Terms and conditions
Using files located on non-Government of Canada servers
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is responsible for the administration of the Government of Canada website, Canada.ca, and for providing related services to the federal departments and agencies that publish their content to Canada.ca. ESDC is committed to respecting the privacy and protecting the information of all visitors to Canada.ca.
ESDC’s administration of Canada.ca includes various activities that may require the collection of personal information for both administrativeote1 and non-administrativeFootnote2 purposes.
All personal information collected by ESDC about visitors to Canada.ca is authorized under legislation and is done in compliance with the Privacy Act. This means that you will be informed when your personal information may be required, the purpose for which it is collected, and how to exercise your right of access to that information.
While visiting Canada.ca, you may be directed to websites controlled by other Government of Canada institutions or a third-party, or to third-party social media platforms. When visiting a website outside of Canada.ca or a social media platform, personal information will be subject to the terms, conditions, and privacy policies of that other institution or third-party. In these cases, we strongly encourage you to take the time to read the specific privacy notices or statements that describe their specific terms, conditions, and policies.
If you have any questions, comments, concerns or complaints about the activities of ESDC in administering the Canada.ca website as they relate to the Privacy Act, the Department of Employment and Social Development Act, and privacy policies regarding Canada.ca, you can contact the ESDC Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator.
In addition you may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376.
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Providing content in Canada’s official languages
ESDC is responsible for the Government of Canada website, Canada.ca, as described by subsection 5.1 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESDA). Under the Government of Canada Directive on the Management of Communications, ESDC has also been identified as the Principal Publisher for the Canada.ca website. This includes responsibilities for web analytics, which is the collection, analysis, and reporting of web traffic data. Web analytics are done to help determine how Canada.ca can be improved to better serve Canadians and other visitors.
In its role as Principal Publisher, ESDC is responsible for the administration of the tools used by the Government of Canada for web analytics. ESDC also performs government-wide web analytics under the authority of section 5 of the DESDA.
For the purpose of performing web analytics, ESDC tracks certain types of information during visits to Canada.ca. For the purposes of the Privacy Act, this information is treated as personal informationFootnote3. When your computer or other device requests a Canada.ca web page, information is collected for the purpose of web analytics. The type of information collected includes, but is not limited to:
IP address of the device that has contacted the Canada.ca website (which is not stored or retained in a format that can be used to identify a visitor) type of browser used type of operating system used the date and time of the visit pages visited and documents downloaded
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Linking to non-Government of Canada websites
ESDC is responsible for the Government of Canada website, Canada.ca, as described by subsection 5.1 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESDA). Under the Government of Canada Directive on the Management of Communications, ESDC has also been identified as the Principal Publisher for the Canada.ca website. This includes responsibilities for web analytics, which is the collection, analysis, and reporting of web traffic data. Web analytics are done to help determine how Canada.ca can be improved to better serve Canadians and other visitors.
In its role as Principal Publisher, ESDC is responsible for the administration of the tools used by the Government of Canada for web analytics. ESDC also performs government-wide web analytics under the authority of section 5 of the DESDA.
For the purpose of performing web analytics, ESDC tracks certain types of information during visits to Canada.ca. For the purposes of the Privacy Act, this information is treated as personal informationFootnote3. When your computer or other device requests a Canada.ca web page, information is collected for the purpose of web analytics. The type of information collected includes, but is not limited to:
IP address of the device that has contacted the Canada.ca website (which is not stored or retained in a format that can be used to identify a visitor)
type of browser used type of operating system used the date and time of the visit pages visited and documents downloaded
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Ownership and usage of content provided on this site
ESDC is responsible for the Government of Canada website, Canada.ca, as described under Orders in Council 2005-1637 and 2014-0349. This includes using software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records information including, but not limited to: IP address of the device that has contacted the Canada.ca website name of the domain used to access the Internet type of browser used type of operating system used the date and time of the visit pages visited and documents downloaded IP address of the website that linked directly to Canada.ca ESDC will not attempt to link these addresses with the identity of visitors to the Canada.ca website unless an attempt to damage the site is detected.
ESDC engages in security monitoring and investigation of the Canada.ca website under the authority of section 161 of the Financial Administration Act. Personal information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. It may also be used for network security-related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning, and reporting.
Personal information for this activity is collected and stored in the Personal Information Bank Security Incidents and Privacy Breaches (PSU 939).