ARCHIVED - Part 3: Standard on Common Web Page Formats - CLF 2.0 Assessment Methodology

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Part 3: Standard on Common Web Page Formats

Part 3, R1 – Welcome Page elements

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Main point of entry to a site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a Welcome Page incorporated at the main point of entry to the site?

Part 3, R1.1 – "Canada" wordmark and signature

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the "Canada" wordmark displayed in the lower right position of the page?
  2. Is the institutional signature displayed in the upper left position of the page?
  3. Welcome Page for a bilingual or multilingual site provided by an office located outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
  4. Welcome Page for a bilingual or multilingual site provided by an office located inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
  5. Welcome Page for a unilingual English site:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
  6. Welcome Page for a unilingual French site:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?

Part 3, R1.2 – Dimensions and page structure

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the page displayed in the centre of the browser window?
  2. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the main content area?
  3. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the open space surrounding the Web page?
  4. Is the page 760 pixels wide?
  5. Is all content visible at 800 pixels by 600 pixels resolution without scrolling?
  6. Are the left and right margins of the page 80 pixels wide?
  7. Are the top and bottom margins of the page 20 pixels wide?
  8. Is the institutional message space 600 pixels wide by 250 pixels high?
  9. Is the right edge of the "Canada" wordmark aligned with the right margin of the page?
  10. Welcome Page for a bilingual or multilingual site:
    1. Are the institutional signature, institutional message space, language choice links and important notices links left aligned?
    2. Are the language choice links positioned 30 pixels below the institutional message space?
    3. Are the language choice links presented side by side with a 30 pixel separation (at the normal text size setting)?
    4. Are the language choice links to the left of the "Canada" wordmark?
    5. Is the top edge of the "Canada" wordmark aligned with the top edge of the language choice links?
    6. Is the English important notices link provided with the link text "Important Notices"?
    7. Is the French important notices link provided with the link text "Avis importants"?
    8. Is the English important notices link positioned under and left aligned with the left edge of the English language choice link?
    9. Is the French important notices link positioned under and left aligned with the left edge of the French language choice link?
    10. Is the target of the English important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
    11. Is the target of the French important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  11. Welcome Page for a unilingual English site:
    1. Are the institutional signature, institutional message space, language choice links, and site entry link left aligned?
    2. Is the site entry link positioned 30 pixels below the institutional message space?
    3. Is the site entry link to the left of the "Canada" wordmark?
    4. Is the important notices link provided with the link text "Important Notices"?
    5. Is the English important notices link positioned under and left aligned with the left edge of the bilingual message regarding content in only one language?
    6. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  12. Welcome Page for a unilingual French site:
    1. Are the institutional signature, institutional message space, language choice links, and site entry link left aligned?
    2. Is the site entry link positioned 30 pixels below the institutional message space?
    3. Is the site entry link to the left of the "Canada" wordmark?
    4. Is the important notices link provided with the link text "Avis importants"?
    5. Is the important notices link positioned under and left aligned with the left edge of the bilingual message regarding content in only one language?
    6. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?

Part 3, R1.3 – Institutional message space

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the institutional message space one of the following:
    1. an image measuring 600 pixels wide by 130 pixels high positioned directly above a rectangular field measuring 600 pixels wide by 120 pixels high with introductory text in both official languages in the foreground; or
    2. a background image measuring 600 pixels wide by 250 pixels high with introductory text in both official languages?
  2. Text elements are smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the text elements and the background colour or image?
  3. Text elements are at least as large as an equivalent 18 point or 14 point bold font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved between the text elements and the background colour or image?
  4. Is the introductory text in both official languages provided in a single level 1 heading element ("h1")?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in no more than 50% compliance)
  1. Text elements are smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the text elements and the background colour or image?
  2. Are lower level heading elements ("h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", and "h6") used in sequential order as required?
  3. Are the sizes of all visible headings relative to the position in the heading hierarchy, that is level 1 heading element ("h1") text is larger than level 2 heading element ("h2") text and so on?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in no more than 75% compliance)
  1. Text elements are smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the text elements and the background colour or image?

