Principles of Equality and Multi-Channel Service Delivery

The principle of equality reinforces the importance of ensuring all citizens have the option to make use of the Internet and the continued support for select public access sites in communities across Canada. At the same time, however, this principle also reinforces the importance of ensuring that those who are not able or who do not wish to use the Internet retain the ability to access the same or substantively similar information and services. This later point is a central driving factor for maintenance of a multi-channel approach to service delivery.

The imperative to continue to implement a multi-channel approach to service delivery is further supported by the tendency of both Internet users and non-users alike to rely on different service and information channels or a combination of channels to satisfy information needs or complete a transaction with government.

As shown in Figure 14, no single channel surpasses the 50-percentile milestone as the expected main method of contact in two years. Internet/email reaches majority status for Internet users, telephone doing the same for non-users, but in each case only by a relatively small margin.

• 44 per cent of Canadians expect Internet/email to be their main method of contact with government in two years, 35 per cent indicate telephone.
• 55 per cent of Internet users believe the Internet/email will be their main method of contact with government in two years. 11 per cent of current non-users report the same.
• At 54 per cent non-users are significantly more likely to report reliance on the telephone as their main method of contact with government in the next two years. This number falls to 28 per cent for Internet users.