Cira

56.      What is CIRA?

CIRA is the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. It is a not-for-profit organization mandated to operate the .ca top-level domain.

57.      When did CIRA begin operations?

CIRA was incorporated in December 1998 and held its inaugural Board of Directors meeting in February 1999. Since then the Board has been meeting regularly to negotiate with UBC for the transfer of the .ca domain Registry to CIRA and to develop the technical, administrative and business framework for CIRA.

58.      What will CIRA's activities be?

As a Registry, CIRA will set policy for, manage and operate the .ca domain database for Registrars and Registrants.

59.      How is CIRA governed?

The Board of Directors governs the operations of CIRA. The Board of Directors currently consists of ten members - seven representatives elected by the membership of CIRA (all Registrants are members of CIRA), and three representatives appointed from the following communities of interest: Internet Users, Registrars and the Commercial Internet Industry. In addition, the government of Canada has a permanent, non-voting, ex-officio position on the CIRA Board of Directors.

60.      Who was responsible for registering the .ca domain before CIRA?

Domain Names ending in .ca have been assigned and registered by the .ca Committee, a volunteer organization headed by Mr. John Demco, the Computing Facilities Manager for the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. On a voluntary basis, the University provided the technical and administrative resources to house and operate the registry.

61.      What is CANARIE's role in all this?

In December 1999, CIRA asked CANARIE to work with the Board to deliver all aspects of a functional Registry.