Part 3, R1.4 – Language

Part 3, R1.4.1 – Bilingual sites
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for a bilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Welcome Page provided by an office outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for the page content, including the introductory text, the language choice links, the Universal Resource Locator (URL), and alternative text (alt text), English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is lang used to set the language type of the page as "en"?
    3. Is lang used to set the language type of French content as "fr"?
  2. Welcome Page provided by an office inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for the page content, including the introductory text, the language choice links, the Universal Resource Locator (URL), and alternative text (alt text), French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is lang used to set the language type of the page as "fr"?
    3. Is lang used to set the language type of English content as "en"?
  3. Is an English language choice link provided with the link text "English"?
  4. Is the target of the English language choice link the English main page of the site?
  5. Is a French language choice link provided with the link text "Français"?
  6. Is the target of the French language choice link the French main page of the site?
  7. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for each language choice link?
  8. Are the dimensions 120 pixels wide by 30 pixels high (at the normal text size setting) for the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
  9. Is the default background colour red (#FF0000) for the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
  10. Are the borders 2 pixels wide for the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
  11. Is the default border colour #FF6666 for the top and left borders of the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
  12. Is the default border colour #CC3333 for the bottom and right borders of the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
  13. Is the page free of effects that change the appearance or behaviour of either the language choice links or the rectangular field surrounding each language choice link?
Part 3, R1.4.2 – Unilingual sites
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for unilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Welcome Page for a unilingual English site:
    1. Is a site entry link provided with the link text "Enter"?
  2. Welcome Page for a unilingual French site:
    1. Is a site entry link provided with the link text "Entrer"?
  3. Is the target of the site entry link the main page of the site?
  4. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for the site entry link?
  5. Are the dimensions 120 pixels wide by 30 pixels high (at the normal text size setting) for the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  6. Is the default background colour red (#FF0000) for the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  7. Are the borders 2 pixels wide for the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  8. Is the default border colour #FF6666 for the top and left borders of the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  9. Is the default border colour #CC3333 for the bottom and right borders of the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  10. Is the page free of effects that change the appearance or behaviour of either the site entry link or the rectangular field surrounding the site entry link?
  11. Is a bilingual message placed directly below the site entry link which informs site visitors that, under the Official Languages Act, the site provides information in one official language only and provides a link to another site of the same institution that provides general information in both official languages?
Part 3, R1.4.3 – Multilingual sites
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for a multilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Welcome Page provided by an office outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for the page content, including the introductory text, the language choice links, the Universal Resource Locator (URL), and alternative text (alt text), English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is lang used to set the language type of the page as "en"?
    3. Is lang used to set the language type of non-English content?
  2. Welcome Page provided by an office inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for the page content, including the introductory text, the language choice links, the Universal Resource Locator (URL), and alternative text (alt text), French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is lang used to set the language type of the page as "fr"?
    3. Is lang used to set the language type of non-French content?
  3. Is an English language choice link provided with the link text "English"?
  4. Is the target of the English language choice link the English main page of the site?
  5. Is a French language choice link provided with the link text "Français"?
  6. Is the target of the French language choice link the French main page of the site?
  7. Is a language choice link provided for each alternate language with the link text being the name of the language (in the language and characters of that language, such as "Español")?
  8. Is the target of the language choice link for each alternate language the main page of the site in that language?
  9. English or French language choice link:
    1. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for the language choice link?
    2. Are the dimensions 120 pixels wide by 30 pixels high (at the normal text size setting) for the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    3. Is the default background colour red (#FF0000) for the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    4. Are the borders 2 pixels wide for the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    5. Is the default border colour #FF6666 for the top and left borders of the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    6. Is the default border colour #CC3333 for the bottom and right borders of the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    7. Is the page free of effects that change the appearance or behaviour of either the language choice links or the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
  10. Language choice link for a language other than English or French:
    1. Is the default font colour red (#FF0000) for the language choice link?
    2. Are the dimensions 120 pixels wide by 30 pixels high (at the normal text size setting) for the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    3. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?
    4. Is the page free of effects that change the appearance or behaviour of either the language choice links or the rectangular field surrounding the language choice link?

Part 3, R2 – Content page dimensions and layout

Part 3, R2.1 – Page dimensions

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the width of the page 760 pixels?
  2. Exceptional cases where specific content, including maps, large tables, charts and graphs cannot adjust by way of wrapping to the standard 760 pixel width or by altering the content and its structure:
    1. Is the content only extended to the right?
    2. Are site visitors informed that the content area is larger than usual?

Part 3, R2.2 – Page layout

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the content page centered and presented in one of three designs: a three-column layout, a two-column layout, or a one-column layout?
Part 3, R2.2.1 – Three-column layout
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with a three-column layout or a main page for a site or sub site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Is the left column 150 pixels wide?
  2. Is the middle column 405 pixels wide?
  3. Is the right column 195 pixels wide?
  4. Is the padding between the three columns 5 pixels wide?
Part 3, R2.2.2 – Two-column layout
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with a two-column layout

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Is the left column 150 pixels wide?
  2. Is the right column 605 pixels wide?
  3. Is the padding between the two columns 5 pixels wide?
Part 3, R2.2.3 – One-column layout
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with a one-column layout

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Is this page an exceptional case where content cannot be made to fit in the two-column layout by adjusting its format or structure?
  2. Is the column 760 pixels wide?

Part 3, R2.3 – Background

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the page displayed in the centre of the browser window?
  2. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the 760 pixel wide page?
  3. Is a colour in the Web-Smart colour palette used for the background colour of the open space surrounding the Web page?
  4. Is the open space surrounding the Web page free of foreground and background images?

Part 3, R2.4 – Header structure

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are heading elements used to convey document structure?
  2. Is a level 1 heading element ("h1") used to identify the beginning of the common menu bar?
  3. Is a level 1 heading element ("h1") used to identify the beginning of the content area?
  4. Are level 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 heading elements ("h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", and "h6") used in sequential order to identify all sections of the content area?
  5. Are level 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 heading elements ("h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", and "h6") used to clarify the hierarchical structure of the content area?
  6. Content page with a two-column or three-column layout:
    1. Is a level 1 heading element ("h1") used to identify the beginning of the left side menu?
    2. Are level 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 heading elements ("h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", and "h6") used in sequential order to identify all sections of the side menu(s)?
    3. Are level 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 heading elements ("h2", "h3", "h4", "h5", and "h6") used to clarify the hierarchical structure of the side menu(s)?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Is the page free of heading elements that are used solely for visual purposes?
  2. Are the sizes of all visible headings relative to the position in the heading hierarchy, that is level 1 heading element ("h1") text is larger than level 2 heading element ("h2") text and so on?

Part 3, R2.5 – Font

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the font face for text elements in the content area specified using CSS with Verdana as the default?
  2. Content page with a two-column or three-column layout:
    1. Is the font face for text elements in the side menu(s) specified using CSS with Verdana as the default?
  3. Meaningful textual information is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the meaningful textual information and the background colour or image?
  4. Meaningful textual information is at least as large as an equivalent 18 point or 14 point bold font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved between the meaningful textual information and the background colour or image?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the meaningful textual information and the background colour or image?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the meaningful textual information and the background colour or image?

Part 3, R2.6 – Printer friendly versions

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Printer friendly version of a content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the "Canada" wordmark displayed in the upper right position of the page?
  2. Is the institutional signature displayed in the upper left position of the page?
  3. English content page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is a content date indicator provided in the form "Date Modified: YYYY-MM-DD" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
  4. French content page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is a content date indicator provided in the form "Date de modification : AAAA‑MM‑JJ" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
  5. Content page in a language other than English or French for a site provided by an office located outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is a content date indicator provided in the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display (YYYY-MM-DD)?
  6. Content page in a language other than English or French for a site provided by an office located inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is a content date indicator provided in the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display (YYYY-MM-DD)?
  7. Is the date specified by the content date indicator the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
  8. Is the content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
  9. Is the font face for the content date indicator specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  10. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the content date indicator?
  11. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?

