Parliament and the Internet: the present and the future.

• Author: Barbour, Michael K.

Every member of the Senate and the House of Commons along with their staff have access to e-mail, the World-Wide Web and Usenet newsgroups. However, just getting connected to the internet does not ensure that this communications tool is used to the fullest extent. This article looks at what Parliamentarians are doing and what they could do in the future.

In the early 1990s the Internet was just a mysterious entity that did not figure prominently in the work of most legislators. Today all federal and most provincial legislators have been connected to the Internet in one form or another yet the question still arises as to what extent this new technology is being used in the offices of Canadian legislators. To try and answer this question a survey consisting of eight questions was sent by e-mail to all 301 Members of the House of Commons in early 1999.

The questions were as follows:

* Do you check/read your e-mail on a regular basis?

* Do you reply to any e-mail that warrants a response?

* Do you maintain an e-mail database for regular or mass correspondence?

* Do you monitor Usenet newsgroups?

* Do you post to Usenet newsgroups?

* Do you have a World-Wide Web site?

* How often is this site update?

* What sort of material is available on your World-Wide Web site?

The response rate, 32 out of 301, is in line with traditional mail surveys although one might have hoped for a larger response given the ease of answering questions by e-mail. Nevertheless based on these responses it is possible to make some general observations about how Parliamentarians are using e-mail, the World Wide Web and Usenet newsgroups.

Of the 32 MPs who replied to the survey, only 10 of them were using e-mail databases. Most political offices have traditional, mailing databases which can be merged with form letters or used to run off labels to send out copies of the MP's or Senator's last speech. This kind of direct mail is popular both as a fundraising and advertising tool. It would seem logical to take this to the next step and create an e-mail database that could be used to contact special interest groups, the business community, supporters and donators.

This could be done quite simply by keeping a record of the people that e-mail a member's office and watching for e-mail addresses printed on the business cards something that is becoming a more common practice. A survey could be included in a householder, asking constituents questions about their level of Internet access and including a space for them to write their e-mail address. These are all ways to start to collect e-mail addresses to add to an e-mail database.

Imagine being able to contact these groups and individuals on a regular basis, occupying little in the way of staff time and at no cost to the taxpayer. The beauty about e-mail is that a two screen e-mail is less than half a page of text. This...