Hmm, only in Canada, you say.

As a domain name registry, I hope that you can appreciate that carrier traffic shaping policies are well outside CIRA’s field of endeavor. That said, it is an issue we are examining.

As for expenses, I would remind you that we have an openly elected Board of Directors, 3 of whom come directly from the registrant base. The Directors set the strategic plan and the associated annual budget, which CIRA staff is then held accountable for meeting. At the end of the year an audit committee reviews and approves the financial statements. At this point they are sent to an outside auditor, who specializes in not-for-profits, who again reviews the statements and provides final sign-off. At this point they are published for all to see. I would also remind you that there is a Government of Canada representative on CIRA’s Board.

As you can see, there is direct registrant representation as well as a significant set of checks and balances in the financial reporting process.

Byron

Canada is about to see huge increases in costs for internet access, bandwidth and site access if the common carriers are allowed to eliminate “re-sellers” and take total control not just of the backbone but the right of individual sites to exist without be charged for access by internet users.

The CRTC and the Canadian government need to take a sober second look at the way in which Canadians may soon find the internet access disappearing before their eyes and their pocketbooks as more and more “IP based” connectivity is used for high profit television and multi-media content controlled by the common carriers or their associated companies.

CIRA should be “front and centre” loudly protecting the rights of its site registrants against any attempts to take control of the internet in Canada for the benefit of private common carriers. If CIRA does not start standing up for our rights there will be no need for CIRA to exist since I for one would not be able to pay a common carrier for access to my sites.

On the matter of “spending” CIRA should have an “audit committee” made up of registrants to keep a very close eye on how the funds remitted by registrants are disbursed by CIRA directors and staff.

Thank you

Peter Lomath

There are approximately 140 Registrars to choose from and there are a lot of great ones. If you don’t like the one you are with, you are free to transfer to another one. Like anything in the private sector, nothing speaks as loudly to a business as walking away from it. If you have a specific complaint about a particular Registrar please contact us at http://www.cira.ca/corporate-contact/ We investigate, follow up, and resolve complaints.

ICANN is a much maligned organization, but the fact is that it is the forum in which the governance and coordination of the internet happens. This is where the discussion and decisions around internet policy, law, governance, technology, protocol, and security issues happen and get made. Are you really suggesting that .CA should have no part in determining the future course of the coordination of the internet? Gotta be frank here…that is a pretty small minded view for such an important issue.

Do you really want to leave these issues up to the likes of Syria and the very Registrars you complain about?

I’d like to make you aware of the ways you can be involved with CIRA.
We’ve recently held the elections for the CIRA Board of Directors (https://elections.cira.ca/2009/en/election.html); however, there are other ways to be involved. The call for members of the nomination committee – the committee that selects the candidates who will appear on the final ballot for the Board of Directors election – goes out in January.
The elections process for Board members will begin in May.

Now, if I could just get this cape untangled…

Jim over at CIRATalk.ca

CIRA has spent over 1 million bucks on travel in the past 3 years! And no Auditor General to keep things open, transparent, and accountable.

Let’s put things in perspective. The Internet will do fine if CIRA shifts its attention (and dollars) to the real needs of Canadians. After all these years, after all these ICANN trips, it is crazy that so many CIRA certified registrars offer such crappy service. But why expect better? CIRA is a government mandated monopoly. Not a thick registry. A very thick registry

Byron…Just a friendly reminder. Those “armchair quarterbacks” you are referring to are the ones who are paying for your travel expenses.

Dilip S

Why does CIRA have so many critics? Maybe it is because CIRA says one thing and does something else. Byron, where are those translations you promised? Here’s your quote from September 10: “Lorsque nous recevons des questions en français, comme dans le cas du commentaire que vous avez soumis, une réponse en français sera fournie.”

Broken promises for sure. Folks are still waiting for the CIRA leader to act on his word. And meanwhile, CIRA seems to have quietly taken away the blog link on the French section of the site. Clearly, CIRA is not interested in working the Canadian way.

Every time I read Byron talking about CIRA’s so called “international reputation”, I feel like laughing out loud. “International reputation?” Anyone who has even been to an ICANN meeting knows it very easy to be popular with the Internet crowd when you have deep pockets. Why does CIRA have so many critics? Maybe CIRA should stop jet setting at registrants’ expense and instead focus on what Canadians need? Canadians do not need CIRA to fly around the world talking about the “fun” stuff. Canadians need CIRA leaders to start working on service for Canadians—the “boring” stuff. Byron if you “sweat the small stuff”, why do so many CIRA CERTIFIED REGISTRARS offer poor/awful service while you and others cruise the halls of Europe? You guys should spend more time at home working on making service better for the folks at home.

Trevor