Government of Québec's Confidentiality Policy
Thank you for visiting the Québec government Services for businesses portal and for reading this policy. Please read it carefully and check it regularly for any changes. We also suggest that you refer to the sites associated with this one for details about each of their privacy policies.
As soon as you click on a link and leave the Government of Québec’s virtual space, a message informs you that the information exchanged thereafter is not subject to the privacy policies of Government of Québec sites, but to those of the private site. By way of precaution, we therefore urge you to read the privacy policy of the site in question.
Use of cookies
Information exchanged automatically
Transmission of personal information
Secure electronic services
Definition of terms used
For further information
The portal does not set persistent cookies on users’ hard drives. However, to facilitate browsing the site’s ASPs (Active Server Pages), a session cookie must be set in their working memory (RAM or Random Access Memory). This cookie is automatically deleted when users leave the portal.
You can disable acceptance of cookie files at any time using your browser’s options. However, this could prevent you from accessing certain online services or advanced functional capability.
As soon as you access the www2.gouv.qc.ca/entreprises site, information is automatically exchanged between your computer and the portal server. However, the information does not identify you personally (e.g. name, phone, address, subject) without action of some kind on your part. The following information is exchanged:
- Domain name (e.g. xcompagnie.com, if you use a private Web access account; universite.edu, if you obtain access through a university; etc.)
- IP address (e.g. 123.45.67.890) which could enable a Web provider to disclose the identity of the person to which it is assigned
- The kind of browser (e.g. Windows, Mac OS) and the operating system (e.g. Netscape, Explorer) you use
- The pages you visit
- The date and time when you access these pages
- The address of the referring site used to reach the portal
The portal collects this information due to the technological requirements for Web use. The server needs this information to be able to send you files compatible with the computer equipment you are using. Rest assured that none of these requirements enable personal identification.
Les informations sont conservées et utilisées par le gouvernement à des fins statistiques. Elles servent à com ptabiliser le nombre de visites, les pages les plus fréquentées, la technologie utilisée par ces visiteurs, les sites référents et le pays d’origine des visiteurs. En aucun cas, elles ne servent à dresser des listes d’utilisateur.
No personal information is collected by the portal without your authorization, thereby ensuring compliance with the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information.
Under sections 64 and 65 of this statute, any government department or agency must collect personal information from you only if necessary, must identify itself, and must inform you of:
- the name and address of the public body for which the information is being collected
- the intended use of the information
- the categories of persons who will have access to the information
- whether the request is mandatory or optional
- the consequences of refusal to reply
- the rights of access and correction provided by law.
Generally, you are not required to provide personal information. Exceptionally, certain services may ask you for personal information, in which case, strict measures are used to make the site secure.
We would remind you that e-mailed information is not fully secure. This is why we do not recommend that you send personal information, such as your social insurance number, by e-mail. Similarly, we do not use e-mail to answer your questions requiring transmission of confidential information.
Electronic correspondence is processed according to the same rules of confidentiality as regular mail. If you send personal information by e-mail by completing an online form that is not protected or by registering for a mailing list, we assume you are granting authorization. Rest assured that:
- the portal will use only the information needed to reply to your request and to follow up on it
- this information is kept and then destroyed in accordance with the requirements of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information
- the information transmitted will never be used to produce user profiles
- the portal will send this information to another government agency only if your request concerns it or its transmission is required by law
- no information will be forwarded to a private organization
Under the law, you have access free of charge to any personal information about you held by the government. You may ask to have any inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous information corrected or destroyed. All requests for transmission, correction or destruction of information must be made in writing to the government department or agency concerned.
Note
My File, under Companies, has its own privacy policy.
The portal provides target clientele with secure electronic services through an encryption method that guarantees the confidentiality of the personal information exchanged.
Services that enable access to confidential information can be accessed only via a user code or password.
When you use online services, whether for transactions or other purposes, the portal must confirm your identity by asking you for certain personal information (e.g. name, contact information, file or ID number) needed to:
- verify your identity when you contact the portal
- enter your file in order to have the proper information at hand when processing your message
- verify your identity when we contact you to reply
- guarantee the confidentiality of your information.
Credit card information is available only to the service provider and is kept encrypted until the transaction has been completed to the parties’ satisfaction.
Note
Confidential information entered by the user in the My File, Companies section can be accessed only by this person and is kept for the entire duration of use.
Our security protocol
The portal uses the latest technology and equipment for ensuring the security of its transactional pages and maintaining the confidentiality of the information exchanged.
The security protocol used, SSL (Secure Socket Layers), makes it possible to transpose the information entered into encrypted information (128-bits) and to check the identity of the parties (the user and the portal) who communicate with each other online.
Generally, secure pages are identified by a symbol [padlock] at the bottom of the screen. This symbol means that transmission of the information provided by the user is encrypted.
User responsabilities
For optimal security, we recommend that you:
- use the latest version of a browser that complies with security requirements (SSL protocol with 128-bit encryption)
- delete your cache memory after sending your data
- keep your ID information, access code and password confidential. (The portal cannot be held liable for their unauthorized use. Should their confidentiality be compromised, please notify us immediately to prevent fraudulent use of your identity.)
The following definitions are taken from .
ASP (Active Server Page)
Abbreviated as ASP, a specification for a dynamically created Web page. When a browser requests an ASP, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser.
Cookie
A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them.
Domain name
A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL www.pcwebopedia.com/index.html, the domain name is pcwebopedia.com. There are only a limited number of such domains.
Encryptation
The translation of data into a secret code. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secret key or password that enables you to decrypt it.
IP address
A unique identifier for a computer. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. The four numbers in an IP address are used in different ways to identify a particular network and a host on that network.
Persistent cookie
Also called a permanent cookie, or a stored cookie, a cookie that is stored on a user’s hard drive until it expires (persistent cookies are set with expiration dates) or until the user deletes the cookie. Persistent cookies are used to collect identifying information about the user, such as Web surfing behaviour or user preferences for a specific Web site.
Session cookie
Also called a transient cookie, a cookie that is erased when the user closes the Web browser. The session cookie is stored in temporary memory and is not retained after the browser is closed. Session cookies do not collect information from the user’s computer. They typically will store information in the form of a session identification that does not personally identify the user.
About this policy
Send us your questions using one of the options indicated in Contact Us
On access to information and confidentiality
Statutes
Explanatory document
(PDF, 5 p., 20 ko)
Sites
- Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés-France
- Mission interministérielle de soutien technique pour le développement des technologies de l’information et de la communication (MTIC) - France
