But Henri-Francois Gautrin, parliamentary assistant to Charest, said the traditional ways of reaching the government, such as telephone calls and face-to-face meetings, won't be eliminated. The so-called e-government project is meant to be a rapid-delivery method for government services, Gautrin said at a telecommunications conference.
Gautrin also said the aim is to organize existing online services so they answer people's needs.
"It's not about reinventing the wheel," he said.
Gautrin said education will be an important part of realizing the e-government project but the entire effort will be a step-by-step affair. He pointed out that security measures for protecting personal information and transactions are key.
Improving the government's online presence is a priority for Charest. It was one of his promises during last spring's provincial election.
Quebec -_ like most governments - already has a website.
Quebecers' Internet use has increased in recent years, say Statistics Canada figures but the province still lags in visits to cyberspace compared with other parts of Canada.
Statistics Canada reported that 53.2 per cent of Quebec households had at least one regular user in 2002. The Internet was being used in 67.4 per cent of Ontario households, Statistics Canada said. The Canadian average was 61.6 per cent.
Gautrin has a March 2004 deadline for a plan on how to implement e-government. However, he was short on specifics in an address at the conference for leading telecommunications networks in research and education.
But Gautrin said no efforts would be made to resurrect a program by the previous Parti Quebecois government to financially help people to buy computers.
Tom Copeland, chairman of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers, said in an interview that governments have no choice but to have strong Internet sites these days.
"The demographic that is looking for that type of information is going to be that older crowd, whether it's on tax management for seniors or seniors programs coming out of health ministries," Copeland said from Cobourg, Ont.
"Those are the folks that have got the time to do the research, they know what they're looking for and they expect answers."
He said younger users would not necessarily be the prime targets for government because they use the Internet more for entertainment.
"Seniors tend to be our fastest growing segment of the market," he said. "From what we see, in general, they have the disposable income. They certainly have the time."
Copeland said he finds the Industry Canada website useful for his business needs but noted governments could do a better job of publicizing what they have.
Quelle: Canada.com, 23.10.2003
