articles
November 16, 2000
Dot.ca Dilemma
by Barbara Fletcher
Want your own dot.ca? Well, it might be a bit of a pain in the domain.
However, the CIRA-certified
registrars who are now heavily advertising to entice you to
get your own dot.ca would have you believing that's easy as grabbing a new dot.com.
But this isn't always the case. Yes, it was really hard before. Now, it's just confusing.
Up until a few months ago, dot.ca domain registrations were heavily governed by a
co-operative under the University of British Columbia; dot.ca's were reserved only for federal agencies
and businesses with locations in more than one province. This meant that very few Canadians
could register www.myname.ca, and they were forced to settle for a dot.com, dot.net, or
dot.org.
On November 8, everything changed.
As of August 15, 2000, the non-profit
Canadian
Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) began certifying
registrars -- companies that meet the guidelines for registering a dot.ca and becoming
authorized resellers of OpenSRS.
And, as of the media-hyped "launch date" of November 8, new dot.ca
domain registrations that meet the Canadian
Presence Requirements could be accepted by CIRA-certified
registrars.
The good news is that now to own a dot.ca, the only requirement is that registrants are one
of the following: Canadian citizen, permanent Canadian resident, or legal representatives of
Canadian corporations, trusts, partnerships, or associations. Oh yeah, and the Queen.
The other good news is that you can register as many dot.ca's as you want. Plus, you can register a Canadian domain
for up to 10 years in advance -- sure beats the usual 2-year limit with dot.coms.
The bad news is that it's no longer free. You can expect to pay about $35 CAD a year per dot.ca
domain.
After completing the registration process with your chosen registrar, you will receive an
e-mail that includes a User ID and password, which you will need to enter on CIRA's secure
Website
in order to accept the Registrant
Agreement.
Something that makes this whole process somewhat confusing is that the CIRA will process registrations
through the UBC co-operative until the database transferred fully to the CIRA on December 1 --
the day the new registry opens and the new rules take effect.
While some people have been able to register a dot.ca with ease and are now enjoying their new domain,
others are finding it difficult to determine whether or not their pre-registration
has been processed. Does this mean that they need to wait until December 1 to see if they've
got their dot.ca's? Nobody seems to be able to answer that question.
So, if you were on the edge of your seat waiting for November 8, and you thought that you could
register your dot.ca, start uploading your Web pages, and begin advertising your new site, you might
need to sit back. Your dot.ca might be "parked" -- or perhaps idling, waiting in anticipation for
your registrar to process any pre-registrations.
Or, you might be lucky.
Now, if you have an existing dot.ca, you're not off the hook, either. It doesn't matter whether or not
your domain is up for renewal.
As of September 18, there are steps you need to take
to renew your domain with the new authority (CIRA) -- and if you don't re-register by December 1
(registrars advise owners to re-register as soon as possible) you risk losing your domain.
And you never know if someone is waiting for the December 1 deadline to scoop up the precious
dot.ca that had to work so hard for in the past.
Dot.ca renewals (as well as new registrations) can be taken by any
CIRA-certified
registrars.
So, if you want a shiny new dot.ca, act now. There are about 40 registrars available, so
shop around and get the best price you can find.