Whenever he holds a press conference, tPrime Minister Stephen Harper insists that one of his own staff, usually press secretary Dimitri Soudas, choose the person who will ask him a question.
But today, Harper is ceding Soudas' job to Google.
Google, the online search giant, has a service called Google moderator and, through it, any Canadian can ask the PM a question, either via video or in text form. To get involved, Google and the PMO want you to watch an important speech Harper is giving this morning in the House of Commons: The Prime Minister's Reply to the Speech from the Throne. That will begin at about 10:45 a.m. Ottawa time. Other party leaders will give their response once Harper is done.
Though Harper's speech — and all House of Commons proceedings — are streamed online in any event using the House of Commons ParlVu service, Harper's speech today will be streamed through YouTube, another Google-owned service, through a service Google operates called CitizenTube.
“For the first time Canadians will have a chance to ask the Prime Minister questions, and/or vote on their favourite question through Google moderator (which will be open until Sunday at 1pm EST) on a new YouTube site creative specifically for the event, Youtube.com/talkcanada,” says Wendy Bairos Rozeluk, a spokesperson for Google Canada.