Part 3, R3 – "Canada" wordmark and institutional signature

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Always

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the "Canada" wordmark displayed in the upper right position of the page?
  2. Is the institutional signature displayed in the upper left position of the page?
  3. English content page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
  4. French content page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
  5. Are the "Canada" wordmark and the institutional signature not hyperlinked?

Part 3, R4 – Banner

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is an institutional banner applied to the page?

Part 3, R4.1 – Maple leaf

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the common red maple leaf provided on the institutional banner?
  2. Is the common red maple leaf 65 pixels high and 65 pixels wide?
  3. Is the common red maple leaf displayed over the banner background, with the top 35 pixels of the leaf image extending above the background?
  4. Is the top of the common red maple leaf placed 5 pixels below the bottom of the final text in the institutional signature?
  5. Is the stem of the common red maple leaf centered on the page, 380 pixels from the left border of the page?

Part 3, R4.2 – Banner background

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the banner background implemented using either a background colour or a background image?
Part 3, R4.2.1 – Background colour
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page using a background colour for the banner background

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background colour?
  2. Banner text is at least as large as an equivalent 18 point or 14 point bold font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least 3:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background colour?

Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background colour?

Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background colour?
Part 3, R4.2.2 – Banner image
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page using a background image for the banner background

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Is the file size of the background image optimized to allow the page to load quickly for users without high speed Internet access?
  2. Is the visible portion of the background image no more than 760 pixels wide by 80 pixels high at the normal font size (100%)?
  3. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background image?
  4. Banner text is at least as large as an equivalent 18 point or 14 point bold font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background image?

Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background image?

Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the background colour?

Part 3, R4.3 – Multimedia elements

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with banner multimedia elements

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are the banner multimedia elements fully contained with the 760 pixels wide by 80 pixels high banner dimensions?
  2. Is the banner text perceivable and readable with and without adaptive technologies when multimedia support is enabled?
  3. Is the banner text perceivable and readable with and without adaptive technologies when multimedia support is not enabled or is not available on the site visitor's system?
  4. Are the banner multimedia elements free of content that flickers (flashes more than three times in any one second period)?

Part 3, R4.4 – Text

Part 3, R4.4.1 – First line of text
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. Is the first line of text in the banner the institution's applied title?
    2. Is the font face for the first line of text in the banner specified using CSS with Times New Roman as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
    3. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for the first line of text in the banner?
    4. Is the first line of text in the banner presented in mixed case?
  2. Is the first line of text in the banner centered?
  3. Is the first line of text in the banner not hyperlinked?
Part 3, R4.4.2 – Second line of text
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. Main institutional site:
      1. Is the second line of text in the banner one of the following:
        1. a domain composed of elements or acronyms with the same meaning and spelling in both official languages (such as ec.gc.ca)?
        2. English content page:
          1. a domain composed of elements or acronyms in both official languages in the order of English on the left and French on the right with a hyphen separating the two languages (such as tbs-sct.gc.ca); or
          2. a domain composed of elements or acronyms in English only (such as pwgsc.gc.ca)?
        3. French content page:
          1. a domain composed of elements or acronyms in both official languages in the order of French on the left and English on the right with a hyphen separating the two languages (such as ainc-inac.gc.ca); or
          2. a domain composed of elements or acronyms in French only (such as tpsgc.gc.ca)?
    2. Site or sub site other than the main institutional site:
      1. English content page:
        1. Is the second line of text in the banner the same text used for the second line of text in the main institutional site English banner?
      2. French content page:
        1. Is the second line of text in the banner the same text used for the second line of text in the main institutional site French banner?
      3. Content page in a language other than English or French provided by an office located outside of Quebec:
        1. Second line of text in the main institutional site English banner is a domain name that is composed of elements or acronyms with the same meaning and spelling in both official languages (such as ec.gc.ca) or a domain name composed of elements or acronyms in both official languages (such as tbs-sct.gc.ca):
          1. Is the second line of text in the banner the same text used for the second line of text in the main institutional site English banner?
        2. Second line of text in the main institutional site English banner is a domain name that is composed of elements or acronyms in English only (such as cra.gc.ca):
          1. Is the second line of text in the banner a domain name that is composed of the elements and acronyms in the second line of text in the main institutional site English and French banners in the order of English on the left and French on the right with a hyphen separating the two languages (such as cra-arc.gc.ca)?
      4. Content page in a language other than English or French provided by an office located inside of Quebec:
        1. Second line of text in the main institutional site French banner is a domain name that is composed of elements or acronyms with the same meaning and spelling in both official languages (such as ec.gc.ca) or a domain name composed of elements or acronyms in both official languages (such as sct-tbs.gc.ca):
          1. Is the second line of text in the banner the same text used for the second line of text in the main institutional site French banner?
        2. Second line of text in the main institutional site banner is a domain name that is composed of elements or acronyms in French only (such as pwgsc.gc.ca):
          1. Is the second line of text in the banner a domain name that is composed of the elements and acronyms in the second line of text in the main institutional site English and French banners in the order of French on the left and English on the right with a hyphen separating the two languages (such as tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca)?
    3. Is the second line of text implemented with a smaller font size than the first line of text?
    4. Is the font face for the second line of text in the banner specified using CSS with Arial as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
    5. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for the first line of text in the banner?
  2. Is the second line of text in the banner centered?
  3. Is the second line of text in the banner not hyperlinked?
Part 3, R4.4.3 – High level of contrast
Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the associated backgrounds (including the default background colour when a background image is used)?
  2. Banner text is at least as large as an equivalent 18 point or 14 point bold font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the associated backgrounds (including the default background colour when a background image is used)?

Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the associated backgrounds (including the default background colour when a background image is used)?

Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)

  1. Banner text is smaller than equivalent 18 point and 14 point bold fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the banner text and the associated backgrounds (including the default background colour when a background image is used)?

Part 3, R5 – Common menu bar

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a common menu bar provided?

Part 3, R5.1 – Bilingual Web sites

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page for a bilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the common menu bar: Français, Home, Contact Us, Help, Search, canada.gc.ca?
  2. French content page:
    1. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the common menu bar: English, Accueil, Contactez-nous, Aide, Recherche, canada.gc.ca?

