Transparency and Trust

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual and includes, without limitation, first and last name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, information contained in a resume, and opinions.

We collect personal information for the following purposes:

• when you visit our website;
• when you sign up to receive communications from us;
• when you apply for employment with us or when you join our Talent community, or otherwise provide us with a copy of your resume or other employment-related information;
• in connection with events or activities organized by us (or on our behalf by a third party);
• in connection with public consultations, opinion surveys, or focus groups (which may be undertaken on our behalf by a third party);
• when you contact us with a comment or question, or otherwise provide us with personal information, on our website, on our social media accounts or by email.

We will not, without your consent, use your personal information under our control except for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by us, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Website Visits

We collect information about how you use our website. In some cases, the information we collect is only used in a non-identifiable way. For example, we use information we collect about all website users to optimize our website and to understand website traffic patterns. In other cases, we may use the information in an identifiable way. For example, we may authenticate you or your device, deliver personalized content, or use the information for analytic purposes.  We invite you to consult our Cookie Settings.

We may offer you the opportunity to engage with us on or through third-party social networking websites, plug-ins, and applications. When you engage with us on or through third-party social networking websites, plug-ins, and applications, you may allow us to have access to certain information associated with your social media account (e.g., first and last name, username, email address, profile picture) to deliver content or as part of the operation of the website, plug-in, or application.

Communications

We may provide you with an opportunity to sign up to receive communications by email, such as news and updates, or other information that may be of interest to you. If you choose to sign up to receive communications from us, we may collect personal information such as first and last name, email address, and language of preference.  You can opt-out of receiving these communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link included in our email communications or by contacting us. Please note that if you unsubscribe from a specific distribution list, you may continue to receive other electronic communications from us.

Employment

In connection with a job application through the Careers section of the website, you may provide us with certain personal information about yourself (such as that contained in a resume, cover letter, transcript, or similar employment-related materials). We may also obtain employment-related information that you publicly post to social media websites such as LinkedIn.  We use this information to evaluate your qualifications and suitability for the desired position and to process and respond to your application.  We may also keep this information on file to consider you for future job opportunities or to otherwise meet legal or business requirements. We may also collect optional demographic information, which we use on an aggregated basis for the purpose of supporting our employment equity and diversity initiatives and better understand our applicants.

We may also obtain your consent to collect additional personal information during reference check and background verification processes.

Events and Activities

From time to time, we or an authorized service provider may organize or sponsor events, or similar activities. In the course of these activities, we may collect personal information of participants such as first and last name, email address and other contact information to administer registration. This information is used to communicate with the participants registered for the event or activity.

Public Consultations, Opinion Surveys, and Focus Groups

We or an authorized service provider may conduct public consultations, opinion surveys, or focus groups in which individuals participate to support the fulfillment of our mandate. During these activities, we may obtain consent from participants to collect and use personal information such as first and last name, email address, telephone number, and mailing address for the purpose of conducting research and/or public engagement. Reports generated from such public consultation will be provided in aggregate form and in a manner that does not identify individual participants.

Questions, Comments and Complaints

If you contact us with a comment, question, or complaint, you may be asked for information that identifies you (such as first and last name, mailing address, email address, phone number) along with additional information we need to help us promptly answer your question or respond to your comment or complaint. We may also retain this information to assist you in the future. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. We do not use this information to create individual profiles, nor do we disclose the information to anyone other than to those individuals who need access to it in order to provide you with a response.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with VIA HFR may not be secure and we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of communications initiated by email. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information through electronic means.

We may also use your personal information to comply with a legal obligation or for other purposes to which you may consent, or as permitted or required by applicable law.

We take our responsibility to protect the confidentiality and integrity of your personal information very seriously. We are committed to managing your personal information in accordance with applicable laws and industry standard security practices.

We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security procedures to safeguard and protect your personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized disclosure, copying, and unauthorized use or modification, including security clearances, access on a “need-to-know” basis, and technological measures such as the use of passwords.

While we have taken reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of electronic systems or email and cannot be held responsible for unauthorized or unintended access. We also cannot guarantee, warrant, or represent in any way that the personal information you provide will be transmitted securely or protected completely against interception, loss, misuse or alteration and we strongly recommend that you use appropriate discretion before transmitting sensitive personal information electronically.

Some sections of the Career portal accessible through our website require the creation of a profile in order to access them. If you choose to create a profile, you agree to provide us with accurate personal information about yourself. You agree and acknowledge that you are responsible for (a) maintaining the confidentiality of the password you choose when you create your profile or when you change it; (b) all activities that occur under your username or password; and (c) logging out of your profile at the end of each session. You agree to promptly notify us of any unauthorized use of your username or password. Should you fail to comply with the above obligations, we shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising therefrom.

We may transfer (or otherwise make available) your personal information to third-party service providers (including cloud-based providers and professional consultants, who are subject to personal information protection requirements by virtue of their contract with us), such as information technology services, web analytics, human resources, legal and accounting service providers.  For example, we may use service providers to conduct background verifications, send our emails, perform analytics and reporting, host our website, and operate certain of its features. Our service providers are given the information they need to perform their designated functions, and we do not authorize them to use or disclose personal information for purposes other those for which it was collected.

We never disclose your personal information without your consent to third parties for purposes other than those for which this information was collected unless we are obliged to do so by law or by court order.

We may transfer personal information outside of Canada when we use third-party service providers to store and process information.

We will retain personal information for the purposes stated in the Policy for as long as legally required or, in the absence of legislative requirements, for a reasonable period. Personal information will be destroyed, erased, rendered anonymous, or otherwise disposed of at the end of the retention period, in accordance with legal requirements and applicable guidelines.

We may send commercial electronic messages in compliance with applicable law. If you do not wish to receive commercial electronic messages from us, you may withdraw your consent at any time by following the instructions on how to unsubscribe included in communications sent by us.

Our website may contain links to external websites. These links are provided for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement of those websites, or the materials, content, or services they provide. External websites have separate and independent privacy statements, notices, and terms of service, which we recommend you read carefully.  We do not have any control over such external websites, and therefore we have no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such websites may collect, use, or disclose, secure and otherwise treat your personal information.

The Policy does not cover personal information you give to social media companies. Our use of social media serves as an extension of our web presence. Social media accounts are public and not hosted by us or for us. When you interact with us through social media, you give information to social media companies, and this information is covered by each platform’s own privacy policy. We invite you to carefully read the terms of service and privacy policies of those third-party service providers.

We are accountable to ensure that your personal information in our records is accurate and complete. Subject to the Act, you may access, update and correct inaccuracies in your personal information in our custody or control at any time.

Please contact us if:

• you have any questions or comments about the Policy;
• you wish to access, update and/or correct inaccuracies in your personal information in our custody or control;
• you otherwise have a question or complaint about the way we or our service providers manage your personal information.

You may contact us by email at atip-aiprp@hfr-tgf.ca or by mail at the following address:

VIA HFR – VIA TGF Inc.
Attn: Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
1, Place Ville-Marie, Suite 3450
Montreal (Québec) H3B 3N6

Please include sufficient details to enable us to search for relevant records. Our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator will respond to you as soon as possible. According to the Act, we have 30 days to respond in writing to your personal information request, subject to a time extension in certain specific circumstances, and there are no fees for requesting access to your personal information.

The Act establishes a complaint mechanism whereby individuals can ask the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to investigate any concerns that they may have regarding alleged non-compliance by a federal government institution with any of the provisions of the Act.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at the following address:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
Telephone: 1-800-282-1376 (toll free) or (819) 994-5444
Website: http://priv.gc.ca