From its inception to early maturity in 2001, a major attraction of the Internet has been public content and services, for common use and benefit. By and large, this is the ‘sticky stuff’ that attracts people to the Internet and keeps them there. At the same time, commercial content and services are also valued and consumed by the public but are more specific in nature.

In addition to the type of content, the diversity of means of access will continue to be an important issue for those on both sides of the digital divide. The question of whether the technology is owned or managed privately or publicly is less of an issue for users than whether it serves as a means for people to access required information or services, though this ‘ownership’ issue matters with issues such as diversity of content. For example, research on which different types of communication approaches or technologies people used to access different types of information or services demonstrated that choices were very much based on specific needs and circumstances of the individual, the type of information sought and the type of organization they were contacting. Both Internet users and non-users required a range of choices for means of access depending on their needs and capacities. This needs-driven diversity of access has been reflected in different federal government information policies involving the Internet and other means of access. For example, the Connecting Canadians agenda, the Government On-Line initiative and Human Resources Development Canada all have as a core policy objective the provision and access of information and services using a variety of means, including online, telephone, in-person and mail.¹⁶

16 Vision for HRDC, 1998, Practical Vision and Action Plan, Working Draft, HRDC, June 22, 1998; Government On-Line and Canadians, Canada, January, 2002, p.2