Privacy Statement

The Government of Canada and the Department are committed to providing visitors with web sites that respect their privacy.

This web site does not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, phone number or e-mail address. We would only obtain this type of information if you supplied it by sending us an e-mail or registering in a secure portion of the site.

All personal information created, held or collected by the Department is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that at any point of collection you will be asked for consent to collect your information or 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 that information.

The Department 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 Internet Protocol (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 web site unless an attempt to damage the web site has been detected.

The Department occasionally uses "cookies" to track how our visitors use this site or to determine sites previously visited. The cookies we use do not allow us to identify individuals. They are compiled into statistical information on traffic patterns and are used to assess site efficiency. If a departmental site is using cookies that collect personal information, a notice will appear on the site advising of such use. You will be provided with an opportunity to refuse them. Such refusal will not affect the site performance or restrict your ability to access information from this site. (A "cookie" is a file that may be placed on your hard drive without your knowledge by a web site to allow it to monitor your use of the site.)

Visitor information is not disclosed to anyone except Government of Canada personnel who need the information to carry out responsibilities of their job. Any further disclosure of the personal information you give us will be in accordance with the federal Privacy Act.