Privacy Statement
The City of Courtenay website is an important communication and interaction point with residents. Among other things, the site describes each department’s functions and services, provides information about new initiatives, events and future plans, and offers opportunities for residents to provide feedback on issues or to do business with the City.
As a visitor to our site, we respect your right to privacy and the protection of your personal information in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act’s privacy provisions (FOIPPA). Described below is our privacy commitment to those who visit our website.
IP Addresses and Cookies
The IP address of every visitor is collected, but you remain anonymous because we cannot use IP addresses to identify individuals.
Some Internet Service Providers provide email addresses with IP addresses. When this occurs, the City does not retain the email addresses in a database.
The City uses IP addresses to:
- analyze trends (i.e. what information is being accessed, what information is being accessed the most)
- track visitors' movements (i.e. where they go on the site and how they get there)
- gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.
All of these uses are for web service and web site management improvement purposes only.
This website uses cookies, which help your computer remember information about your preferences, such as language and accessibility settings. Find out more about internet cookies: http://www.microsoft.com/info/cookies.mspx
Collection, Use and Disclosure
If you are just browsing our website, you are an anonymous visitor. However, if you use the site to sign up for a newsletter subscription, submit a service request, apply for a city job, or provide feedback, we will need to collect personal information from you. For example, we will require your contact information to: confirm your residence in Courtenay, contact you for additional information if necessary (to provide a complete response) and send you a response. Only staff who respond to inquiries have access to this contact information.
Consent
Prior to providing your personal information via our website, you have the right to know how your personal information will be used or disclosed. This is called informed consent and is a right under FOIPPA subject to specific exceptions (i.e. collecting personal information for a law enforcement purpose). If you have questions about the use and/or disclosure of your personal information, you have the right to ask staff collecting it or using the contact information below.
Consent to collect your personal information is presumed to be given if you provide it via our website. Your personal information is not collected until you have pushed the “send button”.
You are not required to provide your personal information online. It is a service provided as a convenience, but you always have the right to provide your personal information by any other available method.
Protection of Personal Information
The City protects your personal information by “...making reasonable security measures against such risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal [section 30 of FOIPPA]”. These security measures are integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operations regarding the management of personal information held electronically or paper format.
The protection of your personal information does not apply to external websites you access via links on the City website.
Access, Correction and Complaints regarding your Personal Information
FOIPPA provides the right of access to your personal information subject to “…limited exceptions to the rights of access… [Section 2 of FIPPA]”. You also have the right to request correction of your personal information. Corrections normally pertain to factual information (i.e. your gender, date of birth etc.). Personal opinions are typically not correctable, but can be annotated to express, as an example, disagreement.
If you believe your personal information is being managed in a manner that FOIPPA hasn’t authorized, you have the right to complain to the City. If you are not satisfied with the City’s response, you can complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. For more information visit http://www.oipc.bc.ca
Contact
For more information about this privacy statement, you can contact us by email at info@courtenay.ca or by phone at 250-334-4441.