The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is currently reviewing the Standard on Web Accessibility. However, as part of a commitment to an accessible and barrier-free Canada, it is recommended that organizations adopt the Harmonized European Standard (EN 301 549) (English only) and adhere to guidance available in the Guideline on Making Information Technology Usable by All.
1.1 This standard took effect on August 1, 2011 and was updated March 31, 2013. It replaces Part 2 of the Common Look and Feel 2.0 Standards for the Internet.
2.1 This standard applies to "departments" as defined in section 2 of the Financial Administration Act, with the exception of paragraphs (b) and (c), and unless excluded by specific acts, regulations or Orders in Council.
2.2 Section 6 applies to all Web pages:
2.3 Section 6 does not apply to:
2.4 Section 6.1.1 is implemented in phases and applies as follows:
2.5 Specific requirements of section 6.1.1 do not apply to:
A list of exclusions is attached in Appendix B.
2.6 Sections 7.2, 7.3 and 8.2 relating to the role of the Treasury Board Secretariat in monitoring compliance and directing consequences for non-compliance do not apply with respect to the Office of the Auditor General, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, the Office of the Information Commissioner, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The deputy heads of these organizations are solely responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with the standard within their organizations, as well as for responding to cases of non-compliance in accordance with any Treasury Board instruments providing principles and guidance on the management of compliance.
3.1 The Web channel is an important part of the Government of Canada's commitment to multi-channel access and service delivery. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that a high level of Web accessibility is applied uniformly across its websites and Web applications.
Web technologies and standards are constantly evolving and web accessibility plays a major role in making the Government of Canada Web channel more effective and inclusive. To meet the Government of Canada commitment to Web accessibility, the Government of Canada has adopted the WCAG 2.0. The WCAG 2.0 states: "Following these guidelines will make content accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learning disabilities, cognitive limitations, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity and combinations of these. Following these guidelines will also often make your Web content more usable to users in general."
3.2 This standard supports the Policy on Management of Information Technology and the management of GC Web presence by providing departmental Chief Information Officers (CIO) or equivalents as well as heads of communications or other officials supporting the management of IT with additional requirements to ensure consistency in IT management processes.
3.3 This standard is issued under the authority of section 7 of the Financial Administration Act by the Secretary of the Treasury Board pursuant to subsection 6(4) of the Financial Administration Act and section 3.5 of the Policy on Management of Information Technology.
3.4 This standard is to be read in conjunction with the Standard on Web Usability, the Standard on Web Interoperability and the Standard on Optimizing Websites and Applications for Mobile Devices.
4.1 Definitions to be used in the interpretation of this standard are attached in Appendix A.
5.1.1 The objective of this standard is to ensure a high level of Web accessibility is applied uniformly across Government of Canada websites and Web applications.
5.2.1 Government of Canada websites and Web applications respect internationally accepted guidelines for Web accessibility and are measured consistently.
6.1.1 Ensuring each Web page meets all five WCAG 2.0 conformance requirements:
A list of exclusions is attached in Appendix B.
6.2.1 Overseeing the implementation of this standard in their department and carrying out the activities referred to in 7.2.
6.3.1 Ensuring that software and systems acquired by departments enable websites and Web applications to meet the requirements of section 6.1.1 or are modifiable to enable them to meet these requirements.
7.1 Deputy heads are responsible for monitoring adherence to this standard within their departments, consistent with the provisions of the Treasury Board's Policy on Evaluation, and Policy on Internal Audit, and for ensuring that appropriate remedial action is taken to address any deficiencies within their departments.
7.2 The senior departmental official, designated by the deputy head, is responsible for supporting their deputy head by overseeing the implementation and monitoring of this standard in their department, bringing to the deputy head's attention any significant difficulties, gaps in performance or compliance issues and developing proposals to address them, and reporting significant performance or compliance issues to the Chief Information Officer Branch of Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
7.3 The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will monitor compliance with this standard in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, the following:
7.4 Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat will review this standard and its effectiveness at the five-year mark from the effective date of the standard (or earlier if warranted).
8.1 In instances of non-compliance, deputy heads are responsible for taking corrective measures, within their organization with those responsible for implementing the requirements of this standard.
8.2 Consequences of non-compliance with this standard can include any measure allowed by the Financial Administration Act that the Treasury Board would determine as appropriate and acceptable in the circumstances.
8.3 Potential corrective actions, including consequences, are included in Appendix C and align with the Framework for the Management of Compliance.
9.1.1 Developing standards, guidelines, and tools, and providing interpretive advice and guidance on these instruments;
9.1.2 Communicating and engaging the government-wide Web community on the plans, progress, risks and challenges associated with implementing this standard and its supporting instruments in the federal government; and
9.1.3 Providing support to the CIO Council and other committees and working groups, as necessary, to address government-wide challenges and opportunities related to implementing this standard and its supporting instruments.
