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Privacy: Global Affairs Canada

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Privacy Notice

The Government of Canada and Global Affairs Canada are committed to providing Web sites that respect the privacy of visitors. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy practices for Global Affairs Canada's online activities.

All personal information collected by this institution is governed by the Privacy Act. 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 Web site, 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. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers the IP address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when a visitor requests a Web page such as the page or pages visited, date and time of the visit.

Unless otherwise noted, Global Affairs Canada does not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or e-mail address. Global Affairs Canada would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by e-mail or by filling in a contact form. In such cases, details about how your personal information is handled will be provided in a Personal Information Collection Statement.

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

Communicating with the Government of Canada

If you choose to send Global Affairs Canada an e-mail or complete a feedback form online, Global Affairs Canada uses your personal information to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. Global Affairs Canada does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with the Government of Canada 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 the Financial Administration Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914).

Third-Party Social Media

Global Affairs Canada's use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the Web. Social media account(s) are public and are not hosted on Government of Canada servers. 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. Global Affairs Canada uses Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Weibo, and BuzzFeed.

Personal information that you provide to the Government of Canada via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of the Financial Administration Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act. This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, "likes", retweets) between you and Global Affairs Canada. 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. The personal information is included in Personal Information Bank Outreach Activities (PSU 938).

Improving your Experience on Government of Canada Web sites

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 Web site. Examples of digital markers are "cookies" or HTML5 web storage. Some examples of what digital markers do are as follows:

Global Affairs Canada uses sessional and persistent digital markers on some portions of its Web site. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with Global Affairs Canada's Web server. The digital markers used do not allow Global Affairs Canada 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 Global Affairs Canada's Web site.

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 Global Affairs Canada’s website.

Global Affairs Canada  uses Google Analytics to improve its web site. When your computer requests a Global Affairs Canada Web page, our institution collects the following types of information for Web analytics:

Global Affairs Canada uses Google Analytics and the information collected is disclosed to Google, an external third party service provider. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider's servers in order to help safeguard your privacy. The information collected is de-personalized by activating the anonymization feature in Google Analytics.

Data collected for Web analytics purposes goes outside of Canada to the United States of America and may be subject to the governing legislation of that country, such as the USA Patriot Act.

Information used for the purpose of Web analytics is collected pursuant to the Financial Administration Act. Such data may be used for communications and information technology statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting. For more information on how your privacy is safeguarded in relation to web analytics, see the Standard on Privacy and Web Analytics.

Protecting the Security of Government of Canada Web sites

Global Affairs Canada 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 Web site, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

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 statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank Security Incidents (PSU 939).

Inquiring about these Practices

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act, and privacy policies regarding Global Affairs Canada’s Web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Division.

If you are not satisfied with Global Affairs Canada’s response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376. 

Using Files Located on Non-Government of Canada Servers

To improve the functionality of Government of Canada Web sites, certain files (such as open source libraries, 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. Where applicable, specific privacy statements covering these files are included in Global Affairs Canada’s Privacy Notice.

Providing Content in Canada's Official Languages

The Official Languages Act, the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations and Treasury Board policy requirements guide our use of English and French when we provide services to or communicate with members of the public. When there is no obligation to provide information in both official languages, content may be available in one official language only. Information provided by organizations not subject to the Official Languages Act is in the language(s) provided. Information provided in a language other than English or French is only for the convenience of our Web site visitors.

Linking to Non-Government of Canada Web sites

Links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada, including those to or from our social media accounts, are provided solely for the convenience of our Web site visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content of such Web sites. The Government of Canada 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.

Visitors should also be aware that information offered by non-Government of Canada sites to which this Web site links is not subject to the Privacy Act or the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. 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 policies of these non-government Web sites before providing personal information.

Ownership and Usage of Content Provided on This Site

Materials on this Web site were produced and/or compiled by Global Affairs Canada for the purpose of providing Canadians with access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows: 

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:

Commercial Reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from Global Affairs Canada.

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 the Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s).

To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials on this site for commercial purposes, please contact:

On line Form or enqserv@international.gc.ca.

Trademark Notice

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada word mark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

Our Commitment to Accessibility

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility as defined in the Standard on Web Accessibility and the Standard on Optimizing Web sites and Applications for Mobile Devices. In the event of difficulty using our Web pages, applications or device-based mobile applications, please contact us for assistance or to obtain alternative formats such as regular print, Braille or another appropriate format.

Interacting With Us on Social Media

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

Content and Frequency

We use our social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing the content posted on our Web site and interacting with our stakeholders. By following our social media accounts (by "following," "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about the programs and services we provide.

We understand that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends are read and responded to as soon as possible.

Any communications activity during holidays, after core hours and on weekends would likely be related to an emergency or of an urgent nature, of significant value to our followers and subscribers. Otherwise, the accounts will be relatively inactive during these times.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to Other Web sites and Ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for Web sites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Follow, Favourite and Subscribe

Our decision to "follow," "favourite" or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (retweeting, liking, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

At this time, Global Affairs Canada's decision to "follow", "favourite" or "subscribe" will be limited to other Government of Canada institutions and organizations determined to be relevant to our followers or subscribers and to Global Affairs Canada's mandate.

We will share (re-tweet, repost, like or link to) information posted by accounts that are diverse, non-commercial, and non-partisan and of value to our followers and subscribers.

Comments and Interaction

We will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We cannot engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of this notice.

We reserve the right to edit or remove comments that:

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views of users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of Global Affairs Canada or the Government of Canada.

Also, please note that you participate in social media at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include full names, home phone numbers or e-mail addresses, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, or any other personal information in the body of your comment.

Accessibility of Social Media Platforms

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

If you have difficulty accessing content on our social media accounts, please contact us and we will try to solve the problem or provide you with the information in a different format. 

Copyright

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada websites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers.

For more information, please refer to our Privacy Notice regarding third-party social media.

Official Languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your preferences. The Government of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information is available in both French and English and that both versions are of equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of general public interest, we may provide the information in both official languages.

Global Affairs Canada may share links that direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and available only in the language(s) in which they are written. When content is available in only one language, we make an effort to provide similar content in the other official language.

Questions and Media Requests

For general questions please contact us. You may also find usefull information on our Help page.

Reporters are asked to send questions by phone to Global Affairs Canada Media Relations at 343-203-7700 or by e-mail at media@international.gc.ca.

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