The Pirate Party of Canada is hoping to attract the youth vote with a platform that calls for guaranteed minimum income (or mincome as it is commonly known) and decriminalized filesharing.

“There is a misconception that [the youth] don’t care about politics,” party leader Ric Lim said. “But they very much care about the future and are actively involved in civic issues.”

The Pirate Party believes that even though only 38% eligible voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in 2011, the number will naturally increase at this election.

“Young people care about the future, but they have no one to vote for,” deputy leader Shawn Vulliez said. “The best thing we can do to make them vote is show them platforms that speak to them outside the status quo like mincome and decriminalize filesharing.”

The Pirate Party manifesto states that “unemployment and income inequality is on the rise and we risk a breakdown of social cohesion without a system for resource distribution as we face increased automation.”

The party proposes mincome as a solution that is supported by both sides of the political divide.

“Left for its social justice aspect,” Lim explained. “Right for its smaller government model.”

“Instead of subsidizing multibillion mutltinational corporations, who ends up packing their bags anyway, giving money directly to the people empowers the people.” Lim added. “The government doesn’t dictate how to use your money, unlike with tax credits, which are ineffective and target specific groups only.”

On the topic of filesharing, the Pirate Party is campaigning to make it easier, and not harder, to share digital content.

“We believe in sharing of works like they share cassette tapes and vinyl records in the old days,” Lim said. “If people are sharing your work that means they like your work. So why make it difficult?”

“Is it right to jail someone with a worse sentence than a bank fraudster?” Lim added. “All people want is easy access to information and culture, at a reasonable cost reflecting the cheaper cost of distribution nowadays”

The party, which received between 0.3% and 1% in the ten ridings they contested in 2011, declared that all though it is an uphill battle, they are running to win.

“We are aware that we have limited resources but we intend to campaign to win,” Lim said. “We don’t have the money and resources like the major party, so, we have to start early and reach as much household as possible. At least this time we know when the election is.”

“The culture has changed in the last 4 years a lot,” Vulliez said. “What was radical then is common sense now. Like cannabis legalization.”