The Government of Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are committed to providing Web sites that respect the privacy of visitors. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy practices for the Public Health Agency’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.
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 visitor requests a Web page such as the page or pages visited, date and time of the visit.
Unless otherwise noted, the Public Health Agency does not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. The Public Health Agency would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by email or by filling in a contact form. In such cases, 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.
If you choose to send the Public Health Agency an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by the Public Health Agency in order to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. The Public Health Agency does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than to 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 Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914).
The Public Health Agency of 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. The Public Health Agency of Canada’s uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Personal information that you provide to the Public Health Agency of Canada via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of the Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, “likes”, retweets) between you and the Public Health Agency. 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 Public Communications (PSU 914) and/or Outreach Activities (PSU 938)].
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:
The Public Health Agency uses sessional and persistent digital markers on some portions of its Web site. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with the Public Health Agency’s Web server. The digital markers used do not allow the Public Health Agency 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 the Public Health Agency’s Web site.
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 the Public Health Agency’s Web site.
The Public Health Agency uses Google Analytics to improve its web site. When your computer requests a Public Health Agency Web page, our institution collects the following types of information for Web analytics:
The Public Health Agency 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 Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible. 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.
The Public Health Agency 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 related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank Security Incidents (PSU 939).
Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies regarding the Public Health Agency’s Web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by:
Email: ATIPPHAC-AIPRPASPC@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Telephone: (613) 954-9165
Mail: Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Public Health Agency of Canada
1600 Scott Street
Holland Cross, Tower B, 7th Floor, Suite 700
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0K9
If you are not satisfied with the Public Health Agency’s response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376.
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 our Privacy Notice.
The Skills Online program is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information. This Privacy Statement explains the current information management practices on our Web sites. This statement uses the federal Privacy Act (PA) as its foundation and legal basis. However, for a comprehensive policy on privacy, the Canadian Standard Association’s principles on privacy are adhered to where possible.
Our commitment – The Skills Online program is fully committed to protecting the information that is gathered as a result of your participation in our online modules and also respects your privacy. Your personal information is protected under the federal Privacy Act, which means that you have the right to be informed of why your personal information is being collected. You can also challenge the accuracy of the information we have about you in our files.
Purpose, collection and use of information – The Skills Online program provides access to online modules to front line public health practitioners in Canada. This online professional continuing education program contributes to improving the public health infrastructure across Canada by developing a highly skilled public health workforce who are able to respond to current and emerging threats to health across Canada. As such, the information you provide when you register for a module serves the following purposes:
Information collected from participants will be used by the Skills Online program only for the purposes identified above.
Limiting collection – We shall not collect personal information indiscriminately. You are not monitored upon visiting our Web site. The information collected shall be limited to that which is necessary to fulfill the purposes identified above. The personal information collected will be limited to the data requested for registration on our Web site. Program elements such as email, online chat and discussion boards will not be shared outside of the program.
Information sharing, disclosure and retention – Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as allowed or required by law. Personal information will not be disclosed to persons or organization(s) outside the Skills Online program unless it pertains to items 2, through 4 of “Identifying Purpose, Collection and Use,” or unless it is in accordance with section 8(2) of the Privacy Act. Personal information will only be shared with provincial/territorial and federal government public health agencies and organizations in the event of a public health crisis and subsequent human resource mobilization to respond to such crises.
We realize that participants will always have a need to access their grades for the modules they have taken. We have an obligation to be able to provide this information.
Data integrity – The Skills Online program processes personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected. We review our information collection, storage and registration practices to ensure that we only collect, store and process the personal information necessary to access and improve our program. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we process at registration is complete, but we also depend on our participants to update and correct their personal information when necessary, by contacting us.
Information security – We take appropriate measures to protect against unauthorized access and disclosure of your personal information. The information collected will only be accessed by Skills Online program employees and third party administrator. The third party administrator handles participant registration and administers the modules on behalf of the Skills Online program. If you have any questions or concerns in regards to our administrator and this policy, please do not hesitate to contact us. Generally speaking, no other parties external to the Public Health Agency of Canada and the third party administrator will have access to your information unless required by law. All individuals having access to the information will be security cleared at the Enhanced Reliability Level. The Skills Online program, along with the third party administrator uses security safeguards to protect your information such as the use of unique User IDs and passwords. These security safeguards also include the use of security software and encryption protocols and involve physical, technical and procedural controls to protect your personal information.
Openness and individual access – The Skills Online program encourages everyone that participates in the modules to be informed about our information practices. You may contact us if you have any concerns in this regard. You may at any time verify the information we have on file for you and correct any information that is not up to date.
Challenging compliance – An individual shall be able to address an administrative challenge concerning compliance and adherence to the above principles. If such an administrative process does not sufficiently address the issue, a formal request can be made under the Privacy Act or Access to Information Act or a formal complaint can be registered through the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which will result in an official investigation.
Contact us – For questions or comments regarding these practices or to address an administrative challenge, you may contact us via email at: skills_privacy@phac-aspc.gc.ca
Or write to us at:
Privacy
Skills Enhancement for Public Health
120 Colonnade Road,
Room B271B A.L. 6702B Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
To
address a formal complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, please
follow the link to the Privacy Commissioner's Web site at:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
The information and links provided on the Business Continuity Planning Resources and Checklists page are aids to help businesses maintain services in the event of a pandemic influenza or any other emergency.
They are for general information purposes only and are not intended to cover every situation that may apply to a business. Details, which may be relevant to a user's particular circumstance, may not be available, as there is no 'one size fits all' business continuity guide. Users are advised to seek professional business advice before applying any information contained in these and seek the advice of a health care professional when medical issues are involved.
