What does it say about the design of your comprehensive web portal if you feel the need to develop a separate tutorial site to help your employees use it?

That’s the situation with the Government of Canada portal (canada.gc.ca). The single entry point for information on Government of Canada programs and services, it is touted in every advertising campaign launched by the Government.

Apparently, some employees find the portal difficult to use. The solution? Explore the Canada Site, a separate web site featuring “courses” on using the Canada portal. The ultimate goal?

“In only 10-15 minutes for each tutorial, you will learn techniques and shortcuts that may shave hours off the time you currently spend looking for government information.

Ouch.

Of course, let’s view this in context: for the fifth year in a row, Canada ranked first in Accenture’s review of e-government initiatives.