Privacy Policy

Privacy Law in Canada Ltd., its successors and assigns (PLIC) is committed to providing websites that respect the privacy of visitors and subscribers. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy practices for PLIC’s online activities.

All personal information collected by PLIC is governed by Canada's Privacy legislation. This means that you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

Your Privacy and the Internet

The nature of the Internet is such that Web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. Web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual.

Unless otherwise requested, PLIC does not automatically gather any specific information from you. PLIC would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by subscribing or by filling in a contact form.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of PLIC, such as social media platforms or mobile applications and subscriptions, IP addresses may be recorded by the Web server of the third-party service provider or bank.

Communicating with the Government of Canada

If you choose to send PLIC an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by PLIC in order to respond to your inquiry. PLIC does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than to those within PLIC, who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the applicable laws.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with PLIC are not secure unless it is specifically stated on a Web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to Canadian law. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes internally within PLIC.

Third-Party Social Media

PLIC’s use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the Web. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them.

Personal information that you provide to PLIC via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of Canadian law. This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, “likes”, retweets) between you and PLIC. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities. Comments that violate our rules of engagement will also be deleted.

Improving your Experience on PLIC Website

Digital Markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitors’ browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for the Web server to reference during the same or subsequent visit to the website. Examples of digital markers are “cookies” or HTML5 web storage. Some examples of what digital markers do are as follows:

they allow a website to recognize a previous visit each time the visitor accesses the site;
they track what information is viewed on a site which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for.

PLIC uses digital markers on some portions of its website. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with PLIC’s Web server. The digital markers used do not allow PLIC to identify individuals.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies, if you so choose. However, it may affect your ability to interact with PLIC’s website.

Web Analytics

Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement, and reporting of data about Web traffic and visits for purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. Information in digital markers may be used for the purpose of web analytics to remember your online interactions with PLIC’s website.

When your computer requests a PLIC Web page, our institution collects the following types of information for Web analytics:

the originating IP address
the date and time of the request
the type of browser used
the page(s) visited
in the future additional types of information may be collected but only with advance notice thereof.

PLIC uses a Web analytics tool internally and retains information collected for Web analytics for a maximum period of 18 months. After this period, the information must be disposed of in accordance with the Standard on Privacy and Web Analytics and as authorized by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada.

In the future, PLIC may use an external Web analytics tool and the information collected is disclosed to that service provider. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider’s servers in order to help safeguard your privacy.

Data collected for Web analytics purposes goes outside of Canada and may be subject to the governing legislation of that country.

Information used for the purpose of Web analytics is collected pursuant to Canadian law. Such data may be used for communications and information technology statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting.

Protecting the Security of PLIC Websites

PLIC employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the IP address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited.

This information is collected pursuant to section 161 of the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank

Inquiring about these Practices

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of privacy policies regarding PLIC’s Web presence may be addressed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by email to info@privacylawcanada.ca.

If you are not satisfied with PLIC’s response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Using Files Located on Non-PLIC Servers

To improve the functionality of the PLIC website, certain files (such as open source libraries, advertising, images and scripts) may be delivered automatically to your browser via a trusted third-party server or content delivery network. The delivery of these files is intended to provide a seamless user experience by speeding response times and avoiding the need for each visitor to download these files.

Linking to Non-PLIC Websites

Links to websites not under the control of PLIC, including those to our social media accounts, are provided solely for the convenience of our website visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content of such websites. PLIC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. With respect to privacy, visitors should research the privacy policies of these non-PLIC websites before providing personal information.

Ownership and Usage of Content Provided on This Site

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by PLIC for the purpose of providing users with access to information about privacy law. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:

1. Non-Commercial Reproduction

Unless otherwise specified you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:

Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author (where available); and
Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of the version available at the URL where the original document is available.

2. Commercial Reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution. Use within a subscriber’s organization without commercial redistribution is allowed. If the redistribution is provided for a fee, charge or other financial benefit, it is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of PLIC.

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by PLIC, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Consult a lawyer for details concerning copyright ownership.

Trademark Notice

The official symbols of PLIC, including ‘Privacy Law in Canada’, and the 'PLIC' symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes without the prior written consent of PLIC.

Interacting With Us on Social Media

This notice has been written to explain how PLIC interacts with the public on social media platforms.

