New Look for Ontario E-Laws Website
The Ontario e-Laws legislative website has a new look and feel to bring it in line with Ontario government website standards.
The retro avocado green-colored banner is interesting if somewhat garish. That aside, the site appears to retain the same functionality, albeit with frequently-accessed links in slightly different locations.
Presumably one thing driving this is the government’s obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11, to make their website more accessible to persons with disabilities (as explained here by the government).
Expect to see much more discussion in the near future in law firm bulletins on the topic of this new legislation which will (also) start to apply to most private sector businesses in Ontario on January 1, 2012. The legislation is relatively onerous (and rightfully so, from the perspective of people with disabilities) and, in connection with businesses with a web presence, raises web-related questions as to the extent to which businesses must make their websites accessible for sight-impaired persons (such as providing information in audio format, through large font / print and the like).
There is starting to be a good deal of law in the US about the applicability of accessibility standards to the private sector. Since Ontario’s statute expressly applies to the private sector (on a timeline as noted by Ted), some of the implications for actions to be taken to conform being discussed in the US will be relevant here. There’s some serious consulting work to be had in this area.