The Department of Justice Canada on Twitter

The use of Twitter by the Department of Justice Canada is intended to encourage interaction between the user of this platform and the Department of Justice Canada, and in no way verifies or confirms either the accuracy of user comments or their compliance with the guidelines outlined here. The Department of Justice Canada does not endorse any of the views in comments posted by users. Comments in violation of these Terms of Use may result in the Department of Justice Canada blocking the user in question to prevent further inappropriate tweets.

Content

The Department of Justice Canada's Twitter accounts (JusticeCanadaEn and JusticeCanadaFr) are mainly used as an alternative method for accessing the material posted in the Department of Justice Canada's RSS Feeds and Web sites. If you are looking for more information about the Department, information is available on the Department of Justice Canada Web site.

Links to Other Web Sites

From time to time, the Department of Justice Canada's Twitter account may tweet links to Web sites that are not under the control of the Department of Justice Canada or the Government of Canada. These links are provided solely for the convenience of the users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency, or reliability of the content. The Government of Canada does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Tweet Frequency

The number of tweets will vary, depending on the number of media articles and other relevant material published each day. During some periods, we may tweet more or less frequently than average. New tweets will be posted during regular working hours, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Any activity during holidays, after core hours, and on weekends would likely be along the lines of emergency or urgent communications of significant value to our followers. Otherwise, the accounts will be relatively inactive during these times.

Availability

The Department of Justice Canada's Twitter updates are also subject to downtime that may be out of the Department of Justice Canada's control, because Twitter servers are managed by a third party. As such, no responsibility for Twitter becoming unresponsive or unavailable is assumed on behalf of the Department of Justice Canada.

Following and Unfollowing

At this time, the Department of Justice Canada will only follow other Government of Canada institutions and organizations which we believe are relevant to the Department of Justice Canada mandate. This could include following the Twitter accounts of non-profit organizations, associations, and other governmental agencies.

We will only take steps to remove or block subscribers if they do not abide by these Terms of Use. Users may also be reported to Twitter if they do not comply with the service provider's terms of use.

The appearance of a Twitter user as a follower of the Department of Justice Canada account does not imply endorsement, nor does the Department of Justice Canada following any particular user.

Retweets

The Department of Justice Canada may retweet relevant material posted by other Government of Canada Twitter accounts and/or other accounts determined to be relevant to our followers and of significant value. This may include cross-linking, research findings, statistics, relevant events and conferences.

Direct Messages and @replies

Feedback and interaction is highly encouraged. All @replies and direct messages as well as email sent to the Department of Justice Canada Twitter account will be read, and any emerging themes or helpful suggestions will be passed to the relevant people in the Department of Justice Canada. Although we are not able to reply individually to all messages, they will be handled on a case-by-case basis and responded to when deemed appropriate.

If we feel a comment or a question addressed to the Department of Justice Canada is of significant business value and/or requires a greater level of detail, we may develop a formal response and distribute the information through other channels such as our Web site or other social media channels. We will pay attention to emerging themes and helpful suggestions and look forward to this potential interaction.

Reporters are asked to send questions to the appropriate individual in the Department of Justice Canada's Media Relations.

The Department of Justice Canada cannot engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of our commenting policy.

Accessibility

Twitter, as a third-party service provider, is not bound by Government of Canada policies for Web accessibility.

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility and is working to address issues with third-party service provider platforms. A more accessible version of Twitter is located at Accessible Twitter.

Copyright

Information posted by the Department of Justice Canada is subject to the Copyright Act of Canada. For more information, see the Important Notices page on the Department of Justice Canada Web site.

Official Languages

The Department of Justice Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that information products are available in both French and English, of equal quality. The Department of Justice Canada's tweets are available in both official languages. Simply view the appropriate Department of Justice Canada Twitter account: in English on JusticeCanadaEn, and in French on JusticeCanadaFr.

Through the very nature of the social media forum, content will vary between the English and French Twitter accounts, particularly where messages and comments are concerned. Any tweets or retweets that originate from the Department of Justice Canada will be made available in both official languages when it concerns both English and French communities. Responses to direct messages and @replies will be made in the official language of origin.

Users should be aware that some links direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and that these sources are only available in the language in which they are written.

Twitter.com is available in multiple languages including English and French. To change this user preference, go to your account settings and adjust accordingly.

Privacy

The Department of Justice Canada's Twitter accounts are not Government of Canada Web sites and represent our presence on Twitter, a third-party service provider. Users are encouraged to read Twitter's privacy policy.

Information shared with the Department of Justice Canada on Twitter is subject to the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, which means that the information you share with the Department of Justice Canada's Twitter account may be captured, stored, accessed, and disclosed in response to a request under either of these acts.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, the Department of Justice Canada recommends that you do not include personal information in your comments or other content you post. Personal information includes home addresses and telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, and any other information consisting of personal information as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act. Should you have any questions about your privacy rights as explained in these Terms of Use, please contact the Department of Justice Canada's Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Coordinator.

Additional Information

If you are looking for more information about the Department of Justice Canada, please consult our Web site.

The usual ways of contacting us for official correspondence are detailed in the Contact Us section of our Web site.

If you have questions about this policy, please contact socialmedia-mediassociaux@justice.gc.ca.

Contact Information

The Department of Justice Canada's Twitter accounts (JusticeCanadaEn and JusticeCanadaFr) are managed by the Communications Branch of the Department of Justice Canada, located at:

284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Email: socialmedia-mediassociaux@justice.gc.ca

For general enquiries

Questions and requests for general information on Department of Justice Canada programs, services, and publications should be directed to:

Phone: (613) 957-4222
TDD/TYY: (613) 992-4556

Fax: (613) 954-0811

Email: webadmin@justice.gc.ca

For media enquiries

Media representatives should direct media enquiries to the Department of Justice Canada's Media Relations:

Phone: (613) 957-4207

Email: media@justice.gc.ca