9.1.4 Publishing and maintaining the list of exclusions from specific requirements of section 6.1.1.
Please direct enquiries about this standard to your department's Web Standards Centre of Expertise. For interpretation of this standard, Web Standards Centres of Expertise should contact:
Digital Policy
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Ottawa ON K1A 0R5
E-mail: DPPN@tbs-sct.gc.ca
A Web page that is:
An archived Web page may be provided on the web, but must be clearly identified as being archived.
It is a version that:
For further information and examples please consult the definition of conforming alternate version on the W3C Website
Information and sensory experience to be communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or markup that defines the content's structure, presentation, and interactions (Source: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Appendix A: Glossary.)
Websites and Web applications for which the Government of Canada is accountable.
Series of user actions where each action is required in order to complete an activity.
For further information and examples please consult the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Appendix A: Glossary
The content would not conform if that technology is turned off or is not supported. (Source: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Appendix A: Glossary)
For each guideline, testable success criteria are provided to allow WCAG 2.0 to be used where requirements and conformance testing are necessary such as in design specification, purchasing, regulation, and contractual agreements. Additional information on WCAG levels can be found in Understanding Levels of Conformance and WCAG 2.0 Layers of Guidance.
For each of the guidelines and success criteria in the WCAG 2.0 document itself, the working group has also documented a wide variety of techniques. The techniques are informative and fall into two categories: those that are sufficient for meeting the success criteria and those that are advisory. The advisory techniques go beyond what is required by the individual success criteria and allow authors to better address the guidelines. Some advisory techniques address accessibility barriers that are not covered by the testable success criteria. Where common failures are known, these are also documented. See also Sufficient and Advisory Techniques in Understanding WCAG 2.0. (Source: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, WCAG 2.0 Layers of Guidance.)
Mechanism for encoding instructions to be rendered, played or executed by user agents
Note 1: As used in these guidelines "Web Technology" and the word "technology" (when used alone) both refer to Web Content Technologies.
Note 2: Web content technologies may include markup languages, data formats, or programming languages that authors may use alone or in combination to create end-user experiences that range from static Web pages to synchronized media presentations to dynamic Web applications.
Example: Some common examples of Web content technologies include HTML , CSS, SVG, PNG, PDF, Flash, and JavaScript.
(Source: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Appendix A: Glossary.)
Video content provided exclusively for reuse by media for broadcast purposes (e.g. B-roll, etc)
The video content must be clearly identified as being provided exclusively for reuse by media for broadcast purposes.
A non-embedded resource obtained from a single Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) using HTTP plus any other resources that are used in the rendering or intended to be rendered together with it by a user agent
Note 1: Although any "other resources" would be rendered together with the primary resource, they would not necessarily be rendered simultaneously with each other.
Note 2: For the purposes of conformance with these guidelines, a resource must be "non-embedded" within the scope of conformance to be considered a Web page.
For further information and examples please consult: Web page, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Appendix A: Glossary
The following exclusions from specific requirements have been put in place for a period of time and will be updated annually as technology advances. Exclusions include:
Web content | Requirements |
---|---|
Complex maps (text alternatives) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.1.1 Non-text content |
Live Video Captions (closed captions) | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.2.4 Captions (Live) |
Audio Description (prerecorded video) except where the video provides information related to health and safety of Canadians | WCAG 2.0 Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description |
Exclusions for a 10 business day grace period:
Live Video Captions exclusions refer to closed captioning and transcription of live video
Audio Description (prerecorded Videos) are only required for videos that relate to health and safety of Canadians; for remaining prerecorded videos, audio description is not required.
Complex maps: A map that associates information with one or more locations that cannot be represented by postal addresses or proper names such as intersections, landmarks, cities, or regions. An example of a complex map is one that shows the location and intensity of precipitation detected by a RADAR network.
Two clarifications
Recognizing that the appropriate response in instances of non-compliance must be examined on a case by case basis, the following scenarios include a non-exhaustive list of examples of corrective actions that may be taken in cases of non-compliance.
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by deputy head or delegate):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by Treasury Board Secretariat):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by deputy head or delegate):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by Treasury Board Secretariat):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by deputy head or delegate):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by Treasury Board Secretariat):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by deputy head or delegate):
Potential Corrective Actions (undertaken by Treasury Board Secretariat):
** Regardless of overall compliance scores, the Treasury Board Secretariat may still take the action it deems appropriate in the case of a non-compliant website if that website provides, for instance, most important information and services for individuals and businesses.