Your engagement with PLIC via social media is in part governed by the Terms of Service/Use of the relevant third-party social media platform providers, as well as the following Terms and Conditions. PLIC has no control over the social media platform providers’ Terms of Service/Use, but you are strongly encouraged to read them in addition to those that follow.

Content and Frequency

PLIC uses social media accounts as an alternative method of interacting with Subscribers and of sharing the content posted on its website, facilitating access to PLIC information and services, and providing stakeholders with an opportunity to interact in an informative and respectful environment.

Because social media platforms and their computer servers are managed by a third party, social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of PLIC’s control. PLIC accepts no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to Other Websites and Ads

Social media accounts may post or display links or ads for products or websites that are not under the control of PLIC. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. PLIC is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads; neither does it endorse the sites or their content.

Following, “Favouriting” and Subscribing

PLIC’s decision to follow, “like” or subscribe to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

Comments and Interaction

PLIC will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. Your comments and contributions must be relevant and respectful.

PLIC will not engage in partisan or political issues or respond to questions that violate these Terms and Conditions.

PLIC reserves the right to remove comments and contributions, and to block users based on the following criteria:

The comments or contributions:

include personal information
include protected or classified information of the Government of Canada
infringe upon intellectual property or proprietary rights
are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Constitution Act, 1982
are racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic or defamatory, or contain or refer to any obscenity or pornography
are threatening, violent, intimidating or harassing
are contrary to any federal, provincial or territorial laws of Canada
constitute impersonation, advertising or spam
encourage or incite any criminal activity
are written in a language other than English
otherwise violate this notice.

PLIC reserves the right to report users and/or their comments and contributions to third-party social media service providers to prevent or remove the posting of content that is contrary to these Terms and Conditions, or to the Terms of Service/Use of the third-party social media platform.

Accessibility of Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by PLIC standards for Web accessibility.

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Social media accounts are not PLIC websites and represent only their presence on third-party service providers.

PLIC uses various social media platforms to tell you about and get your input on services, programs and initiatives. At times, PLIC, its successors or assigns may need to collect personal information from you.

This page tells you:

what we mean by “personal information”
what we do with it

It also tells you about:

your rights and responsibilities with respect to your personal information
what you can do if you have questions or concerns

Personal information is information about you that is recorded in any form and that can be used to identify you. Personal information includes:

your name
contact information
Internet Protocol (IP) address
social media profile information
social media “likes” or retweets

To consult you about topics that might interest you or to enable you to participate in outreach activities, we may need to collect biographical information or your opinions and views about different topics.

We might use your personal information to:

respond to your enquiries
compile statistics and reports
consult you about topics that might interest you
enable you to participate in outreach activities
allow for the sharing of opinions, knowledge, expertise and best practices
evaluate programs

If you make inappropriate comments or contributions, we may remove them. We may also block you or report you to third‑party social media service providers if your comments or contributions violate these terms. When doing so and to the extent necessary, we may use and disclose your personal information.

We can make the content of social media interactions publicly available if we have notified participants in advance. We will get your consent to use your personal information to create mailing lists so that we can contact you about upcoming events or to ask you for your views on particular issues.

Your Rights

When you interact with PLIC official social media accounts, your social media profile information may be recorded as per the practices of the social media platform. However, you have the right to refuse to give us any additional personal information when you interact with us on social media. There will be no legal or administrative consequences, but you might not be able to take part in a particular activity.

You can ask to access personal information that you have given us or that may have been created when you have interacted with us through our social media accounts. We don’t collect and retain this information with the intention of it being retrievable, so if you ask for access to it, please give the date and time of the interaction and any other details that could help us retrieve it. To access this information, you are required to fill out a personal information request form.

Your Responsibilities

If you choose to interact with us on social media, you should read the terms and conditions for doing so. You should also read the terms of service and the privacy policies of the social media platform provider and those of any applications you use to access that platform.

Our Responsibilities

Whenever we collect personal information from you on social media and whenever personal information is created as a result of your interactions with us on social media, we have to comply with Canadian law.

Questions and Concerns

If you have questions, comments, concerns or complaints about how we collect, use and store your personal information, contact info@privacylawcanada.com

Questions and Media Requests

Reporters are asked to send questions to info@privacylawcanada.com