A few minutes ago I was reminded of a situation that has been allowed to continue on the Government of Newfoundland website that is completely unacceptable.
While the Department of Government Services provides online access to its Registry of Companies, one can only access the database if they are using Internet Explorer 6.
In case you aren't up on these things, Internet Explorer 6 was first released in 2001. According to the Wiki article about Internet Explorer 6 suggests that "Microsoft now considers IE6 to be an obsolete product and recommends that users upgrade to Internet Explorer 8." A Microsoft website dedicated to eradicating Internet Explorer 6 goes are far as to say "Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye." This same site also suggests that only 2% of Canadians use this browser.
So to get back to my original point, by allowing access to the database exclusively through an outdated browser the Department of Government services is effectively failing to provide access to this data about Newfoundland companies to the vast majority of the Canadian population. That this situation has been allowed to persist is completely unacceptable.
Showing posts with label Access to Information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Access to Information. Show all posts
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Tony Clement/the Canadian Government and Twitter
A few days ago Canada's Industry Minister, Tony Clement, used his Twitter account to publicize the government's decision to get the CRTC to revisit their decision on usage based billing (UBB).
While I guess that things like this are likely to be the wave of the future it is, nonetheless, a little strange.
While in some ways making announcements via Twitter might increase access to the content of the decision, this approach might disperse official policy stances of the government across the web. Determining which of these positions are the official positions of the government, given that they are on non-official sites, might be challenging.
Also, who controls this data? Will these tweets be available permanently and in venues other than Twitter? Will these tweets be considered official government statements? Who will manage this information? All in all, the switch to this platform seems to have been taken without much planning or thought.
All of this is not to say that the current government doesn't have a number of good reasons to move to this platform for official announcements. Firstly, Twitter is fast. For instance, Clement was able to get his message out to thousands almost instantaneously. This speed means that news cycles can be skipped or toyed with. Secondly, Twitter provides a way for the government/ministers to communicate directly with interested parties and the public, a feature that must be particularly appealing to this somewhat media-phobic government. The government does not have to rely on the mass media to transmit their message to the public nor worry that their message might be distorted by devious journalists. Furthermore, follow-up questions from the public (or media) can be addressed directly and quickly (and these are things that Clement seems interested in).
And finally, it seems that with same Twitter account that Clement is using to make policy statements he is also commenting about important topics such as the quantity of Red Bull his squash competitors have consumed or what he thinks about the half-time entertainment at the upcoming Super Bowl.
Thus Clement is blurring the lines between his public and private persona. When he says something on Twitter, as he has been for the past while, is it a reflection of the government's position (i.e. Does the Canadian government think that the Black Eyed Peas suck?) or are such positions reflections only of Clement's personal beliefs? How are citizens to know when Tony Clement is speaking for only Tony Clement or when he is actually speaking for the Government?
Anyway, given that this trend is likely to increase in popularity rather than diminish I think that a few of these issues (and likely a few that I have neglected to discuss) are worth considering somewhat seriously before we proceed too far along this path.
Score
Cameron 13
Neil 0
While I guess that things like this are likely to be the wave of the future it is, nonetheless, a little strange.
While in some ways making announcements via Twitter might increase access to the content of the decision, this approach might disperse official policy stances of the government across the web. Determining which of these positions are the official positions of the government, given that they are on non-official sites, might be challenging.
Also, who controls this data? Will these tweets be available permanently and in venues other than Twitter? Will these tweets be considered official government statements? Who will manage this information? All in all, the switch to this platform seems to have been taken without much planning or thought.
All of this is not to say that the current government doesn't have a number of good reasons to move to this platform for official announcements. Firstly, Twitter is fast. For instance, Clement was able to get his message out to thousands almost instantaneously. This speed means that news cycles can be skipped or toyed with. Secondly, Twitter provides a way for the government/ministers to communicate directly with interested parties and the public, a feature that must be particularly appealing to this somewhat media-phobic government. The government does not have to rely on the mass media to transmit their message to the public nor worry that their message might be distorted by devious journalists. Furthermore, follow-up questions from the public (or media) can be addressed directly and quickly (and these are things that Clement seems interested in).
And finally, it seems that with same Twitter account that Clement is using to make policy statements he is also commenting about important topics such as the quantity of Red Bull his squash competitors have consumed or what he thinks about the half-time entertainment at the upcoming Super Bowl.
Thus Clement is blurring the lines between his public and private persona. When he says something on Twitter, as he has been for the past while, is it a reflection of the government's position (i.e. Does the Canadian government think that the Black Eyed Peas suck?) or are such positions reflections only of Clement's personal beliefs? How are citizens to know when Tony Clement is speaking for only Tony Clement or when he is actually speaking for the Government?
Anyway, given that this trend is likely to increase in popularity rather than diminish I think that a few of these issues (and likely a few that I have neglected to discuss) are worth considering somewhat seriously before we proceed too far along this path.
Score
Cameron 13
Neil 0
Sunday, November 11, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 130
-Today seemed a little warmer than yesterday, though on the crisp side of things. Other than that it was pretty unexciting in terms of weather.
-For breakfast this morning I made myself some scones. It has been a while since I have done this, something that I was reminded of during a conversation on the topic a few days ago. Unfortunately, the scones didn’t have quite the right texture, though they were still quite edible.
-For the past few hours I have been preparing a batch of beef stew for dinner. In a short while I will try to peel the potatoes and add them, finishing the last major step before the product is to be served.
-Since we put the curtain up last night Nithum has been taking advantage of his added privacy, something that I don’t find surprising at all. As far as I know, the curtains haven’t actually been fully opened since they were installed.
-I have been reading a fair bit about Access to Information laws over the past few days. Not only do I have to assist in the preparation of a presentation on the topic, but I also have to write an archives related paper on the subject.
-All week Nithum and I had been looking forward to the Saturday and Sunday only 50% off bacon sale at the local grocery store. Unfortunately, by the time that I made it to the store late this morning they had sold out. In the end I just purchased some crackers, garlic, and discount flour.
-For breakfast this morning I made myself some scones. It has been a while since I have done this, something that I was reminded of during a conversation on the topic a few days ago. Unfortunately, the scones didn’t have quite the right texture, though they were still quite edible.
-For the past few hours I have been preparing a batch of beef stew for dinner. In a short while I will try to peel the potatoes and add them, finishing the last major step before the product is to be served.
-Since we put the curtain up last night Nithum has been taking advantage of his added privacy, something that I don’t find surprising at all. As far as I know, the curtains haven’t actually been fully opened since they were installed.
-I have been reading a fair bit about Access to Information laws over the past few days. Not only do I have to assist in the preparation of a presentation on the topic, but I also have to write an archives related paper on the subject.
-All week Nithum and I had been looking forward to the Saturday and Sunday only 50% off bacon sale at the local grocery store. Unfortunately, by the time that I made it to the store late this morning they had sold out. In the end I just purchased some crackers, garlic, and discount flour.
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