Part 3, R5.2 – Unilingual Web sites

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page for a unilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the common menu bar: Avertissement, Home, Contact Us, Help, Search, canada.gc.ca?
  2. French content page:
    1. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the common menu bar: Notice, Accueil, Contactez-nous, Aide, Recherche, canada.gc.ca?

Part 3, R5.3 – Sites offering content in other languages

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page in a language other than English or French

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are both English and French common menu bars provided?
  2. Content page for a site provided by an office outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the English common menu bar provided immediately above the French common menu bar?
  3. Content page for a site provided by an office inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the French common menu bar provided immediately above the English common menu bar?
  4. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the English common menu bar: Français, Home, Contact Us, Help, Search, canada.gc.ca?
  5. Are the following six links arrayed from left to right in the following order in the French common menu bar: English, Accueil, Contactez-nous, Aide, Recherche, canada.gc.ca?

Part 3, R5.4 – Specifications

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the total width of the common menu bar(s) 760 pixels?
  2. Is the default font colour white (#FFFFFF) for each navigation link in the common menu bar(s)?
  3. Is each navigation link in the common menu bar(s) presented in scalable text?
  4. Is each navigation link in the common menu bar(s) left aligned?
  5. Is the font face for all navigation links in the common menu bar(s) specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  6. Is the size for all navigation links in the common menu bar(s) equal to or greater than a 9 point Verdana font (at the normal text size setting) and specified using CSS?
  7. Are all navigation links in the common menu bar(s) (except for the right-most links(s)) contained within rectangular fields of 126 pixels by 20 pixels (at the normal text size setting)?
  8. Are the right-most links in the common menu bar(s) contained within rectangular fields of 125 pixels by 20 pixels (at the normal text size setting)?
  9. Is the default background colour black (#000000) for each rectangular field in the common menu bar(s)?
  10. Are 1-pixel-wide vertical spacers, that are white (#FFFFFF) in colour, used to separate each rectangular field in the common menu bar(s)?
  11. Is/are the common menu bar(s) free of effects that change the appearance or the behaviour of the common menu bar(s) themselves including the associated text, navigation links, and rectangular fields?
  12. Is/are the common menu bar(s) free of graphical buttons?

Part 3, R5.5 – Behaviour of links on secure sites and Web application pages

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page for a secure section of a site or Web application where navigating away from the content page will cause the visitor to lose information inputs or access

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are the links from the common menu bar(s) (excluding the language link(s)) directed to interstitial pages where the site visitor is informed of the repercussions of leaving and can then choose to continue to the intended destination or return to the previous page?

Part 3, R5.6 – Absence on downloadable versions of documents

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page contains a link to a non-XHTML document

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are all non-XHTML documents linked to from the page compliant with requirements relating to official languages?
  2. Are all non-XHTML documents linked to from the page compliant with requirements relating to the Federal Identify Program?

Part 3, R5.7 – Prohibition of institutional menu bars

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is the page free of secondary or institutional menu bars outside of the content area and the side menu(s)?

Part 3, R5.8 – Language link

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page for a bilingual site:
    1. Is the target of the "Français" common menu bar link a page with identical content in French?
  2. French content page for a bilingual site:
    1. Is the target of the "English" common menu bar link a page with identical content in English?
  3. English content page for a unilingual site:
    1. Is the target of the "Avertissement" common menu bar link a page that provides a bilingual message which informs site visitors that, under the Official Languages Act, the site provides information in English only and provides a link to another site of the same institution that provides general information in both official languages?
  4. French content page for a unilingual site:
    1. Is the target of the "Notice" common menu bar link a page that provides a bilingual message which informs site visitors that, under the Official Languages Act, the site provides information in French only and provides a link to another site of the same institution that provides general information in both official languages?
  5. Content page in a language other than English or French:
    1. Is the target of the "Français" English common menu bar link a page with identical content in French?
    2. Is the target of the "English" French common menu bar link a page with identical content in English?

Part 3, R5.9 – Home

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Home" common menu bar link the English main page of the main institutional site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Accueil" common menu bar link the French main page of the main institutional site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Home" English common menu bar link the English main page of the main institutional site?
      2. Is the target of the "Accueil" French common menu bar link the French main page of the main institutional site?
  2. Multidepartment site or a site related to a marketing campaign or government initiative:
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Home" common menu bar link the English main page of the current site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Accueil" common menu bar link the French main page of the current site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Home" English common menu bar link the English main page of the current site?
      2. Is the target of the "Accueil" French common menu bar link the French main page of the current site?

Part 3, R5.10 – Contact Us

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Contact Us" common menu bar link the English primary contact page of the main institutional site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Contactez-nous" common menu bar link the French primary contact page of the main institutional site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Contact Us" English common menu bar link the English primary contact page of the main institutional site?
      2. Is the target of the "Contactez-nous" French common menu bar link the French primary contact page of the main institutional site?
  2. Multidepartment site or a site related to a marketing campaign or government initiative:
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Contact Us" common menu bar link the English primary contact page of the current site or the main institutional site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Contactez-nous" common menu bar link the French primary contact page of the current site or the main institutional site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Contact Us" English common menu bar link the English primary contact page of the current site or the main institutional site?
      2. Is the target of the "Contactez-nous" French common menu bar link the French primary contact page of the current site or the main institutional site?

Part 3, R5.11 – Help

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Help" common menu bar link the English primary help page of the main institutional site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Aide" common menu bar link the French primary help page of the main institutional site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Help" English common menu bar link the English primary help page of the main institutional site?
      2. Is the target of the "Aide" French common menu bar link the French primary help page of the main institutional site?
    4. Primary help page:
      1. Is an overview of any accessibility features available on the Web site provided?
      2. Government of Canada CLF 2.0 Common Template used:
        1. Is a link to client-side CSS instructions for over-riding visual formatting in the template provided?
  2. Multidepartment site or site related to a marketing campaign or government initiative:
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Help" common menu bar link the English primary help page of the current site or the main institutional site?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Aide" common menu bar link the French primary help page of the current site or the main institutional site?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Help" English common menu bar link the English primary help page of the current site or the main institutional site?
      2. Is the target of the "Aide" French common menu bar link the French primary help page of the current site or the main institutional site?
    4. Primary help page:
      1. Is an overview of any accessibility features available on the Web site provided?
      2. Government of Canada CLF 2.0 Common Template used:
        1. Is a link to client-side CSS instructions for over-riding visual formatting in the template provided?

