Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 01/99) - Creating official records of legislative debates has changed in quantum leaps since the first transcribers scrolled away with quill pens.

And if Yellowknife Hansard director Liz Wyman is correct in her prediction, the future will hold change just as great.

"In the future, if we follow technology we will want somebody who can listen to a voice and then repeat it at the same time into a voice recognition (computer)," she said of possible computer advancements.

"Hansard has to keep up with technology."

Wyman, who is president of Office Compliments, said technology has evolved from quill pen short-hand to typewriters to keyboards and to recent technology such as having the sound stored on a computer server on a network instead of on tape.

Hansard directors from across Canada all gathered in Yellowknife Aug. 18 through 21 to discuss advancements in technology and how they can learn from each other.

"How we change will dictate what kind of people we're looking for to produce Hansard," said Wyman.

She said back when writing with a pen was the norm, clear writing skills were a big asset.

When the technology evolved to typing, accuracy was important. Then came computers and good keyboarding skills.

"It's a common misconception that we type," said Ontario's Hansard director Richard Copeland.

"We're not taking manuscript or text and typing it as text. We're taking speech and creating text."

Copeland said other skills are equally important for Hansard transcribers -- the ability to recognize voices, grammatical skill, editing skills, fact checking and knowledge of procedure.

"(Legislative sittings) are choreographed in many ways -- based on rules. So a lot of skills are called into play."

What keeps their job meaningful is a knowledge that their work could be cited either immediately in the legislature or many years later.

Hansard has been cited recently during the conflict of interest inquiry of former premier Don Morin, Bill 15 debate and in the last sitting regarding alleged unparliamentary language.

Alberta's Hansard director, Gary Garrison, said he remembers how in the Alberta legislature one debate cited Hansard more than 100 years ago to a quotation on the development of the NWT Act.

"What we're writing now could be cited years into the future," he said.

Hansard transcripts are available at http:\\fp.itc.mb.ca\hac\index.html.