- Introduction
- Why we collect information from you
- Collecting personally identifiable information
- Use & disclosure of personally identifiable information
- Retention/disposal of personally identifiable information
- Collecting non-personally identifiable information
- Children and personally identifiable information
- Links to other sites
- Privacy Act
- Changes to this privacy statement
- Access to your personally identifiable information
- Further information
Canada Post has been in the privacy business for over 150 years. The security of the mail is fundamentally about the privacy of personal communications. Canadians trust Canada Post with their mail and we are equally committed to protecting online privacy.
This Online Privacy Statement explains why we collect information from you, how we use it and the steps we are taking to ensure your privacy is protected while using CanadaPost.ca. The Privacy Statement also explains how we protect your information after you leave our Web site.
Why we collect information from you
Canada Post collects personally identifiable information from you only with your knowledge and consent. As explained in greater detail below, we do so to allow you to purchase or register for certain products, services and applications and complete those transactions; to enter contests; to subscribe to email newsletters; and to provide you with links to the services or sources of information that meet your needs.
We collect non-personally identifiable information from you in order for us to better understand how people are using our Web site. This information is aggregated and analyzed to measure and improve our Web site's performance. For example, it allows us to enhance popular web pages, and to modify or discontinue those that are not needed.
Canada Post collects both types of information from you to help meet its commitment to provide excellent service and to continuously improve your experience on CanadaPost.ca.
Collecting personally identifiable information
Canada Post will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you. This is most often limited to your name, email address, mailing address and language preference, but may include other information when needed to fulfill your request.
The types of personally identifiable information we collect fall into five categories:
User ID and Passwords: Provides you with access to your profiled areas and protected content.
Account Information: Tells us about whom you are, how to contact you, and your shipping and billing information. Your account information also contains any preferences you have provided to us, such as your language of choice, email format and interests.
Customer Feedback and Support: Provides a mechanism for requesting information from Canada Post. This information also provides us with insight on how we may improve our products and services to meet your needs.
Email Correspondence: Used to respond to your issues and inquiries of all types. With your permission, may also be used to communicate information about Canada Post and our products and services.
Transactions: Shows us which products and services you have requested. We will not use, disclose or retain payment information (e.g. credit cards numbers) except to the extent required under law and as you have otherwise consented.
CanadaPost.ca uses a secure socket layer (SSL) to protect your sensitive information and applies other physical, technical and administrative security safeguards commensurate with security risk. If we use an agent (another company) to help us serve you, the agent is bound by contract and other means to meet our same high standards.
Use & disclosure of personally-identifiable information
Personally identifiable information about you will only be used for the specific purposes for which it is provided or as authorized by law. CanadaPost.ca must maintain Web site security, for example, which includes the investigation of unauthorized attempts to access, alter or delete data, the spreading of viruses and other illegal intrusions. This could result in disclosures to law enforcement agencies.
Personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to any other companies for marketing purposes unless you explicitly authorize Canada Post to do so. Sharing your information with certain pre-selected companies will allow us to provide you with the services you requested more efficiently. You will have an opportunity to cancel these services if they are no longer required.
Retention/disposal of personally identifiable information
Most personally identifiable information you provide is retained by Canada Post for two years after the calendar year you provided it as required by law. This allows you a reasonable period of time to access and request the correction of your information. Transactions involving the collection of taxes are retained for seven years, as required by applicable federal law.
Collecting non-personally identifiable information
CanadaPost.ca automatically collects non-personally identifiable information from you when you visit our site. This includes click stream data and information collected through the use of cookies, as explained below. Canada Post aggregates this information about your visit with those of other visitors. You are not personally identified in any way.
This non-personally identifiable information helps us provide you with a continually improving and enhanced online experience, including the ease and speed of navigation to help you find the products, services and information you need.
- Click stream data
This data includes general log information (click stream) such as the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the pages you accessed on CanadaPost.ca and the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer to the Internet. We also collect referral and aggregated "click-through" statistics such as page views, unique visitors and time spent on the Web site.
- Our use of cookies
Session cookies: A session cookie is a small text file placed on your browser by a web server. It acts essentially as an identification card as it is unique to you, and can only be read by the server that gave it to you.
CanadaPost.ca applications use session cookies to improve site navigation and to enhance your online experience by maintaining information from page to page within these applications. Session cookies are automatically deleted from your computer when you close your browser session.
Persistent cookies: A persistent cookie is a small text file placed on your hard disk by a web server. It also acts as your identification card; and can only be read by the server that gave it to you.
Persistent cookies allow you to maintain your logged in status while using Canada Post online applications; and help us customize your online experience by remembering key bits of information such as your recently created orders and which official language you prefer when using CanadaPost.ca. For example, the next time you access our Web site, we will automatically display the site in the language you last chose. (You can easily revert to the alternative language using the navigational tools or resetting your cookies). Persistent cookies expire a maximum of 2 years after your last visit.
Under no circumstances will Canada Post use any type of cookie to:
- Retrieve any information from your computer that is not part of the cookie we sent to you
- Write any code, as part of the cookie, that could be harmful to your computer
If you do not want cookies to be stored on your computer, you may set your browser to refuse all cookies. This will slow down your online experience and prevent you from utilizing certain features of CanadaPost.ca. Please click here to learn how to set your browser to not allow cookies.
- Tag software
Tag software uses an invisible 1x1 pixel and cookies from our agent's server to help us determine how visitors access, navigate, and use our Web site. CanadaPost.ca makes use of a trusted agent and Tag software to help us analyze the success of marketing campaigns and report on aggregated site usage. The Tag software is not used to store or track personally identifiable information.
Children and personally identifiable information
Canada Post does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of majority without the consent of a parent or guardian.
CanadaPost.ca contains links to other Web sites. While Canada Post takes measures to ensure that the links on our Web site are to reputable and well-established companies, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of those Web sites. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those Web sites.
The collection, use, disclosure, retention, and disposal of personal information by CanadaPost.ca and its agents are done in compliance with the Privacy Act.
Changes to this privacy statement
Canada Post's Online Privacy Statement may change from time to time. Any changes to our Online Privacy Statement will not change Canada Post's commitment to the safeguarding of your personal information, or the manner in which we use it. Any such changes will be posted on this Web site.
Access to your personally identifiable information
You can access/update your personal information by contacting the Customer Support Team at: support@canadapost.ca. To aid in processing your request, please include the following details:
- Contact Information (your name, address, email and telephone number)
- Name of the product or service where you want the update applied
- Details of the request (e.g., change of email address, unsubscribe from a newsletter, review of your personal information, etc.)
Should you have any additional questions or comments related to this Online Privacy Statement, please email suzanne.bouchard@canadapost.ca. If you are unsatisfied with our response, or have further questions regarding privacy, please refer to our complaint procedure:
You are encouraged to express your privacy concerns directly with suzanne.bouchard@canadapost.ca. This could include concerns that Canada Post is collecting too much personally identifiable information about you, is improperly using or disclosing it, is keeping it too long or destroying it too soon, or has denied you access to it. You also may submit a complaint directly to Canada Post's privacy coordinator, who may be contacted at |