Part 3, R5.12 – Search

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institution is unable to provide search functionality:
    1. English content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Search" common menu bar link an English page that explains that search functionality is unavailable and provides a link to the English Canada Site search page?
    2. French content page:
      1. Is the target of the "Recherche" common menu bar link a French page that explains that search functionality is unavailable and provides a link to the French Canada Site search page?
    3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
      1. Is the target of the "Search" English common menu bar link an English page that explains that search functionality is unavailable and provides a link to the English Canada Site search page?
      2. Is the target of the "Recherche" French common menu bar link a French page that explains that search functionality is unavailable and provides a link to the French Canada Site search page?
  2. Institution is able to provide search functionality:
    1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
      1. English content page:
        1. Is the target of the "Search" common menu bar link the English primary search page of the main institutional site?
      2. French content page:
        1. Is the target of the "Recherche" common menu bar link the French primary search page of the main institutional site?
      3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
        1. Is the target of the "Search" English common menu bar link the English primary search page of the main institutional site?
        2. Is the target of the "Recherche" French common menu bar link the French primary search page of the main institutional site?
    2. Multidepartment site or a site related to a marketing campaign or government initiative:
      1. English content page:
        1. Is the target of the "Search" common menu bar link the English primary search page of the current site or the main institutional site?
      2. French content page:
        1. Is the target of the "Recherche" common menu bar link the French primary search page of the current site or the main institutional site?
      3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
        1. Is the target of the "Search" English common menu bar link the English primary search page of the current site or the main institutional site?
        2. Is the target of the "Recherche" French common menu bar link the French primary search page of the current site or the main institutional site?

Part 3, R5.13 – canada.gc.ca

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Is the target of the "canada.gc.ca" common menu bar link the English main page of the Government of Canada's Web portal?
  2. French content page:
    1. Is the target of the "canada.gc.ca" common menu bar link the French main page of the Government of Canada's Web portal?
  3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
    1. Is the target of the "canada.gc.ca" English common menu bar link the English main page of the Government of Canada's Web portal?
    2. Is the target of the "canada.gc.ca" French common menu bar link the French main page of the Government of Canada's Web portal?

Part 3, R6 – Contact Us page

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Contact Us page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is an email address for contacting the institution provided?
  2. Is a telephone number for contacting the institution provided?
  3. Is a teletypewriter (TTY) number for contacting the institution provided?
  4. Is a facsimile number for contacting the institution provided?
  5. Are civic and postal addresses for contacting the institution provided?
  6. Is all relevant contact information provided, including information that could assist individuals with disabilities or special needs?
  7. Are service standards (where available) provided to site visitors so that they understand the process and know what to expect when requesting service?
  8. Are links to frequently requested materials provided, such as frequently asked questions, site maps, A to Z indices, and employee directories?
  9. Are site visitors reminded that, unless otherwise identified, email and Web forms are not secure forms of transmission and therefore must not be used to transmit sensitive personal information?

Part 3, R6.1 – Acknowledgement of correspondence

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Page contains a Web form or a generic email address that is provided as a means of contacting the institution

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are site visitors informed that their comments have been received each time they successfully submit any of the Web forms on the page that are provided as a means of contacting the institution?
  2. Is an automatic acknowledgement that the correspondence has been received sent each time a site visitor contacts the institution through any of the generic email addresses listed on the page?

Part 3, R7 – Navigation path

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a navigation path (breadcrumb trail) provided immediately below the common menu bar(s)?
  2. Is the font face for the text in the navigation path specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  3. Are all links in the navigation path separated by a space, the greater than relational operator (>), followed by another space?
  4. Are targets of all links in the navigation path explicitly identified through the link text or the title values alone?
  5. Are all acronyms and abbreviations in the navigation path spelled out or marked up using the HTML acronym or abbr element?

Part 3, R8 – Left menu

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with a two-column or three-column layout

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is navigation provided in the left menu?
  2. Is the font face for all text elements in the left menu specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  3. Are all headings and navigation links in the left menu provided in scalable text exclusively?
  4. Is the area in the left menu above the final navigation link free of graphical buttons and decorative items implemented using images (including images loaded through CSS)?
  5. Are all non-text elements in the left menu placed below the final navigation link?
  6. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved in the left menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
  7. Meaningful textual information is at least as large as an 18 point or 14 point bold Verdana font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved in the left menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved in the left menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved in the left menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?

Part 3, R9 – Right menu

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page with a three-column layout

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is content provided in the right menu?
  2. Is the font face for all text elements in the right menu specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  3. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved in the right menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
  4. Meaningful textual information is at least as large as an 18 point or 14 point bold Verdana font (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 3:1 contrast ratio achieved in the right menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved in the right menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Meaningful textual information is smaller than 18 point and 14 point bold Verdana fonts (at the normal text size setting):
    1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved in the right menu between the meaningful textual information and the associated backgrounds?

Part 3, R10 – Proactive Disclosure

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Main page for a site or sub site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional site or sub site (excluding multidepartment sites and sites related to a marketing campaign or government initiative):
    1. English main page for a site or sub site:
      1. Is a text-based Proactive Disclosure link with link text of "Proactive Disclosure" provided as the last navigation link in the left menu?
      2. Is the target of the Proactive Disclosure link the institution's English Proactive Disclosure reporting page?
    2. French main page for a site or sub site:
      1. Is a text-based Proactive Disclosure link with link text of "Divulgation proactive" provided as the last navigation link in the left menu?
      2. Is the target of the Proactive Disclosure link the institution's French Proactive Disclosure reporting page?
  2. Multidepartment site or a site related to a marketing campaign or government initiative:
    1. English main page for a site or sub site:
      1. Is a text-based Proactive Disclosure link with link text of "Proactive Disclosure" provided as the last navigation link in the left menu?
      2. Is the target of the Proactive Disclosure link the English main page of the Government-Wide Reporting site?
    2. French main page for a site or sub site:
      1. Is a text-based Proactive Disclosure link with link text of "Divulgation proactive" provided as the last navigation link in the left menu?
      2. Is the target of the Proactive Disclosure link the French main page of the Government-Wide Reporting site?

