Privacy Policy

By using this Web site and when providing CMHC with your personal information, you are consenting to CMHC's collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy. You may choose not to provide personal information through this Web site; however in doing so, you may not be able to engage in certain transactions or activities offered through this Web site.

Personal Information You Provide. CMHC may ask and collect from you your full name, postal address, phone number and e-mail address in order to complete shipping orders, convene and operate the Web site discussion forum or provide publications and e-mail news you have requested. When you order a publication, we also collect credit card information to process payment. If you participate in a survey or questionnaire, CMHC may collect financial information, demographic information, gender, age, education, marital status, language, household information, purchase history and/or other personal information from you.

Use of Personal Information You Provide

Questionnaire and Surveys

From time to time CMHC may conduct online or telephone surveys or issue user questionnaires in which we collect personal information from respondents who voluntarily provide it. Users are not required to participate in these surveys or to provide the personal information requested. Where personal information is provided, it is used by CMHC to profile its Web site users generally, generate statistics and aggregate reports for internal use. Where consent has been obtained at the time of collection of the personal information, CMHC may also contact you to get feedback on CMHC products and services.

Product Purchases and On-line Offers

CMHC asks for and collects the personal information listed above to create an account for purchases of CMHC products or services.

We use this information to perform or process on-line offers or on-line purchase order transactions and telephone orders, to communicate with you and to respond to your inquiries. CMHC will also use your personal information to verify your credit, to bill you for products and services and to enable you to participate in discount, rebate or other similar types of programs. By submitting a purchase order and purchasing a CMHC product, service or subscription, you consent to us providing your personal information to our service providers and other third parties that we deem necessary to process your transaction. In order to process Web site or telephone transactions, CMHC may share and disclose your personal information with our agents, representatives, contractors and service providers so that they can provide us with services such as authorization of credit card transactions, order fulfillment, shipping etc. CMHC requires these entities not to use the information for any other purpose than for that for which it was provided.

If you consent by using the option feature on the CMHC Web site store page, CMHC will also use your information to provide you with e-mail product offers, announcements about CMHC services or news that we think will be of interest to you.

Discussion Forum

When you participate in the online Discussion Forum we ask you to register with an e-mail address and create a password in order to access the forum. When you post content on the online Discussion Forum that content will be accessible to all Web site users. If you do not want your content, name or other personal information to appear on the online Discussion Forum, please do not submit or post this information on the online Discussion Board. The personal information you provide in connection with the online Discussion Forum will be used for the operation and administration of the online Discussion Forum. In addition to providing the Discussion Forum for the use of website visitors, CMHC uses the Discussion Forum content as a source of feedback and opinion or views from members of the public.

Contests

If contests are made available through this Web site, the applicable contest rules may contain provisions pertaining to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. To the extent that the contest rules differ from this privacy policy those contest rules will apply to the personal information collected in connection with that particular contest, otherwise this privacy policy shall apply to all contests.

Automatically Collected Information

CMHC automatically collects general information concerning the use of its Web site. This includes the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer, the IP address of your Internet service provider, the web browser used to access the Web site, the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked to the CMHC Web site, the date and time of access to the CMHC Web site, the operations undertaken during use of the CMHC Web site, the sections of the CMHC Web site that you visit, the parameters relating to particular pages of the CMHC Web site visited and the time spent on each page and the content downloaded from the CMHC web site. We do not link this information with any personal information provided by you. Where authentication is required or used, your user name is recorded in the Web server logs.

The general information that is automatically collected is used to improve the Web site, for marketing, Web site and system administration and other administration purposes. CMHC may use the general information that is automatically collected to create aggregate reports concerning Web site use, user patterns, user demographics and user purchases.

CMHC uses "cookies" which are small data files sent to your browser and stored on your computer's hard-drive to track your use of the CMHC Web site. The information derived from cookies is used to determine if a user has previously visited the CMHC Web site and to help store items in the "shopping cart" when users are visiting and using the Order Desk portion of the Web site. Most browsers permit users to disable cookies placed in the user's hard drive. You may still access and use all features of the CMHC Web site if you disable cookies placed on your hard-drive.

Disclosing Your Personal Information

CMHC does not disclose your personal information except as stipulated or authorized by the Privacy Act.

Security and Retention of Information

Despite the measures CMHC has implemented, as described below, data transmitted over the Internet is not guaranteed to be secure. CMHC does not guarantee, warrant or represent that the personal information you provide will be transmitted securely, or protected completely against interception, loss, misuse or alteration. CMHC accepts no responsibility or liability for any damages that may result where personal information submitted by you, has not been securely transmitted, has been intercepted, lost, misused or altered.

CMHC has adopted and implemented physical, and technological processes and procedures in an effort to keep you personal information safe and secure. CMHC uses an Internet firewall to prevent unauthorized access to CMHC's computer systems from external sources. To establish an online account with CMHC or to submit a purchase order or purchase a CMHC product online requires the use of Secure Socket Layers encryption technology (SSL). SSL is used to reduce the chances of your personal and other information from being intercepted and read as it is being transmitted over the Internet to our servers. Your information is only decrypted once it reaches the CMHC servers and is subject to restricted access. The information you provide is backed up and stored at restricted access sites.

Other Web sites

The CMHC Web site may contain links to other Web sites. When you click on one of those links, you will leave the CMHC Web site and enter the other Web site. CMHC has no control over those other Web sites and is not responsible for the collection of your personal information that is gathered on these other Web sites or their use of cookies or other tracking devices. It is important that you review their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.

Modifications to this Privacy Policy

CMHC reserves the right to change this privacy policy at any time, without notice or liability to you or any other person, by posting a new privacy policy on the CMHC Web site. CMHC's collection, use and disclosure of your personal information will be governed by the version of the privacy policy that is posted and in effect at the time.

Copy of this Privacy Policy

You are permitted to make a copy of this privacy policy for your personal records.

Contacting Us

To obtain access to any personal information that CMHC has collected about you through this Web site, please write to us at:

Coordinator
Access to Information and Privacy Office
Room C2-220
700 Montreal Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0P7

To correct or update your personal information or to request that your personal information be removed from our mailing or contact lists, please contact our Call Centre at 1 800 668-2642.