Government Information on the Internet: One Issue 1

Tyson Macaulay, Industry Canada 2

ABSTRACT: The Canadian government is waking up to the realities of rapidly growing information networks and what these networks mean to service delivery and industry support. One of the problems encountered is the attempt to apply old rules of industry support to the new methods of delivery. Government attempts to control information valuable to Canadian industry may undermine the intent for which it was produced. The value of government information could be eroded by proposed limits to its availability on networks.

RÉSUMÉ: Le gouvernement canadien est en train de prendre conscience des réseaux d'information en rapide croissance et de ce que ces réseaux signifient pour la livraison du service et pour l'appui à l'industrie. L'un des problèmes rencontrés est la tentative d'appliquer de vieilles règles pour l'appui à l'industrie, et ce, aux nouvelles méthodes de livraison. Les tentatives du gouvernement afin d'exercer le contrôle sur l'information ayant de l'importance pour l'industrie canadienne peut miner l'intention avec laquelle elle a été produite. Les limites proposées pour la disponibilité de l'information gouvernementale sur les réseaux pourraient en éroder la valeur.

From the days of the First National Policy in Canada, the government has seen itself as being instrumental in aiding the development of Canadian industry. Tariffs, subsidy, marketing boards, regulation, investment review, these are all historically typical strategies for encouraging industry. But times have changed. Government can no longer afford to throw money at business, and as a consequence it has begun a much less expensive campaign of "facilitating." And how does government like to facilitate? --through providing information to promote partnerships and technology transfers that will foster competitiveness in Canadian industry. Lately a problem has risen in the process. Government is trying to apply old maxims of industrial support to the new way.

Government wants to be sure that it only helps the worthy, in this case Canadian firms and businesses. Using the old ways--tariffs, subsidy, etc., this was simple. You are Canadian? You get protection. You get money. But now, and in the future what will you get? Information. But unlike tariffs and subsidy, you cannot really control information, and this is the problem: government activities to control information valuable to Canadian industry may undermine the purpose for which the information is produced. The value of government information is being degraded by the limitations being proposed regarding its availability and use.

Right now the Canadian government is waking up to the presence of information networks and the potential they offer as information tools, as public service tools, as democratic tools. The Internet, being the largest and most pervasive of all networks, is attracting the most attention. And the delivery of government information over the Internet has begun: Industry Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the National Research Council, Statistics Canada, the National Library, the National Archives, Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans all have databases accessible on the Internet. These projects have all been successful as pilots and have fostered intense discussion about the future of electronic service delivery.

You are to be spared the usual witty simile or metaphor about how information spreads on the Internet. Suffice it to say it is uncontrollable; and this is where the problem lies. Government wants, and needs, to take advantage of the new potential of the networks. But at the same time government wants to prevent the spread of information to "unintended recipients." In theory this is a just concern: why should non-Canadians--especially non-Canadian firms-- benefit from information compiled and made available at the expense of the Canadian people? This is a valid concern but it must not be the overriding concern. The fact is that while information placed on the Internet may be of benefit to non-Canadian industry too, the overall advantage to Canadian firms makes up for this loss.

Under the pilot program being run by Industry Canada, approximately 7000 inquiries are being made each week via the Internet for documents from the Industry Canada document database (ftp/gopher/www: debra.dgbt.doc.ca ). Of the "facilitation-related" information, approximately 80% of the files are going to Canadian sources. This comes to thousands and thousands of documents intended to aid industry that reach the people that want them, when they want them. What do the stats for paper look like? It is impossible to know, but certainly a significant proportion of paper documents end up in unintended locations (like the HQ of that branch plant?). And how many of those same paper documents are lost or never read? Don't ask. And the faxes and photocopies and copied floppies of information that are passed around? In the end the status quo is probably no more appealing than electronic services, the only difference is that it's not as obvious. Despite this, the merit of developing electronic service delivery is in some cases being questioned by governmental agencies on the basis of its availability to non-Canadians. Yet this is clearly the lesser (a lot lesser) of two evils.

The Internet in Canada is growing at the rate of about 12% a month. Much of this growth is from commercial use of the Internet for gathering and disseminating information. The expansion of government information services to industry on the Internet must proceed without qualification because there is no way to qualify who gets the information. This is a case of all or none. Restricting access to Canadians has more negative affects than the free flow of the information. Consider the options:

Option A

Companies are asked to "register" to get information online. A bureaucracy has to be created or expanded to register and screen these firms, and the companies themselves have to get around to registering. The information (since it is not public) is not indexed by any of the widely used Internet search engines like Veronica (gopher), and therefore not likely to be discovered when it is needed. Many of the businesses that will most benefit from this information will be new to the Internet and its operations; the complexity of downloading "restricted" information will most likely be heightened by command-prompt interfaces that will stymie many potential clients. In the end only a small proportion of the potential audience will access the information they need, at the time they need it.

Option B

Make information public but restrict access to "Canadian" hosts (Internet sites) on the Internet. This means the compilation of an exhaustive list of all Canadian Internet hosts--updated daily. And what about Canadian firms operating in other countries? Make them apply as in Option A? And what about foreign firms operating in Canada and therefore with Canadian "addresses"?... This is an administrative nightmare. In the end, Option B" is not really an option.

Option C

Make the information freely available, hence searchable and indexable, and accept that non-Canadians may use it. An example of this type of service delivery is the Trade Opportunities Program (TOP) database operated by the United States which is open to the world (Gopher address una.hh.lib.umich.edu/00/ebb/ebbinfo/bull23.txt). This site is full of market intelligence gathered by American embassies and missions around the world at, no doubt, great expense to the American citizens. But, the United States knows that this is a very effective way to get the information to where it is needed. The Canadian government should adopt this model to insure the maximum value of its information programs to Canadian Industry.

The information age will confuse the function of many established government activities and services. The distribution of government information is only the first in a string of upcoming conflicts regarding the evolution of government services. However, this first issue is crucial because it will set a precedent in Canadian government. The precedent will clearly be towards openness, there is little alternative. Speed and decisiveness are now of the essence.