Part 3, R11 – Third-party symbols and hyperlinks

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Always

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Page is not dedicated to one or more partnering or collaborative arrangements:
    1. Is the page free of icons, symbols, or logos that represent any person, organization or entity outside of government, apart from Treasury Board approved symbols for government-wide use?
  2. Page is dedicated to one or more partnering or collaborative arrangements:
    1. Is the page free of icons, symbols, or logos that represent any person, organization or entity outside of government that:
      1. are not involved in one of the partnering or collaborative arrangements that the page is dedicated to;
      2. include promotional lines or tag lines;
      3. appear to endorse or promote the commercial products or services of any person, organization or entity outside of government; or
      4. do not include a clear explanation for why they are displayed?
  3. Are all links to third-party sites text-based links?

Part 3, R12 – Personal information collection

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Page contains at least one online form where personal information is meant to be entered or the page leads to subsequent pages where at least one persistent cookie occurs

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Page contains at least one online form where personal information is meant to be entered:
    1. Is a Personal Information Collection Statement prominently placed immediately before each online form where personal information is meant to be entered?
  2. Page leads to subsequent pages where at least one persistent cookie occurs:
    1. Is a Personal Information Collection Statement prominently placed immediately before each mechanism (such as a link or Submit button) that leads to a subsequent page where at least one persistent cookie occurs?
  3. Is each Personal Information Collection Statement informing individuals about the following:
    1. that personal information will be collected about them;
    2. how the personal information will be used;
    3. whether provision of the personal information is mandatory or discretionary;
    4. how long the personal information will be kept;
    5. the Personal Information Bank number where the information will be kept (where applicable);
    6. how they can obtain access to the personal information;
    7. how they can make requests for correction of the personal information; and
    8. other methods available for submitting personal information (where applicable), such as by phone or in-person?

Part 3, R13 – Footer elements

Part 3, R13.1 – Colour strip

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a strip of colour measuring 760 pixels wide by 15 pixels high provided as the first element in the footer?
  2. Is the strip of colour presented using a single colour in the Web-Smart colour palette?
  3. Is the strip of colour free of graphics including images loaded through CSS?

Part 3, R13.2 – Content date indicator

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Is a content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date Modified: YYYY-MM-DD" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
  2. French content page:
    1. Is a content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date de modification : AAAA-MM-JJ" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
  3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
    1. Is a content date indicator provided in the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display (YYYY-MM-DD)?
  4. Is the date specified by the content date indicator the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
  5. Is the content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
  6. Is the font face for the content date indicator specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  7. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the content date indicator?
  8. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the content date indicator and the associated background?

Part 3, R13.3 – Top of page link

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Is the top of page link provided in the footer, consisting of a triangle graphic and the text "Top of Page"?
  2. French content page:
    1. Is the top of page link provided in the footer, consisting of a triangle graphic and the text "Haut de la page"?
  3. Is the target of the top of page link the area immediately before the institutional signature at the top of the current page?
  4. Is the top of page link centered on the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
  5. Is the font face for the top of page link specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  6. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the top of page link?
  7. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the top of page link and the associated background?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the top of page link and the associated background?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the top of page link and the associated background?

Part 3, R13.4 – Important Notices link

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English content page:
    1. Is the important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Important Notices"?
    2. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  2. French content page:
    1. Is the important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Avis importants"?
    2. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  3. Content page in a language other than English or French:
    1. Is the English important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Important Notices"?
    2. Is the French important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Avis importants"?
    3. Is the target of the English important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
    4. Is the target of the French important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  4. Is the important notices link right aligned with the right margin of the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
  5. Is the font face for the important notices link specified using CSS with Verdana as the default and sans-serif as an alternate font?
  6. Is the default background colour white (#FFFFFF) for the important notices link?
  7. Is at least a 4:1 contrast ratio achieved between the important notices link and the associated background?
Medium priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 50% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.25:1 contrast ratio achieved between the important notices link and the associated background?
Low priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 75% compliance)
  1. Is at least a 4.5:1 contrast ratio achieved between the important notices link and the associated background?

Part 3, R14 – Important Notices page

Part 3, R14.1 – Government of Canada Privacy Notice

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Important Notices page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a privacy notice provided that includes the following elements even if no personal information is collected through the site:
    1. Identification of the organization and how it can be contacted, including the name or position title of the person to contact with any Web site privacy concerns, usually the institution's Privacy Coordinator;
    2. A clear description of any personal information that is collected automatically, a statement that such information is protected under the Privacy Act, the purpose for which it is collected, who will have access to it, how long it is kept, where it is kept and how individuals can access and correct their own personal information;
    3. A statement explaining that should the site visitor choose to provide personal information through email or other means, such information is protected under the Privacy Act and will only be used for the specific purposes for which it has been provided, such as to respond to a specific request, or where required by law, how long it is kept, where it is kept and how to obtain access and request corrections;
    4. A statement that non-identifiable or statistical information may be collected for audit purposes, for use in maximizing effectiveness, or for another purpose specified here, if this is the case;
    5. An explanation of any security use of information for purposes such as tracking suspected intrusions or the source of a computer virus, or controlling access to the system;
    6. A statement concerning whether cookies, or any other data, are placed on the site visitor's machine, the type of cookies used (session or persistent), a definition of each type and how they are used;
    7. A description of any privacy-enhancing technologies in use or available for use, such as the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) or Secure Socket Layer (SSL);
    8. A statement that individuals may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if they are dissatisfied with the response they receive from the institution privacy contact on a privacy concern with the Web site;
    9. Where applicable, a statement regarding any specific institutional policy on collecting information from children online; and
    10. A statement reminding site visitors that, unless specifically noted otherwise, neither electronic systems nor email are secure information transmission methods, and that it is not recommended that sensitive personal information be transmitted electronically?
  2. Institution uses an outside service provider as a Webmaster and provides a link for sending a message to the Webmaster:
    1. Is the outside service provider under a contractual obligation to treat any personal information as though it were covered by the Privacy Act?
    2. Is it made clear to site visitors that they are sending information outside the institution?

