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Government of Canada Leads by Example...

© Glenda Watson Hyatt

Rather than passing legislation explicitly mandating web sites be accessible, the Government of Canada has chosen to lead by example. The Government has introduced policies, requiring government sites to be accessible. In keeping with the guiding principle that all Canadians have the right to participate fully in the social and economic mainstream of Canadian life, the new Employment Equity Policy for the Government of Canada, passed July 1, 1999, includes the following clause:

"...ensure that the government's electronic information sites are accessible to people with disabilities, in accordance with the Access to Information Act, the Government Communication Policy, the Fair Communications Practices Policy and the Alternative Format Guidelines...."

For more information, the policy can be found at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs...

Similarly, as part of the "Services Canada Initiative - Federal Identity Program", all Government of Canada Web sites will be required to share a "common look and feel". The policy will require government web sites, both Internet and Intranet, to comply with Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT). According to Chuck Letourneau, President of Starling Access Services (http://www.starlingweb.com), "This policy is expected to come into force sometime in the new year. Then, when departments create or update their web sites, they will be required to conform."

On a more general note, the Canadian Human Rights Act forbids discrimination of any kind. Therefore, any inaccessible web site could be the basis for a human-rights complaint. Letourneau says, "Web access has not been tested in court in Canada." However, it is only a matter before such a case does go to court.

Editor's Note: Future articles will examine relevant legislation in other countries. For example, the US has recently passed Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which mandates particular categories of websites must meet accessibility standards.

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