Internet use by Quebec parliamentarians.

• Author: Elias, Angelo

Since the introduction of televised parliamentary debates the Internet is likely the technological invention that will most influence parliamentarians' work, by modifying the relationship between them and their constituents. This new form of two-way communication allows large amounts of information to be disseminated on a large scale for low cost without being filtered by traditional media. The Internet can also improve communication between parliamentarians and party members, lobby groups and the public.

The aim of this research was to find out how parliamentarians use the Internet in their activities as representatives, as well as what problems could arise from the use of this new technology. We looked at previous work from the United States and France that found parliamentarians use the Internet in a conventional manner and seldom take advantage of the potential for interactivity.

Owen, Davis and Strickler's study (1999)(1) is based on a 1996 survey answered by 15% of Members of Congress. It found that the respondents used the Internet mostly as a personal promotional tool and seldom used its interactivity features. The authors point out the problems caused by e-mail management. The Internet has caused an increase in the volume of letters received from the public. Political staff said they were swamped by the influx of mail because they did not have the necessary resources to answer all of the letters within a reasonable time. In addition, because the Internet offers both private citizens and organizations a cheap way of mass distributing large amounts of information, Members of Congress received many letters from people outside of their electoral district (about 50% of all received messages). Participants in the study also said that e-mail messages tended to be more spontaneous and less restrained than non-electronic mail because the Internet lessens inhibitions.

Eighteen per cent of the French National Assembly(2) (103 deputies) participated in the study conducted by the French gateway, Netpolitique, in July 2001.

Ninety per cent of the deputies had an e-mail address in their constituency office and 70% had one at their office at the National Assembly. Of the various Internet uses available, the deputies used e-mail the most, followed by documentary research and Web surfing on institutional sites. However, the Internet correspondence mostly comprised internal communication between deputies and their assistants, which seemed much more significant than exchanges with the public. In fact, 50% of the respondents said that...