Privacy Policy

Privacy

This Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices as they relate to personal information. Personal information means any information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form (paper, digital or electronic form) that is collected, used, or disclosed.

1. Disclaimer

This website is maintained by the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) as part of its responsibilities under the National Housing Strategy Act to provide administrative and facilities support to the National Housing Council (NHC).

Some of the information and services found on this website have been provided by third parties. HICC is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information or services provided by other third parties. Users wishing to rely on this information or these services should consult directly with the appropriate source.

2. Our Commitment to your Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our websites. This Privacy Notice summarizes the privacy policy and practices of this website, which are based on the following principles:

We tell you why we use your personal information.
We limit how much personal information we collect, use, communicate and store to what is necessary for our purposes and permissible pursuant to the Privacy Act.
Sometimes, our service providers need access to your personal information. They are only allowed to use your personal information to provide services on our behalf. Personal information may be shared in limited circumstances as outlined under 8(2) of the Privacy Act.
We give you the option to control your personal information and we offer you tips on how to control the personal information we collect. We also have an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Office that can provide you with access to your personal information and implements the corrections that you have requested.
We may communicate your personal information to authorized parties without your consent where permitted or required by applicable law.

3. Types of Information Collected

As part of the National Housing Council’s duties and functions pursuant to the National Housing Strategy Act, the below types of information may be collected by HICC on behalf of the NHC pursuant to section 4 of the Privacy Act. Specific personal information, such as your name, phone number or email address, is not automatically gathered. HICC would only obtain this type of information if you supply it by email, provide it as part of NHC’s public engagement activities or provide it to HICC on its social media accounts.

The personal information we may collect includes but is not limited to:

Identification information: For example, your name, date of birth, gender, other demographic characteristics, citizenship status, membership to an Indigenous group, membership to a vulnerable group
Family information: For example, marital status, number of dependents
Contact information: For example, your phone number, personal address, email address
Information about your housing experience: For example, experience with homelessness, housing insecurity, affordability challenges, and systemic housing issues
Financial information: For example, income and/or income supports
Habits and preferences information: For example, which relates to your use of our products, data from your interactions with us, our website, our apps

4. When and how do we collect your personal information

4.1 We collect personal information when you give it to us directly

For example:

when you send it to us by email
when you respond to a survey initiated by the NHC
when you participate in an engagement process led by the NHC
when you participate in a review panel

4.2 When you browse our website, we use cookies that track your activities

The nature of the Internet is such that Web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. Web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the cooperation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, we consider the IP address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when a visitor requests a Web page such as the page or pages visited, date and time of the visit.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the NHC, IP addresses may be recorded by the third-party service provider.

All personal information created, held or collected by HICC on behalf of the NHC is protected under the federal Privacy Act. At any point of collection, you will be notified of the collection of your personal information and you will be 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, and correction of, that information. In such cases, how your personal information is handled is described in a Privacy Notice Statement.

5. Why we use your personal information

We use your personal information or disclose it to third parties for the purpose for which the information was originally obtained or compiled, for a use consistent with that purpose or for a purpose permitted under the Privacy Act. For example, the personal information we collect may be used to support the National Housing Council’s work pursuant to the National Housing Strategy Act.

Examples of use include the following:

To identify you

We use your personal information to identify you.

To communicate with you

We use your personal information to communicate with you. If you choose to send the NHC an email or complete a submission form online, your personal information may be used to communicate with you. The NHC does not use the information to create individual profiles.

Emails and other electronic methods of communication are not secure unless it is specifically stated on a web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information, such as date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

To register you

We use your personal information to register you, for example, for an event.

To invite you to participate in review panels

We may use your personal information to invite you to participate in review panel hearings established by the NHC to review a systemic housing issue and collect your feedback or experience in connection with an issue under review.

5.1 For digital analytics purposes

To analyze how you use our website to improve your experience

We collect and analyze data about web traffic and visits to our website. This is called digital analytics. Digital analytics allow us to:

Understand how you use our website
Improve your experience
Further develop our operations

Digital Markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitor's browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for the Web server to reference during the same or subsequent visit to the website. Examples of digital markers are "cookies" or HTML5 web storage. Some examples of what digital markers do are as follows:

they allow a website to recognize a visitor who has previously accessed the site;
they track what content is viewed on a site which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for.

We use sessional and persistent digital markers on the website. During your online visit, your browser exchanges data with the web server. The digital markers used do not allow the identification of individuals and do not contain personal information.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies, if you so choose. However, it may affect your ability to interact with the website.

Information in digital markers may be used in conjunction with computer request data to identify and track your online interactions with the website.

We use Google Analytics and log file analysis to improve the website. When your computer requests a page, the following types of information are collected and used for Web analytics:

the originating IP address
the date and time of the request
the type of browser used
the page(s) visited
referral website

If you wish, you may opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics by disabling or refusing the cookies; by disabling JavaScript within your browser; or by using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On. Disabling Google Analytics or JavaScript will still permit you to access comparable information or services from our websites. However, if you disable your session cookie option, you will still be able to access our public website, but you might have difficulties accessing any secure services.