Part 3, R14.2 – Official Languages Notice

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Important Notices page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is an Official Languages Notice provided to inform Web site visitors of their right to receive information and to interact with the Government of Canada in the official language of their choice?

Part 3, R14.3 – Hyperlinking Notice

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Important Notices page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a Hyperlinking Notice provided to inform site visitors of what expectations they should have about links to other Web sites, including accuracy, currency, and official languages?
  2. Is a statement that there are no official languages obligations for non-Government Canada sites provided in the Hyperlinking Notice?

Part 3, R14.4 – Copyright / Permission to Reproduce Notice

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Important Notices page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a Copyright / Permission to Reproduce Notice provided to inform site visitors of content ownership and the conditions associated with reproduction of materials posted on Government of Canada Web sites?

Part 3, R14.5 – Reproduction of Government Symbols

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Important Notices page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Is a Reproduction of Government Symbols Notice provided to inform site visitors that the official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the "Canada" wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without written authorization?

Part 3, R15 – Third-party information notice

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Page contains third-party information

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are third-party information liability disclaimers, that describe the type of information to which the disclaimer applies, directly attached to all externally sourced information?

Part 3, R16 – Crown copyright symbol

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Page contains specific material that needs to be protected by the Crown copyright symbol

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. English page:
    1. Is one of the following provided for all English material that needs to be protected by the Crown copyright symbol:
      1. © Government of Canada, YYYY-MM-DD; or 
      2. © Your English institution name, YYYY-MM-DD?
  2. French page:
    1. Is one of the following provided for all French material that needs to be protected by the Crown copyright symbol:
      1. © Gouvernement du Canada, AAAA-MM-JJ; or 
      2. © Your French institution name, AAAA-MM-JJ?
  3. Bilingual or multilingual page:
    1. Is one of the following provided for all English material that needs to be protected by the Crown copyright symbol:
      1. © Government of Canada, YYYY-MM-DD; or 
      2. © Your English institution name, YYYY-MM-DD?
    2. Is one of the following provided for all French material that needs to be protected by the Crown copyright symbol:
      1. © Gouvernement du Canada, AAAA-MM-JJ; or 
      2. © Your French institution name, AAAA-MM-JJ?

Part 3, R17 – Web analyzer tools

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Always

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Are important statistics for the page gathered unobtrusively by using Web analyzer tools to collect site usage data?
  2. Is the page free of counters that gather Web site statistics or collect site usage data?

Part 3, R18 – Server message pages

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Server message page

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Bilingual or multilingual site:
    1. Is a bilingual server message page provided?
  2. Unilingual English site:
    1. Is a unilingual English or bilingual server message page provided?
  3. Unilingual French site:
    1. Is a unilingual French or bilingual server message page provided?
  4. Is the "Canada" wordmark displayed in the upper right position of the page?
  5. Is the institutional signature displayed in the upper left position of the page?
  6. Are the "Canada" wordmark and the institutional signature not hyperlinked?
  7. Is a strip of colour measuring 760 pixels wide by 15 pixels high provided as the first element in the footer?
  8. Is the strip of colour presented using a single colour in the Web-Smart colour palette?
  9. Is the strip of colour free of graphics including images loaded through CSS?
  10. English server message page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is the text of the server message, including instructions, permissions, confirmations and errors left aligned under the institutional signature?
    3. Is a content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date Modified: YYYY-MM-DD" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    4. Is the content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
    5. Is the date specified by the content date indicator the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
    6. Is the important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Important Notices"?
    7. Is the important notices link right aligned with the right margin of the page, vertically aligned with the content date indicator, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    8. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  11. French server message page:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is the text of the server message, including instructions, permissions, confirmations and errors left aligned under the institutional signature?
    3. Is a content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date de modification : AAAA-MM-JJ" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    4. Is the content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page and included in the final line of content of the page?
    5. Is the date specified by the content date indicator the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
    6. Is the important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Avis importants"?
    7. Is the important notices link right aligned with the right margin of the page, vertically aligned with the content date indicator, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    8. Is the target of the important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  12. Bilingual server message page provided by an office located outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures English on the left and French on the right?
    2. Is the text of the server message, including instructions, permissions, confirmations and errors presented in two columns with the English server message in the left column and the French server message in the right column?
    3. Is the text of the English server message left aligned under the institutional signature?
    4. Is an English content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date Modified: YYYY-MM-DD" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    5. Is a French content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date de modification : AAAA-MM-JJ" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    6. Is the English content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page?
    7. Is the French content date indicator right aligned with the right margin of the page?
    8. Are the dates specified by the content date indicators the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
    9. Is the English important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Important Notices"?
    10. Is the French important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Avis importants"?
    11. Is the English important notices link provided immediately below the English content date indicator, left aligned with the left margin of the page, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    12. Is the French important notices link provided immediately below the French content date indicator, right aligned with the right margin of the page, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    13. Is the target of the English important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
    14. Is the target of the French important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
  13. Bilingual server message page provided by an office located inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the order of the official languages for bilingual institutional signatures French on the left and English on the right?
    2. Is the text of the server message, including instructions, permissions, confirmations and errors presented in two columns with the French server message in the left column and the English server message in the right column?
    3. Is the text of the French server message left aligned under the institutional signature?
    4. Is a French content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date de modification : AAAA-MM-JJ" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    5. Is an English content date indicator provided immediately below the colour strip in the footer, in the form "Date Modified: YYYY-MM-DD" to follow the ISO standard format for all-numeric date display?
    6. Is the French content date indicator left aligned with the left margin of the page?
    7. Is the English content date indicator right aligned with the right margin of the page?
    8. Are the dates specified by the content date indicators the most recent date on which the content was formally issued, substantially changed, or reviewed?
    9. Is the French important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Avis importants"?
    10. Is the English important notices link provided in the footer with the link text "Important Notices"?
    11. Is the French important notices link provided immediately below the French content date indicator, left aligned with the left margin of the page, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    12. Is the English important notices link provided immediately below the English content date indicator, right aligned with the right margin of the page, and included in the final line of content of the page?
    13. Is the target of the French important notices link one of the following:
      1. the French primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the French primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?
    14. Is the target of the English important notices link one of the following:
      1. the English primary important notices page of the main institutional site; or
      2. the English primary important notices page of the current site or sub site?

