Privacy Notices

CCOHS is committed to respecting the privacy of individuals – whether you are clients who are purchasing a product or service or users of our website. All personal information created, held or collected by CCOHS is protected by the Privacy Act. This means that you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

CCOHS is fully committed to protecting the confidentiality of the personal information provided by our clients who purchase products or services. This information is used only to support our relationship with you as a client of CCOHS.

Your Privacy and the Internet

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 co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers 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.

Unless otherwise noted, CCOHS does not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. CCOHS would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by sending us an email, by filling in a contact form or registering in a secure portion of the site. The information that is received and stored is safeguarded to prevent unauthorized disclosure.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of CCOHS, such as social media platforms or mobile applications, IP addresses may be recorded by the Web server of the third-party service provider.

Communicating with CCOHS

If you choose to send CCOHS an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by CCOHS in order to respond to your inquiry. CCOHS does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than to those CCOHS employees who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with CCOHS 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 your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Inquiries database/OHS PPU 041

Third-Party Social Media

CCOHS's use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the Web. Social media account(s) are public and are not hosted on CCOHS servers. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them. CCOHS uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Personal information that you provide to CCOHS via your social media account(s) is not collected but interactions such as "likes" and "retweets" are recorded for statistical and reporting purposes. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities. Comments that violate our rules of engagement will also be deleted.

Improving your Experience on CCOHS Websites

Digital Markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitors' 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:

CCOHS uses sessional and persistent digital markers on some portions of its website. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with CCOHS's Web server. The digital markers used do not allow CCOHS to identify individuals.

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 CCOHS's website.

Web Analytics

Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement, and reporting of data about Web traffic and visits for purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. Information in digital markers may be used for the purpose of web analytics to remember your online interactions with CCOHS's website.

CCOHS uses Google Analytics to improve its website. When your computer requests a CCOHS Web page, our institution collects the following types of information for Web analytics:

CCOHS uses Google Analytics and the information collected is disclosed to Google Inc., an external third party service provider. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider's servers in order to help safeguard your privacy. The information collected is de-personalized by truncating your IP address. No personally identifying information is recorded or provided to Google.

Google Analytics uses "session" and "persistent" cookies; persistent cookies are stored on your computer and expire two years after your last visit to the website.

For further information, consult Google Analytics and its privacy policy.

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 website. To disable cookies or JavaScript, please refer to your vendor's browser instruction guide.

Protecting the Security of CCOHS Websites

CCOHS employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the IP address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

This 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 and is included in Security Incidents (PSU 939).

Inquiring about these Practices

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies regarding CCOHS's Web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator privacy@ccohs.ca or CCOHS, 135 Hunter St E, Hamilton, ON Canada L8N 1M5, (905) 572-2981.

If you are not satisfied with CCOHS's response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376.

Using Files Located on Non-Government of Canada Servers

To improve the functionality of our websites certain files (such as open source libraries, images, and scripts) may be delivered automatically to your browser via a trusted third-party server or Content Delivery Network. The delivery of these files is intended to provide a seamless user experience by speeding response times and avoiding the need for each visitor to download these files. Where applicable specific privacy statements covering these files are included in our Privacy Notice.

Providing Content in Our Official Languages

The Official Languages Act, the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations and Treasury Board policy requirements establish when CCOHS uses both English and French to provide services to or communicate with members of the public. When there is no obligation to provide these in both official languages, content may be available in one official language only. Information provided by entities not subject to the Official Languages Act is in the language(s) provided. Information provided in a language other than English or French is only for the convenience of our website visitors.

Linking to Non-Government of Canada Websites

Links to websites not under the control of the Government of Canada are provided solely for the convenience of our website visitors. CCOHS is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content. CCOHS 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.

Visitors should also be aware that information offered by non-Government of Canada sites to which this website links is not subject to the Privacy Act, the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. With respect to privacy, visitors should research the privacy policies of these non-Government websites before providing personal information.

Ownership and Usage of Content Provided on This Site (Copyright)

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by CCOHS for the purpose of providing Canadians with access to information about occupational health and safety. Permission is granted to electronically copy and to print in hard copy for internal use only. No part of this information may be reproduced, modified, or redistributed in any form or by any means, for any purposes other than those noted above (including sales), without the prior written permission of CCOHS. To request copyright permission please complete and submit this copyright form http://www.ccohs.ca/copyright/copyright.html

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by CCOHS, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s).

Reproduction of Government Symbols

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada Wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization. Request for authorization from the Treasury Board Secretariat may be addressed to:

Federal Identity Program
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0R5
Email the Federal Identity Program