We use log file analysis internally and retain information collected for Web analytics for a maximum period of 18 months. After this period, the information must be disposed of in accordance with the Standard on Privacy and Web Analytics or as authorized by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. The information is not disclosed to an external third-party service provider.

Data collected for Web analytics purposes goes outside of Canada to Google servers and may be processed in any country where Google operates servers. Data may be subject to the governing legislation of that country, [for example the USA Patriot Act]. For further information about Google Analytics, please refer to the Google Analytics terms of service.

Information used for the purpose of Web analytics is collected pursuant to section 4 of the Privacy Act. Such data may be used for communications and information technology statistical purposes, audit and evaluation, research, planning and reporting.

5.2 For security purposes

Software programs are used to monitor network traffic and to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. When you visit www.nhc-cnl.ca, these software programs automatically receive and temporarily store information supplied by your browser (for example, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox) in our Web server logs. Some of the information automatically collected by our server when you browse our website includes:

the network location and the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer you used to contact our website
the name of the domain you used to access the Internet (.com, .org, .net, .ca, etc.)
the type of browser you used
the type of operating system you used (Windows, Mac OS, etc.)
the date and time you accessed the site
the pages you have accessed and the documents you have downloaded, and
the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, if applicable

In most circumstances, this is anonymous statistical data and no attempt is made to link this data, nor the IP addresses of the computers that have contacted our website, with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected. The programs are never used to gather specific personal information such as your name, your phone number or your email address.

When a threat to the site is detected, information is collected pursuant to section 161 of the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security-related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting.

5.3 For other purposes listed in the Privacy Act

We comply with the Privacy Act . In some cases, the law allows us to use your personal information for other purposes than those listed above. For example, we can use personal information to comply with court orders.

6. How we store your personal information

6.1 Where we store it

The majority of your personal information is stored in Canada but exceptionally, it can be stored outside Canada because of some of the third-party service providers we use to store and process your personal information.

6.2 How we keep it secure

We take the safeguarding of your personal information seriously. We have implemented security policies and practices in the interest of protecting your information as user or visitor to our website from unauthorized access, improper use, alteration, unlawful or accidental destruction, and accidental loss.

While we have taken reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality and integrity of your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of electronic systems or email and cannot be held responsible for unauthorized or unintended access that is beyond our control. 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.

6.3 How long we store it

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to accomplish the NHC-related activities under the National Housing Strategy Act and for compliance needs.

7. To Whom We Communicate Your Personal Information

Your personal information will not usually be disclosed to anyone except HICC personnel and NHC staff members who need the information to carry out their responsibilities.

Our service providers may also need to handle your personal information (i.e. access, process or store). They are not authorized to use your personal information for any reason other than providing the services we ask from them. The only exception is when they have a legal obligation to disclose your personal information to the authorities.

Examples of services we obtain from our service providers include but are not limited to the following:

Managing email delivery
Providing IT services, including hosting services for the website
Conducting digital analytics

With your consent or as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act we may communicate your personal information to relevant third parties, including for example, if we receive a court order or, if the disclosure is necessary for the protection of public interest. Other possible uses and sharing of this personal information are described in the Members of Boards, Committees and Councils, Outreach Activities, and Accounts Payable Personal Information Banks.

8. Your rights under the Privacy Act

8.1 You can access your personal information and ask us to correct any error

You can access your personal information at any time. To do so, please contact the HICC ATIP Office (contact information below)

In some exceptional cases, we might be unable to give you access to your personal information. For example, if we cannot dissociate your personal information from:

Other persons’ personal information
Our own proprietary information
Information covered by solicitor-client privilege

8.2 You can ask us to correct any error or omission

You can ask us to make corrections to personal information that we have that is not accurate. If we do not make these corrections, you can ask us to add annotations to your personal information to explain why certain corrections you asked for were not made. To do so, please contact the HICC ATIP Office (contact information below).

8.3 You can express your privacy concerns and file a complaint

You can express your privacy concerns by calling us or writing to us. To file a privacy complaint, you must send an email to the HICC ATIP Office. This ensures that we keep a record of your complaint. Our ATIP Office will respond to you as soon as possible.

If you are not satisfied with how we respond to your complaint, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. In the event you decide to avail yourself of this right, your complaint should be submitted online at www.priv.gc.ca or by mail to:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

30 Victoria Street

Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3

9. Additional Details and Contact

We did our best to make this policy as easy to read and understand as possible. Here are a few more things you should know:

We may revise this policy at any time

As privacy concerns and legal requirements continually evolve, we may need to revise this privacy policy in the future, with or without notice.

What if the policy has changed since your last visit?

If you visit our website or use our online services after our privacy policy has changed, you will be governed by the updated version of the privacy policy.

9.1 How to read and interpret this Privacy Policy?

This policy is governed by the laws of Ontario and Canada. This policy complies with the Privacy Act.

9.2 Contact us with any questions.

HICC ATIP Office

To access or modify your personal information
To file a complaint

Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator

180 Kent Street, 11th Floor

Ottawa, Ontario K1P 0B6

ATIP-AIPRP@HICC.gc.ca

To correct or update your personal information or to request that your personal information be removed from our mailing or contact lists, please email the National Housing Council Secretariat: nhc-cnl@infc.gc.ca