The Government of Canada is committed to protect the privacy of its visitors on its websites. This Privacy Notice summarizes the privacy policy and practices on the Canadian Digital Service website, a website under the responsibility of the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS).
GC Articles Subscription Privacy Notice
When you sign up, your email address and language preference (English or French) is collected. No other personal information is collected.
The collection and use of your personal information is authorized by the Financial Administration Act. Collection and use of your personal information for this site is in accordance with the federal Privacy Act. Your personal information may be used to respond to your inquiries, if applicable, and to help evaluate the effectiveness of Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) programs in responding to client needs. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., individuals who make inappropriate remarks or threats), personal information may be disclosed without your consent pursuant to subsection 8(2) of the Privacy Act.
Any personal information that may be collected is described in the Standard Personal Information Bank entitled Outreach Activities, PSU 938, which can be found in the TBS webpage Information about programs and information holdings.
Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding this Statement, your privacy rights and the Privacy Act may be directed to the TBS Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by email at ATIP.AIPRP@tbs-sct.gc.ca or by telephone at 1-866-312-1511. You may also wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada by email at info@priv.gc.ca or by telephone at 1-800-282-1376. You have the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about the handling of your personal information by TBS.
Your Privacy and the Internet
Specific personal information, such as your name, phone number or email address, is not automatically gathered. TBS would only obtain this type of information if you supply it by email or by registering in a secure portion of the site for a program or service (e.g. personal information provided voluntarily when you complete an online form or request for service).
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. 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.
In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the Government of Canada, such as social media platforms, search or mobile applications, IP addresses may be recorded by the third-party service provider.
All personal information created, held or collected by the Government of Canada is protected under the federal Privacy Act. At any point of collection, you will be asked for consent to collect your information or you will be advised of the authority for such collection. You will also be informed of the purpose for which the personal information is being collected, and how to exercise your right of access to, and correction of, that information. In such cases, how your personal information is handled is described in a Personal Information Collection Statement.
Visitors’ personal information is not usually disclosed to anyone except Government of Canada personnel who need the information to carry out their responsibilities. Any further disclosure of the personal information you provide would be in accordance with the federal Privacy Act.
Improving your Experience on the GC Articles application
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 visitor who has previously accessed the site;
- they track what content is viewed on a site which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for.
The Canadian Digital Service website uses sessional and persistent digital markers on its website. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with the Canadian Digital Service’s Web server. The digital markers used do not allow the Canadian Digital Service website to identify individuals and do not contain personal information.
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 the Canadian Digital Service website.