The Government of Canada accepts no liability or responsibility for any acts or errors, omissions, misuse, and/or misinterpretation resulting from reliance, in whole or in part, on the documents referred to in this guide. The Government of Canada disclaims all responsibility or liability to any person, whether in contract, equity or tort, or on any other basis, for any direct or indirect losses, illness or injury, or damage of any kind, arising from use of these documents. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any non-Government of Canada Web sites mentioned in this document, and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in them. There is no guarantee that the links will work all the time, and the Government of Canada does not necessarily control the availability of the linked pages.
This mailing list is provided as an information dissemination service only. The Public Health Agency of Canada will not assume responsibility for any system failures or omissions of notifications.
The information in this document is for general information purposes only and is not intended to cover every situation that may apply to an individual or business. Details, which may be relevant to a user’s particular circumstance, may have been omitted. Users are advised to seek professional advice before applying any information contained in this document to their own particular circumstances. Users should always obtain appropriate professional advice on the medical issues involved.
The Government of Canada accepts no liability or responsibility for any acts or errors, omissions, misuse, and/or misinterpretation resulting from reliance, in whole or in part, on the documents referred to in this guide. The Government of Canada disclaims all responsibility or liability to any person, whether in contract, equity or tort, or on any other basis, for any direct or indirect losses, illness or injury, or damage of any kind, arising from use of these documents.
The Government of Canada is not responsible for the contents or reliability of any non Government of Canada Web sites mentioned in this document, and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in them. There is no guarantee that the links will work all the time, and the Government of Canada does not necessarily control the availability of the linked pages.
Please note:
The Mental Health Promotion section provides general information and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. If you feel you need advice, please see your health care professional. The Mental Health Promotion Unit (MHPU) makes every effort to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information that appears on this section. The MHPU partner organizations are responsible for the content that appears on their own sites.
The Official Languages Act, the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations and Treasury Board policy requirements establish when we use both English and French to 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 visitors.
Links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada, including those to 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 privacy policies of these non-government Web sites before providing personal information.
The Public Health Agency of Canada's Web sites are aimed at delivering information and services to users that are relevant and applicable to its mandate and that of the Government of Canada (GoC). To this end, the following criteria will be used by the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine the suitability of links to and from its Web sites.
This criteria applies to all of the Public Health Agency of Canada's Web sites.
In general, the Public Health Agency of Canada does not link to Web sites of organizations that are not affiliates of the Public Health Agency of Canada, are not partnering or have not partnered with the Public Health Agency of Canada, or do not feature relevant, accurate information of which the Public Health Agency of Canada has an interest in. Decisions to post links on this site will also be subject to this criteria:
In addition, please note that:
Generally, GoC institutions encourage third parties to link to the GoC. Sites wishing to link to the Public Health Agency of Canada's Web site, therefore, do not need to request permission to do so. We do, however, ask that you follow these linking practices.
Materials on this Web site were produced and/or compiled by the Public Health Agency 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:
Unless otherwise specified you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:
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 the Public Health Agency of Canada. To obtain permission to reproduce the Public Health Agency of Canada materials on this site for commercial purposes, apply for Copyright Clearance on the Public Health Agency of Canada Works or write to:
Public Health Agency of Canada
Licensing & Copyright
c/o Health Canada
Marketing, Partnerships and Creative Services
200 prom. Eglantine Driveway
Room 1437B
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Tel: (613) 952-0197
Cellular: (613) 816-6053
Fax: (613) 941-5366
Email: Pubsadmin@hc-sc.gc.ca
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 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 additional information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions, please contact the Public Health Agency of Canada by email at pubsadmin@hc-sc.gc.ca or by sending a detailed fax to 613-941-5366.
The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada Wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.
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 Websites 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.
These terms of use have been written to explain how the Public Health Agency interacts with the public on social media platforms. The Agency currently holds two Twitter accounts:@phac_gc (English) and @aspc_gc (French); two YouTube channels: PublicHealthCanada (English) and SantePubliqueCanada (French); and two Facebook accounts: Public Health Agency of Canada (English) and L’Agence de la santé publique du Canada (French).
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 covering some or all of the following:
We understand that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. Twitter followers can expect up to 10 tweets a day and the number of Facebook posts will vary depending relevant material available each day. During some periods, we may post more or less frequently than average. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT.
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.
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.
At this time, the Public Health Agency follows other Government of Canada departments and agencies as well as other institutions, organizations and individuals whom we believe are relevant to the mandate of our work - specifically, as it relates to the health and safety of Canadians. This could include accounts of non-profit organizations and associations.
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 (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.
Feedback and interaction is highly encouraged. 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.
All comments and questions will be read, and any emerging themes or helpful suggestions will be passed to the relevant people in the Agency. Although we are not able to reply individually to all messages, they will be handled on a case-by-case basis and responded to when deemed appropriate.
If we feel a comment or a question posed to PHAC requires a response and/or a greater level of detail, we may develop a formal response and distribute the information through other channels such as e-mail, our Web site or other social media channels. We will pay attention to emerging themes and helpful suggestions and look forward to this potential interaction.
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:
Users may retweet/share material posted to the Public Health Agency accounts provided that the content is not changed and proper credit is given.
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 the Public Health Agency or the Government of Canada.
Please take note that we cannot engage in rendering medical advice, nor can we discuss issues of party politics.
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.
Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.
Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada Web sites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers.
For more information, please refer to our Privacy Notice regarding third-party social media.
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 of is available in both French and English and that both versions are 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 respond in both official languages.
We 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.
Some Public Health Agency employees might use social media platforms outside of work hours and in their personal capacity under their own names or pseudonyms. Despite their professional affiliation with the Public Health Agency, their tweets do not represent the official position of the Agency, and should be considered the product of each individual as a private citizen.
Reporters are asked to call (613) 957-2983.
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