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CLF for the Internet - Official Languages
Unilingual GoC Welcome Pages must include a bilingual message indicating that under the
Official Languages Act,
the office provides services to its clientele in only one official language. This message must
also inform users of a hyperlink to a site where users have access to general information in both
official languages. Appendix B of the
Policy on using the official languages on electronic networks contains a model Welcome
Page showing the message that must be used. As well, the Policy indicates what disclaimer
statements must be used in the case of bilingual sites that post unilingual content that belongs to
entities not subject to the Official Languages Act.
Rationale
The content of a site is allowed to be only in one official language when the office
responsible for the site does not have the obligation to provide its content in both official languages
under the Official Languages Act or its Regulations. This allows the office in question not to
have to present its content in both official languages since it does not have to serve the public in
its service area in both official languages. However, given the nature of the Internet, it is likely
that many visitors to that site would be interested in obtaining information from a federal institution
that goes beyond what the site offers to the public that is served by the office responsible for the
site. The hyperlink from the unilingual site to a bilingual site (for example, the institutional site
of the institution) make it possible for the official language minority population in the service
area of the unilingual office to have access to other information from the institution in question
in its preferred official language, even if this office is not required to serve the public in its
service area.
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