Rescinded [2011-09-28] - Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet, Part 1: Standard on Web Addresses

The institutions in question must also apply the following policy instruments:

• Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet, Part 2: Standard on the Accessibility, Interoperability and Usability of Web sites ;
• Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet, Part 3: Standard on Common Web Page Formats ; and
• Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet, Part 4: Standard on Email

Institutions must also respect the obligations set out in the Directive on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites and in Appendix A of the Federal Identity Program policy.

Appropriate management of domain names is required to prevent confusion for Web site clients and promote legitimate access to government programs and services.

1.1 Registration

1.1.1 GC.CA

To help protect the unique identity and integrity of Government of Canada Web sites, the institution must register and maintain the registrations for its domain names in the gc.ca sub domain and, where required based on a risk-based assessment, any domain names that include its title and abbreviation in commonly used Internet top-level domains.

For multi-department sites, such as portals, gateways and clusters involving only Government of Canada partners, the lead institution must register and maintain the registrations of the name or abbreviation of the initiative in the gc.ca sub domain and, where feasible, in commonly used Internet top-level domains.

For collaborative sites, such as portals, gateways and clusters involving non-Government of Canada partners, the level of participation of various institutions and organizations determines whether an address in the gc.ca sub domain is warranted and, if so, the lead institution must register and maintain the registrations of the name or abbreviation of the initiative in an appropriate top-level domain and, where feasible, in other commonly used Internet top-level domains.

The institution must use only its domain names registered in the gc.ca sub domain for the purposes of advertising, marketing and promotion. In exceptional circumstances, a non-gc.ca address may be used, provided the authorization is obtained via the usual communications approval process in the institution.

Direction on the official languages obligations with regards to domain names is provided in the Directive on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites and Appendix A to the Federal Identity Program policy establishes the order of elements. Instructions on registering domain names in the gc.ca sub domain are available from the GC.CA Domain Name Registrar.

1.1.2 Additional Web addresses

The institution will facilitate the public's access to its Web sites by registering more intuitive addresses to supplement the existing address as specified by the Directive on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites. For example, www.tbs-sct.gc.ca would meet the requirements of 5.1.1.1 and www.TreasuryBoardSecretariat.gc.ca and www. SecretariatduConseilduTresor.gc.ca would meet the requirements of 5.1.1.2. These unilingual addresses must resolve to the main menu page in the language used in the address.

1.2 Cybersquatting

Where a private individual or entity has registered a domain name with apparent bad-faith intent, the institution shall conduct a risk-based analysis to determine if it is appropriate to pursue the cybersquatter using the established redress provisions of the governing body that oversees the Internet domain in question.

The institution gives equal treatment to both official languages when naming folders and files that appear in Universal Resource Locators (URLs) and when displaying the content of query strings in URLs that are dynamically generated by such applications as ASP (Active Server Pages).

Where an institution is not deploying two distinct navigation structures based on official languages, it must include a suffix on the filename and choose from the following naming options for directories, sub directories and filenames:

1. one word spelled the same in both official languages (for example, /options/ that could have menu-eng.htm and menu-fra.htm within it);
2. naming with both official languages (for example, /links-liens/ that could have fip-pcim-eng.html and pcim-fip-fra.html files within it); and
3. language neutral, such as numbers (for example, /100/ that could have 123-eng.htm and 123-fra.htm within it); alphabetic characters (for example, /aaa/ that could have abc-eng.htm and abc-fra.htm within it) or an alphanumeric combination (for example, /10aa1/ that could have 34de1-eng.htm and 34de1-fra.htm within it).

The suffix must reflect the three-letter ISO 639_2/T code for the representation of names of languages. Refer to ISO 639_2/T for the Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages.

For pages in languages other than English and French, an institution must either deploy an additional distinct language structure or use a language neutral filename with suffix structure.

Where an institution chooses option b), the order in which the languages appear is determined by the location of the office or facility providing the service, as prescribed by Appendix A of the Federal Identity Program policy.

It is acknowledged that the query language portion displayed in some URL paths that are dynamically generated could require significant programming effort to comply with this requirement. Where feasible, this portion of the URL must follow the naming options above.

The Treasury Board of Canada delegates to the President of the Treasury Board the power to grant exemptions from the Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet. The minister presiding over the institution may apply in writing to the President of the Treasury Board for an exemption from one or more requirements of this standard. The application must consist of a detailed rationale and risk analysis for exemption from each requirement.