Part 3, Appendix A

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for a bilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the institutional message space positioned 10 pixels below the institutional signature?
  4. Is the English important notices link positioned 10 pixels below the English language choice link?
  5. Is the French important notices link positioned 10 pixels below the French language choice link?
  6. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?

Part 3, Appendix B

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for a unilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the institutional message space positioned 10 pixels below the institutional signature?
  4. Is the bilingual message related to the Official Languages Act positioned 30 pixels below the site entry link (at the normal text size setting)?
  5. Welcome Page for a unilingual English site:
    1. Is the English part of the bilingual message related to the Official Languages Act provided above the French part of the same message?
  6. Welcome Page for a unilingual French site:
    1. Is the French part of the bilingual message related to the Official Languages Act provided above the English part of the same message?
  7. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?

Part 3, Appendix C

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Welcome Page for a multilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the institutional message space positioned 10 pixels below the institutional signature?
  4. Are additional language choice link(s) presented below the English and French language choice links?
  5. Are additional language choice link(s) presented with 20 pixel vertical separation between rows (at the normal text size setting)?
  6. Are no more than three additional language choice link(s) presented on each row?
  7. Is the English important notices link positioned 10 pixels below the bottom-most language choice link that is left aligned with the English language choice link?
  8. Is the French important notices link positioned 10 pixels below the bottom-most language choice link that is left aligned with the French language choice link?
  9. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?

Part 3, Appendix D

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: English or French content page for a bilingual or multilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?
  4. Are the left, right, and top margins of the page 10 pixels?
  5. Is the institutional banner 760 pixels wide by 80 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  6. Are the top of the side menu(s) and the content area positioned 20 pixels below the common menu bar (at the normal text size setting)?
  7. Content page with a three-column layout:
    1. Is a visible 1-pixel-wide border provided surrounding the content in the content area?
    2. Are the left, right, and top edges of the visible 1-pixel-wide border positioned at the left, right, and top edges of the content area?
  8. Main page for a site or sub site:
    1. Is a strip of colour measuring 150 pixels wide by 15 pixels high provided immediately above the Proactive Disclosure link?
    2. Is the strip of colour presented using a single colour in the Web-Smart colour palette?
    3. Is the strip of colour free of graphics including images loaded through CSS?
  9. Is the triangle graphic in the top of page link vertically oriented and 19 pixels wide by 12 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  10. Are the content date indicator, top of page link, and important notices link positioned 5 pixels below the colour strip in the footer?

Part 3, Appendix E

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page for a unilingual site

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?
  4. Are the left, right, and top margins of the page 10 pixels?
  5. Is the institutional banner 760 pixels wide by 80 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  6. Are the top of the side menu(s) and the content area positioned 20 pixels below the common menu bar (at the normal text size setting)?
  7. Content page with a three-column layout:
    1. Is a visible 1-pixel-wide border provided surrounding the content in the content area?
    2. Are the left, right, and top edges of the visible 1-pixel-wide border positioned at the left, right, and top edges of the content area?
  8. Main page for a site or sub site:
    1. Is a strip of colour measuring 150 pixels wide by 15 pixels high provided immediately above the Proactive Disclosure link?
    2. Is the strip of colour presented using a single colour in the Web-Smart colour palette?
    3. Is the strip of colour free of graphics including images loaded through CSS?
  9. Is the triangle graphic in the top of page link vertically oriented and 19 pixels wide by 12 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  10. Are the content date indicator, top of page link, and important notices link positioned 5 pixels below the colour strip in the footer?

Part 3, Appendix F

Compliance Criteria – Web page

Situation where applicable: Content page in a language other than English or French

High priority criteria (failure of a criterion results in 0% compliance)
  1. Institutional signature includes the flag symbol:
    1. Is the flag symbol in the institutional signature 20 pixels high?
  2. Institutional signature includes the Coat of Arms:
    1. Is the Coat of Arms in the institutional signature 50 pixels high?
  3. Is the "Canada" wordmark 80 pixels wide by 20 pixels high?
  4. Are the left, right, and top margins of the page 10 pixels?
  5. Is the institutional banner 760 pixels wide by 80 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  6. Navigation path is provided in the language of the page:
    1. Are the top of the side menu(s) and the content area positioned 20 pixels below the common menu bars (at the normal text size setting)?
  7. Navigation path is not provided in the language of the page:
    1. Are the top of the side menu(s) and the content area positioned 40 pixels below the common menu bars (at the normal text size setting)?
    2. Multilingual site provided by an office outside of Quebec:
      1. Is the English navigation path provided above the French navigation path?
    3. Multilingual site provided by an office inside of Quebec:
      1. Is the French navigation path provided above the English navigation path?
  8. Multilingual site provided by an office outside of Quebec:
    1. Is the English important notices link provided above the French important notices link?
  9. Multilingual site provided by an office inside of Quebec:
    1. Is the French important notices link provided above the English important notices link?
  10. Content page with a three-column layout:
    1. Is a visible 1-pixel-wide border provided surrounding the content in the content area?
    2. Are the left, right, and top edges of the visible 1-pixel-wide border positioned at the left, right, and top edges of the content area?
  11. Main page for a site or sub site:
    1. Is a strip of colour measuring 150 pixels wide by 15 pixels high provided immediately above the Proactive Disclosure link?
    2. Is the strip of colour presented using a single colour in the Web-Smart colour palette?
    3. Is the strip of colour free of graphics including images loaded through CSS?
  12. Is the triangle graphic in the top of page link vertically oriented and 19 pixels wide by 12 pixels high (at the normal text size setting)?
  13. Are the content date indicator, top of page link, and important notices link positioned 5 pixels below the colour strip in the footer?