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Canada's 132-year-old Hansard goes high-tech

Long before there was Facebook or Twitter, the closest thing MPs had to a "status update" was Hansard - the official transcripts of the debates in the House of Commons.

Long before there was Facebook or Twitter, the closest thing MPs had to a "status update" was Hansard - the official transcripts of the debates in the House of Commons.

But a high-tech facelift for the 132-year-old publication hopes to merge the reporting requirements of old with modern-day technology, transforming what was once just a massive sheaf of paper into a living electronic document.

Over the last year, a House of Commons team has been recoding the electronic version of Hansard to link together its various elements - text, audio and video - on the same page.

Online video of the Commons has been available to the public since 2004, but now, video clips pop up next to a transcript of the speech, alongside links to share content on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to an automatic feed.

Hansard, which debuted in 1880, moved online in 1996.

The new changes were partly driven by expectations of younger MPs elected to Parliament Hill.