excellence.
You will gain valuable insight and experience around technical innovation, Internet policy, and organizational governance.

The yearly commitment from Directors includes approximately five in-person week-day meetings in various cities across Canada throughout the year as well as committee work.

Members of CIRA's Board of Directors are remunerated for their time and reimbursed for expenses. For detailed information, please visit: http://www.cira.ca/board-compensation.

What is the role of CIRA's Board?

CIRA Directors help determine strategic direction and provide oversight for Canada's .CA domain name registry. CIRA is a member-driven organization that develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community and represents the .CA registry internationally.

How do I apply?

CIRA Members can nominate themselves or another individual (who can be either a member or non-member) by completing the online Nomination Form from August 3 - 16.

To be included on the final Members' Slate, Member Nominees must then receive the endorsement of at least 20 CIRA Members during the Show of Support stage. CIRA Members will then vote during the September 22 - 29 election.

There is one Member Nomination seat available which will hold a three-year term.
For more information and to apply, please visit: www.ciraelections.ca