Common Look and Feel - Background

In February 1998, Treasury Board ministers made several policy decisions aimed at strengthening the identity, presence, and visibility of the Government of Canada (GoC). In part, the decisions were taken to fulfil the Government's obligation to provide Canadians with evidence that their tax dollars are used to provide programs, services and infrastructure that is relevant and important to their everyday lives.

The ministers recognized that innovative use of existing and emerging technologies would play a key role in strengthening the GoC identity, presence and visibility. One of their decisions focused specifically on the opportunities inherent in electronic media, and set out a clear mandate for optimizing its potential:

The Treasury Board Secretariat will develop, in consultation with departments and agencies, a common look and feel for federal Internet / Intranet sites and electronic networks. The Federal Identity Program is to be applied consistently to all electronic services, including Government of Canada Internet / Intranet sites, products and deliverables.

In June 1998, the Common Look and Feel Working Group (CLFWG) was established, under the direction of Treasury Board Secretariat Internet Advisory Committee. The CLFWG was made up of 75 individuals with expertise in fields related to the use of electronic media as a tool for information dissemination. It included Web developers, communications experts, publishers, information technology professionals and information designers. In total, more than 50 GoC institutions were represented, including central agencies, stakeholders, line departments, and crown corporations.

In the fall of 1999, through the Speech from the Throne, the government set the ambitious goal of providing Canadians with access to all government information and services on-line, at the time and place of their choosing by 2004. This Government On-Line (GOL) initiative will give clients seamless entry to a full range of government institutions, enhance the delivery of service to the public, increase productivity of the Public Service, and improve Canada's competitiveness in a global economy. CLF will act as an enabler for GOL by supporting the client-centred approach that lets Canadians acquire information and services on their terms, and according to their needs.

In January 2000, the CLFWG tabled its report and recommendations with the Treasury Board Secretariat. These recommendations were subsequently consolidated into a list of standards and guidelines and further assessed by several business and technical interdepartmental committees for their impact on the implementation of the GOL initiative.

In May 2000, TB ministers approved the CLF standards and guidelines and required all institutions represented in Schedule 1, 1.1 and 2 of the Financial Administration Act to comply with them by December 31, 2002.

The CLF standards are designed to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of ability, geographic location or demographic category, are given equal access to information on GoC Web sites. Sites must be designed and information made accessible in such a way that a wide range of technologies, including personal computers, assistive devices, and advanced technologies can be used. Content on GoC sites must be as easy to acquire through a slow modem or old browser as it is through a screen reader or voice activator. Adopting this approach now will ensure that the CLF standards remain relevant, as cellular and digital technologies become more widespread and new communication technologies emerge.

The implementation of the CLF standards is not an attempt to bring Web design to the lowest common denominator or return to text only Web sites. Rather it challenges Web developers and content providers to consider both information and information design within the context of universal accessibility. Information design and infrastructure of any given Web site will affect an institution's ability to meet moral and legal obligations to make all information available to all Canadians.

CLF for the Internet is a model of how the Government of Canada will provide electronic information to the public and to its employees today and in the future. One of the next steps in fulfilling the mandate provided by TB ministers is to apply CLF to GoC Intranet sites to ensure all internal communications initiatives reap the full benefits of improved consistency in communication, identification, navigation and information.