Concrete Examples

• Partial reworking of the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide
  In early 1999, a joint project of Client Services and the Readability and Editing Section condensed and simplified certain information in the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide.
  What was involved was a change of approach in the nature of the guide. Previously, the Department had outlined all the information that was potentially applicable to every taxpayer. The new objective was to provide only the information applicable to the majority. If an individual wanted to know how to apply for a deduction or a credit of interest to a small proportion of taxpayers (e.g., an income tax credit for the donation of a work of art or an ecological gift), that individual was referred to another publication where he or she would find all the necessary details (in this case, the brochure entitled Gifts and Income Tax).
  The two services took advantage of this reworking to edit all of the texts involved and to simplify them as much as possible. Of course, they had to deal with the usual constraints on editing in similar situations. For example, how does one explain a complex legislative provision simply? In spite of it all, readability and editing officers try to simplify information as much as possible.
• Editing of the brochure entitled Support Payments
  In early 2000, Client Services planned a major revision of the brochure entitled Support Payments. Since the Act had changed three years previously, Client Services felt it was no longer necessary to mention old rules regarding this matter. It was determined that individuals subject to these rules were already familiar with them, and there was no need for others to become so. This step alone reduced the number of pages in the brochure by nearly half. Client Services also considered providing information in the form of a table or chart, so that people could quickly grasp what was involved.
  The Readability and Editing Section worked closely with Client Services and the brochure was ultimately enhanced with a questionnaire table and a decision-making chart covering the various aspects of taxation rules. Ultimately, the brochure was reduced to 12 pages from 36 pages the year before!

Plain Language: Designed to Last

The Readability and Editing Section undertakes projects designed to improve the Agency’s texts and publications on an ongoing basis. This has enabled CCRA to continue the task undertaken by the Government of Canada 15 years ago: to foster improved communication with all Canadians through the use of plain language.