Statistics Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada
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Accessibility

Table of contents

  1. About the accessibility page
  2. How to use this page
  3. Generic layout of page elements
  4. Navigation menus and search
  5. Navigation strategies

1. About the accessibility page

This page contains information about the structure and organization of the Statistics Canada website, which was recently redesigned to comply with the Common Look and Feel Standard for the Internet (CLF 2.0), with respect to the different elements contained within a page and navigation strategies. This information is of a general nature and does not describe any specific features of particular operating systems, web browsers or adaptive technologies.

2. How to use this page

Users can access this page by activating on the "Accessibility" link on the Institutional links menu bar, under the Other information heading.
To navigate back and forth between previously visited pages, you can use the Back or Forward buttons on the menu bar of your browser or, alternatively, the key combinations Alt+Left arrow or the Alt+Right arrow, which are often assigned these functions. For example, you may wish to view the information on the accessibility page and then return to your initial visit by pressing the Alt+Left arrow keys.

You can consult the different sections on this page by activating the links in the table of contents. Each section is identified by a second‑level heading (h2) and may contain subsections that will have lower-level headings (h3, h4, etc.). If your screen reader allows, you can also display the list of all headings and go to the item you have selected by activating "Enter."

At the end of each section is a link that allows you to return to the top of this page. This link is represented by an arrow pointing upwards, entitled "Top of page." You can consult the navigation menus or skip directly to the content by activating the "Go to content" link.

3. Generic layout of page elements

All page elements on the Statistics Canada website follow the CLF 2.0 standards. At the top of each page are the elements of the Statistics Canada identitification program, followed by the "Go to content" and "Go to institutional links" links, which are hidden from view (unless style sheets are disabled or if you are using a non‑standards compliant browser). These links have been added to assist those who use a screen reader in directly accessing the page content or navigation menu located at the left and right of the screen.

Each page contains three first‑level elements (h1), which identify:

  1. links on the common menu bar
  2. institutional links
  3. page content heading.

These sections are further divided into h2 to h6 subsections depending on the information to be provided by each page.

This is followed by the navigation path or "breadcrumb trail" that shows the user where he or she is within the site.

Next is the page footer where you will find the date the page was last modified (year-month-day) and two hyperlinks: Top of page (represented by an arrow pointing upwards) and Important notices.

4. Navigation menus and search

Statistics Canada web pages contain two navigation menu bars and a site search utility. These elements are presented in the following order and are identified by h1 headings:

  1. Links on the common menu bar
  2. Links on the institutional links menu bar

The following descriptions of the navigation menus and search utility also include their positioning on the page. When style sheets are disabled or a non-standards compliant browser is used, all hidden elements are displayed in a text-only format.

4.1 Links on the common menu bar

The common menu bar (top menu) is a 1h heading and contains a list of six hyperlinks common to Government of Canada sites, including:

  1. English
  2. Home
  3. Contact us
  4. Help
  5. Search
  6. Canada.gc.ca (link to the main Government of Canada website)

Below this bar is the navigational path or ’breadcrumb trail’ showing where the user is within the website.

4.2 Links on the institutional links menu bar

The institutional links menu bar (left menu) is an h1 heading containing a list of one or more elements. Each element is an h2 heading, which may contain a nested list of one or more hyperlinks, depending on the context.

Visually, this institutional links menu bar is placed vertically at the left of the screen and, in some cases, may continue at the right of the screen, if necessary. However, the user should be aware that it is still the same institutional links menu bar divided into two columns on the left and right of the screen, but contained in a single list.

A search box can be found visually on either the left or the right menu bar in the list of institutional links. Normally, the search box is displayed on the left bar except on the Statistics Canada home page or the census home page. The search utilities are described in greater detail in the section below.

4.3 Search

There are several ways to use the different search utilities. Searches can be simple or advanced, by category and, sometimes, by a search utility specific to a site module.

4.3.1 Site search

The site search utility is always available through the "Search" link on the common menu bar. Activating the link opens a page containing a search box. This page contains a field for entering a word to search, a link for an advanced search, a link for more search options, and a button to launch the search. The advanced search allows you to specify a number of search parameters. For more information, consult the Help: Search the site section.

The site search page contains an institutional links menu bar with options for searching by category that allow you to narrow the search and restrict the number of results. There are four categories from which to select.

4.3.1.1 Search by category

The first category is "Type." Activating this link displays a nested list of six elements under this tab. Each link is followed by a number in brackets indicating the number of results in this category. The operation can be repeated for each of the subcategories until you are satisfied with your choice. Once you have selected the category, the element is still displayed in the list but without a link. The structure used in this concept is that of a tree diagram similar to the display used for files on a personal computer. You can select your categories even before launching a search. You can also go back and change your choice of categories, and the number of results will automatically adjust to your new selection.

The categories are as follows:

  1. Type
    1. Tables
      1. Summary tables
      2. Census tables
      3. CANSIM
      4. Data publications
      5. Microdata files
    2. Articles
      1. News
      2. Analytical
      3. Technical
    3. Maps
      1. Maps
      2. Geographic reference
    4. Surveys
      1. Surveys and statistical programs
      2. Questionnaires
      3. Definitions and classifications
      4. Survey documentation
      5. Census documentation
    5. Learning
      1. Conferences and training
    6. Help
      1. Search tools
      2. Subject guides and overviews
      3. About Statistics Canada
  2. Resource
    1. The Daily
    2. Summary tables
    3. Census
    4. CANSIM
    5. Publications
    6. Analysts and researchers
    7. Definitions, data sources and methods
    8. Other
  3. Geography
    1. Provinces and territories
    2. Cities and communities
    3. Health regions
  4. Subject list
    1. List of all subjects in the Statistics by subject module

You can select one or more categories either before or after launching a search and the results will adjust automatically, based on the key words and categories selected. The results will be displayed in the content section and the categories will be explicitly described. You can always go back to the institutional links section and change the category selected.

4.3.2 Module search

The module search utility is found on the institutional links menu bar, when this option is available. The search will be limited to the module in question. The only exception is when you are on the home page, where the search applies to the entire site. The label on the entry field will indicate the search domain, for example: "Search in The Daily."

4.3.3 Page content search

Some pages may have their own search tool, as is the case with the CANSIM database, for example. In this case, the search box is located in the content section of the page and the domain is limited to the CANSIM database.

5. Navigation strategies

This section describes the principal navigation elements contained in Statistics Canada’s web pages. The strategies listed below allow screen reader users to move quickly through a page to the section that interests them.

5.1 How to access page content

There are multiple ways a user can quickly access the content on a Statistics Canada web page.

Each page begins with a link called "Go to content." By activating this link, you can move directly to the page content. If your screen reader system allows you to display the list of page headings, you can scan the list to the h1 heading that matches the content heading you are seeking. Lastly, if your screen reader has shortcut search keys, the third h1 heading from the top of the page corresponds to the content heading.
For more information on these functions, please refer to your screen reader’s help menu or contact your software provider for further details.

5.2 How to access the institutional links menu

The second link on the page is called "Go to institutional links." Activating on this link takes you directly to the institutional links menu bar. You can scan the links using the up and down arrows on your keyboard, the Tab and Shift-Tab keys, shortcut keys relating to your specific screen-reading software, etc. Note that the institutional links menu bar contains h2 headings to identify each section or subject on this menu bar.