Privacy Policy for Bruce County

The Corporation of the County of Bruce is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information.

All personal information created, held or collected by the County of Bruce is protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).

This Privacy Statement explains our current practices regarding what information County departments may collect, use, and secure when you visit our Web sites. In addition, some departments may post further detailed statements related to their specific programs. Those statements supplement this Privacy Statement.

Scope of Privacy Statement

This policy covers the web sites that are owned and/or operated by the Corporation of the County of Bruce. This includes but is not limited to:

The site is coordinated and maintained by the Information Technology (IT) Department. Web content is produced by each department within the County.

What Kind of Information is Collected When You Visit Our Web Sites?

When you browse or download information from County of Bruce web sites, our servers automatically collect limited amounts of standard information for traffic monitoring and statistical purposes. The information is analyzed for operational trends, performance, and for ways to improve our sites. The County cannot identify you from this information. We collect the following standard types of information:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the computers being used to access our sites;
  • the operating systems and the types and versions of browsers used to access our sites;
  • the Internet Service Providers used by visitors to our sites; the dates and times users access our sites;
  • the pages visited;
  • the keywords users enter into our search engine; and
  • The County of Bruce’s computer systems use hardware and software to anonymously monitor unauthorized attempts to upload or change information at County Web sites, disrupt service, or otherwise cause damage. As a general practice, we make no attempt to link this information with the identity of individuals visiting our sites. If an attempt to damage our site has been detected, we can take further actions.

What Happens When You Use Personal Information Online?

You may choose to provide us with personal information such as your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address if you wish to:

  • submit an e-mail, comment, question or request or subscribe for information online;
  • provide feedback, participate in consultations or surveys online.

When you visit a County department’s Web site, any personal information you provide will be used to respond to your message and/or provide you with the requested service or product.

How Do We Use Cookies?

Some County Web sites use cookies. A cookie is a small text file sent from a Web server and placed on your computer’s hard drive. A cookie is generally used to enhance your browsing experience. You can choose to set your browser to detect and reject cookies, to accept cookies from all sites, or to prompt you whenever a site wants to send you a cookie. Check your browser’s “Help” files to learn how to do this. If you choose to refuse cookies, you may not be able to access some of the interactive features on our Web sites.

Cookies used by the County of Bruce, do not give us access to anything on your hard drive and cannot do anything to your computer. County departments may use two types of cookies: session cookies (temporary) or persistent cookies (longer-term continuing use).

  • Session cookies may be used to support on-line feedback/discussion, forms and registration. They are used only during your online session and expire when you close your browser. Without session cookies, moving around our Web sites could be much slower.
  • Persistent cookies are different from session cookies because they are stored on your computer’s hard drive for some length of time. They are usually used if you want us to remember information about your Web preferences (e.g. large font) and passwords for automatic log-in purposes.

A place to start for further information on ‘cookies’ is at the Web site of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

Security

The County’s security practices are continually evolving to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of information and systems are maintained. The County uses up-to-date security safeguards to protect its networks and Web sites from misuse, alteration, copying, disclosure, destruction, monitoring or unauthorized sharing of information and damage. The County’s safeguards include the use of security software and encryption protocols and involve physical, technical and procedural controls to protect information behind the County firewall.

Can I use material from County Web Sites?

In order to ensure compliance with Canadian Copyright Laws, please contact the Department responsible for any material you wish to copy or use from County web pages. This includes but is not limited to any text, graphics, design elements, photos and movie clips. You may not use any of these elements without the express written permission of the County.

What Steps can I Take to Protect my Online Activities?

Users are encouraged to learn about protecting their own computers to ensure that their online activities remain private. One place to start for tech tips is Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute – CERT Coordination Center.

Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

The County collects and retains personal information for the following reasons:

  • To process your requests for services, products or additional information
  • To communicate with you regarding services that you have requested
  • To meet legal and regulatory requirements

The County of Bruce is the sole owner of the information collected on the site. The County does not use or retain personal information that you provide for any secondary purposes unless you have first been notified and your permission has been obtained. The County will not sell, rent, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any organization or individual outside the County unless you are first notified and your permission is received, except in the following circumstances. The County may disclose your personal information:

  • To companies contracted to process your requests
  • For law enforcement purposes
  • For purposes of acting in emergency situations affecting the health or safety of an individual
  • For the purpose for which the information was obtained as otherwise authorized or required by law

Contact Information

Questions or comments regarding this policy, or the administration of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act at the County of Bruce may be directed to theClerk by e-mail to dvanwyck@brucecounty.on.ca, by calling (519) 881-1291 ext. 310 or writing to: 30 Park Street, Box 70 Walkerton, Ontario NOG 2V0 Canada

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