TOWNHALL DESIGN WORKS! Working With Canadian Viewers

	Working With CANADIAN VIEWERS

Welcome to "Working With CANADIAN VIEWERS", the area of DESIGN WORKS! dedicated to helping our clients understand the unique relationship of "Canadianization" to HTML programming, web site design and content. By now we have either completed your Strategic Internet Business Plan or are at the "Design Considerations" planning point. The purpose of this area is to present a brief review of what can be done to ensure that you reach the Canadian audiance effectively...

As a people, Canadians are different from Americans. Canada is comprised of a mosaic society as opposed to a melting pot. Our culture is reflected in unique Canadian attitudes and lifestyles.

If a foreign-based company is doing business in Canada, it should emphasize any Canadian elements that it has to offer ie: bilingual packaging, metric measures, Canadianized forms and warranty cards that ask for province, postal code, and so forth. TOWNHALL will build your web site to meet Canadian english, french language, metric and regulatory requirements.

CANADIAN ENGLISH

Canadian spelling of the English language is a unique combination of American and British spelling variations. Adhering to the Canadian English spelling demonstrates that your company understands Canadians and can meet their needs. Ignoring it can alienate your company from Canadian consumers.

CANADIAN ENGLISH SPELLING			CANADIANISMS
UNIQUE SPELLING	CANADIAN	AMERICAN	BAY STREET Cdn. in Toronto, a street on which are situated many financial houses and, untill 1983, the Toronto Stock Exchange - the Canadian equivalent to Wall Street. BUSH PILOT Cdn. an aviator who does most of his flying in the bush country of the far north. DIGBY CHICKEN Cdn. a small smoke-cured herring MCINTOSH RED Cdn. a bright-red winter apple having crisp, white flesh. JINKER Cdn. Newfoundland an imaginary creature to whom bad luck is attributed; gremlin. SASQUATCH Cdn. a wild hairy monster of subhuman appearance, suppposed to inhabit certain western mountain regions. TICKLE Cdn. esp.Newfoundland a narrow entrance to a harbour Source: Gage Canadian Dictionary
EUR endings	voyageur	voyager
RE endings	metre centre	meter center
OUR endings	colour honour neighbour	color honor neighbor
MME endings	programme	program
NE endings	tonne	ton
OTHER	axe cheque mediaeval plough skilful sulphur woollen	ax check medieval plow skillful sulfur woolen
UNIQUE MEANINGS	blinds braces chesterfield serviettes taps	shades suspenders sofa napkins faucets

CANADIAN FRENCH (QUEBECOIS)

Addressing Canada's French-speaking population is something that companies doing business in Canada should not ignore. In addition to legal implications, failing to do so can easily result in losing 25% of the Canadian market right off the top.

There is a world of difference between original French language creative, French adaptation and French translation. Literal translation of concept and copy that were conceived in English seldom translate directly into French. In addition, Canadian French differs significantly from European French, just as Canadian English differs significantly from American or British English. Special care should be taken to use appropriate phrases, words and ideas.

PRODUCTION NOTE: French language copy will normally be approximately 20% longer than English copy. The Quebec Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) is designed to protect Quebec linguistic and cultural heritage and includes provision concerning communication, commercial advertising, commerce, product labeling, catalogues and brochures. As a rule of thumb, general communication such as advertising, promotion, catalogues and brochures must be drafted in French first and not translated English. Best results are obtained when you treat the French Canadian marketplace as a unique entity within the Canadian market.

METRIC! METRIC! METRIC!

The WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACT ensures that commodities are packaged with weight and price defined in metric units and that measures including distance, capacity, weights,area, volume and temperature are communicated in metric.

CANADIAN METRIC SYSTEM
DISTANCE		CAPACITY
Imperial	Metric	U.S.	Metric
1 inch 1 foot 1 yard 1 rod 1 mile	= 2.540 centimeters = 0.3048 metre = 0.9144 metre = 5.029 metres = 1.609 kilometers	1 pint (U.S.) 1 quart (U.S.) 1 gallon (U.S.) 1 barrel (U.S.)	= 0.473 liter = 0.946 liter = 3.785 liters =158.89liters
WEIGHTS		AREA
AS NOTED	METRIC	U.S.	Metric
1 ounce (avoir) 1 pound (avoir) 1 ton (short-U.S.) 1 ton (long-U.K.)	= 28.350 grams = 453.592 grams = 0.907 tonne* = 1.016 tonne* *1 tonne=1000 kilograms	1 square inch 1 square foot 1 square yard 1 acre 1 square mile	= 6.452 square centimeters = 0.093 square metre = 0.836 square metre = 0.405 hectare* = 259.0 hectares = 2.590 square kilometers *1 hectare=10000 square metres
VOLUME		TEMPERATURE
U.S.	Metric	Fahrenheit	Celsius
1 cubic inch 1 cubic foot 1 cubic yard	= 16.393 cubic centimeters = 28.571 cubic decimeters = 0.765 cubic meter	212 F 100 F 72 F 32 F 0 F	= 100 C = 37.8 C = 22.2 C = 0 C = -17.8 C

COMMUNICATIONS REGULATIONS:

The Competition Act (federal) applies to all Canadian media including use of the Internet. Regulations include:

misleading representation
unsubstantiated claim
misleading price representation
bait and switch selling
promotions, contests, special offers
disclaimers
quarantees and warranties
testimonials

CANADIAN CODE OF ADVERTISING STANDARDS:

The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards regulates advertising accuracy; technique; price claim; comparitive advertising; supply of advertised product; guarantees; styles; claims; public decency and advertising to children and minors. These standards should be adhered to on the Internet as well, to show good corporate citizenship and respect for the Canadian consumer.

OTHER CANADIAN RULES AND REGULATIONS:

Additional federal regulations and legislation that relate to consumer protection include

Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act
Food and Drugs Act
National Trademark and True Labeling Act
Standards Council of Canada Act
Weights and Measures Act
plus specific provincial rules and regulations

RIGHT TO PRIVACY:

Canada has stringent regulations governing Canadians right to privacy. These regulations differ significantly from those in the United States and reflect Canadians growing sensitivity regarding the provision of confidential information. The Privacy Act ensures a high level of personal protection. This creates unique challenges for companies wishing to utilize Internet data based communications and often requires Canadianized Internet programming to support forms structure and data analysis.

When dealing with Internet data base marketing or use of E-mail, the following guidelines are worth incorporating into your site:

Canadian consumers must be given a meaningful opportunity to say NO to having their names used for marketing purposes.
"Internet" marketers must be prepared to reveal information sources to consumers who are curious.
"Internet" marketers should delete from their lists the names of those consumers who request it.
"Internet" list keepers should ensure that lists are protected against unauthorized access or use.
Private personal data, such as medical, financial or credit information must be protected as defined by Canadian sector regulatory codes.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Our home base is Toronto, Canada. Toronto has been identified by the United Nations as the "most ethnically diverse city in the world". As such, the world's languages and cultures are at our doorstep. Thanks to our location, Townhall can truly offer:

CULTURALLY CORRECT CONTENET IN THE LANGUAGE(S) OF YOUR CHOICE.

Contact: TOWNHALL Internet Communications

IT'S POSSIBLE YOU SHOULD EXPECT A WHOLE LOT MORE FROM YOUR WEB SITE !!!