Our commitment and laws

We are committed to protecting your privacy whether you are browsing for information or conducting business with the government through electronic channels. The handling of all personal information on this webpage is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Collection, notice, use and disclosure

This Privacy Statement explains our current practices regarding what information we may collect, use, and secure your personal information when you visit our websites.

Collection

We may only collect personal information that is specifically authorized at law, or where the collection is necessary to provide you with a program or service. We collect personal information directly from you, unless another manner of collection is authorized by law.

Use

We may only use personal information for the purpose it has been collected, or for a consistent purpose, unless another use is specifically authorized at law.

Disclosure

We may only disclose personal information where we have legal authority to do so, or where the disclosure is for the purpose that we collected the information such as providing you with a program or service.

What kind of information is collected?

When you browse or download information from our website, our servers automatically collect limited amounts of standard information for traffic monitoring and statistical purposes. The information is analyzed for operational trends, performance, and for ways to improve our sites. We cannot identify you from this information.

We collect the following standard types of information:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the computers being used to access our sites

  • operating systems and the types and versions of browsers used to access our sites

  • Internet Service Providers used by visitors to our sites

  • dates and times users access our sites

  • pages visited

  • keywords users enter into our search engine

  • names and sizes of files requested

What happens when you send us personal information?

You may choose to provide us with personal information such as your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and credit card number, if you wish to:

  • submit an e-mail, comment, question or request or subscribe for information online

When you visit our organization’s website, any personal information you provide will be used to respond to your message and/or provide you with the requested service or product.

Cookies statement

We use cookies to better improve your browsing experience on our webpage.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small files stored on your device when you visit a website. Cookies do not give us access to your hard drive and do not allow us to make changes to your device. They collect user information anonymously, allowing us to collect statistical information that provides you with a better user experience.

We do not store personal information in cookies, and we do not collect personal information from you without your knowledge.

Cookies that measure website use

We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it for future visits. We do not allow Google and/or any third parties to use or share the data about how you use this site.

Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymous information about:

  • how you got to the site (from a search engine, third party link, etc.)

  • the pages you visit on ontario.ca and other Government of Ontario websites and digital services

  • how long you spend on each page

  • what you click on while you are visiting the site

  • what device and browser you use to access the pages

Cookies that remember your settings

These cookies help us to remember your preferences and the choices you make when on the website.

Analytics

In order to serve you better, we use web analytics services including Google Analytics and Webtrends to help analyse the use of our websites. These tools use cookies to collect and generate information about your visits to our sites (including your IP address) that is transmitted to their servers in an anonymous form for processing. We study patterns of website activity so we can improve the experience of visitors to our sites.

The use of these tools does not allow us or our analytics service providers to identify individuals.

You can opt-out of analytics activity by setting your browser to notify you when a cookie is sent and block analytics cookies if desired. Please consult your browser’s Help Menu for instructions. Visiting our website with analytics cookies disabled will have no significant impact on your browsing experience.

Google currently offers a free Google Analytics opt-out tool for Internet Explorer (versions 7 and 8), Google Chrome (4.x and higher), and Mozilla Firefox (3.5 and higher).

Security

The websites security practices are continually evolving to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of information and systems are maintained. Ingrain Concepts uses up-to-date security safeguards to protect its networks and websites from misuse, alteration, copying, disclosure, destruction, monitoring or unauthorized sharing of information and damage. The website’s safeguards include the use of security software and encryption protocols and involve physical, technical and procedural controls to protect information behind the government firewall.

Take steps to protect your online activities

Users are encouraged to learn about protecting their own computers to ensure that their online activities remain private. One place to start for tips on home network security is a Question and Answer sheet produced by the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute - CERT Coordination Center.