CAN-ASC-6.4 Case Study

What Is CAN-ASC-6.4?

CAN-ASC-6.4 is a Canadian standard.

It focuses on Emergency Measures.

It ensures emergency information works for people with disabilities.

Goal: No one gets left behind during a crisis.

Why This Repository Matters

This project is a Functional Prototype.

It shows what emergency systems should do for all disabilities.

What We Demonstrate

  1. Accessible by design - WCAG 2.2 Level AA minimum
  2. Sustainable by default - WSG 1.0 for low bandwidth
  3. Clear in crisis - Grade 6 plain language
  4. Available offline - Works when the internet fails

The Four Pillars (Evidence-Based)

Pillar 1: Technical Accessibility

Standard: WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Why: Screen readers must work during evacuations.

How We Do It:

Evidence: See ACCESSIBILITY.md

Pillar 2: Web Sustainability

Standard: WSG 1.0

Why: Sites must load on weak signals and dying batteries.

How We Do It:

Evidence: See SUSTAINABILITY.md

Pillar 3: Cognitive Access

Standard: Plain Language (Grade 6)

Why: Stress makes thinking hard. Simple words save lives.

How We Do It:

Evidence: See Plain Language Toolkit

Pillar 4: Physical Resilience

Standard: Print-ready and offline-first

Why: Digital fails. Paper and cache work.

How We Do It:

Evidence: See SURVIVAL_WEB_DESIGN.md

Digital Egress: A New Concept

Egress = A way out.

Buildings have fire exits.

Websites need Digital Egress.

Definition

Digital Egress is the minimum viable information path a user needs when their technology is failing.

The Three Rules

  1. Find it fast - Critical info in 3 clicks or less
  2. Read it stressed - Grade 6 language only
  3. Save it offline - Works without internet

Implementation

We built a Digital Egress Checklist.

Use it to test your emergency website.

How to Use This Repository

For Standards Committees

Problem: Need concrete examples of accessible emergency systems.

Solution: Fork this repo. Test the concepts. Propose changes.

Next Steps:

  1. Review the Framework Matrix
  2. Test the Digital Egress Checklist
  3. Open an Issue to discuss technical details

For Municipalities and Agencies

Problem: Need to build accessible emergency sites quickly.

Solution: Fork this repo. Update local info. Deploy.

Next Steps:

  1. Read the Fork Guide
  2. Update contact info and local resources
  3. Deploy using DEPLOYMENT.md

For Researchers and Advocates

Problem: Need evidence that sustainable ICT works.

Solution: Use this repo as a case study.

Next Steps:

  1. Check our automated workflows
  2. Review readability and link-checking results
  3. Cite this repository in your work

Open-Sourcing Preparedness

The Fork Model

Small towns can copy this work.

Change the local details.

Have a working emergency site in hours.

Example:

The License

We use CC-BY-4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution).

Why: Emergency information must be free to share.

Rules:

Evidence-Based Advocacy

What We Prove

  1. Accessibility and sustainability work together
    • Example: System fonts reduce bandwidth AND work better with screen readers
  2. Plain language is faster to read
    • Example: Grade 6 text loads faster in stressed brains
  3. Automation prevents mistakes
    • Example: Our link-checker catches broken URLs weekly
    • Example: Our readability linter flags complex text
  4. Offline-first saves lives
    • Example: PWA works when cell towers fail

How to Cite This Work

For Academic Papers:

Gifford, M. (2026). Inclusive Emergency Readiness Guide: 
A functional prototype for CAN-ASC-6.4 emergency measures. 
GitHub. https://github.com/mgifford/inclusive-emergency-readiness

For Standards Proposals:

Reference Implementation: Inclusive Emergency Readiness Guide
Demonstrates: WCAG 2.2 + WSG 1.0 + Plain Language
URL: https://mgifford.github.io/inclusive-emergency-readiness/

Measuring Success

Technical Metrics

Metric Target Our Result
Page Load (3G) < 3 seconds ✅ Achieved
Page Size < 500KB ✅ Achieved
Accessibility WCAG 2.2 AA ✅ Achieved
Reading Level Grade 6 ✅ Most pages
Offline Access Yes ✅ PWA enabled

Real-World Impact

Next Steps for CAN-ASC-6.4

What Standards Should Require

Based on this prototype, we suggest:

  1. Page weight limits (500KB for critical pages)
  2. Reading level requirements (Grade 6 for alerts)
  3. Offline functionality (PWA or equivalent)
  4. Automated testing (Link checking, readability)
  5. Multi-channel delivery (Not just websites)

How We Can Help

Open an Issue on GitHub to discuss:

Contact for Standards Work

If you work on CAN-ASC-6.4 or similar standards:

Please open a GitHub Issue to start a conversation.

We are here to support evidence-based policy.

“Standards save lives. Evidence shows the way.”