As an organization, the collection, use and sharing of information are central aspects of our daily activities. Whether it’s promoting our community, managing transactions or communicating with our residents, the confidentiality and security of personal data remains our priority. We are committed to upholding the highest ethical standards by treating your personal data with the utmost care and respect.
Our Customer Data Privacy Policy is intended to clarify our methods of collecting, using, disclosing and retaining the personal information you entrust to us. By interacting with our company, whether online via our website, by attending our events or by contacting us by e-mail, in person or by telephone, you agree to your personal data being processed in accordance with the guidelines described in this privacy policy.
You also authorize our municipality, as well as our partners and service providers, to use your personal data for the purposes described.
Please note that our customer privacy policy does not apply to third-party websites that may be linked to ours. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We advise you to read their privacy policies before submitting your personal data to them.
CUSTOMER DATA COLLECTION: NATURE AND USE
As an organization focused on providing services to residents and visitors, we attach the utmost importance to transparency and accountability in the management of our customers’ personal data. We are committed to collecting only the information necessary to improve our services and optimize our customers’ experience. Here are the categories of data we may collect:
Contact information: We store information such as names, postal and e-mail addresses, dates of birth and telephone numbers to facilitate communication and relationship management with customers.
Transaction history: Details relating to purchases, invoices and financial information, such as payment methods or bank accounts, that enable us to process transactions.
Consent: We collect consent for the processing of your data where necessary.
Services provided: We store information about the services you have used in order to monitor their quality and offer personalized improvements.
Marketing preferences: Your communication choices, as well as survey feedback, help us personalize our services.
Website usage: We analyze how you interact with our online content to improve our platforms.
Recruitment: If you apply for a job with us, we will process your application data exclusively for this purpose.
Sensitive information: Following your explicit consent, we only process special categories of sensitive personal data where relevant and with appropriate safeguards.
Other personal data: Any additional information you choose to share with us.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 14. If you are a minor, your data should only be disclosed to us with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. If we discover that this data has been collected without the appropriate consent, we will take appropriate action. In this case, we will take the necessary steps to delete it from our systems.
HOW DO WE OBTAIN YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
Our company acquires your personal data mainly from you and through the various contact points we share. Data is collected in the following situations:
- During the process of registering or subscribing to our services or newsletters;
- When you participate in our promotions, contests or special events;
- When you make a purchase or a financial transaction with our municipality;
- If you participate in our loyalty program or in surveys designed to improve our offers,
- When providing our services, whether by telephone, in person, online or through our after-sales service;
- When you contact us directly, whether by e-mail, telephone or via our website;
We also collect data that is publicly available or published on online platforms, including our website.
USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Here are the different ways in which we may use your personal information, always with your consent or on an appropriate legal basis, specifying in each case the purposes of such use:
- To provide and optimize our services, manage our operations, honor our contractual commitments and ensure the performance of our services within the framework of our agreements with you.
- Ensure payment for our services, including the use of collection agencies or legal action to recover sums due.
- Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and our risk management policies.
- For marketing and business development purposes, in particular to inform you of our new services and developments within the municipality and the region, and to invite you to events if you have opted to receive such communications.
- To prevent fraud and perform other compliance checks, as required by applicable laws or regulations, or according to best practices – false or inaccurate information or actual or suspected cases of fraud may be shared with fraud prevention agencies and may be recorded by us or by such entities.
- To enhance your user experience on our digital platforms, ensure content relevance and optimally tailor the presentation of our website to you and your device.
- For research and development purposes, including security, to carry out analyses in order to better understand our users’ needs and to refine our service and marketing offers.
- For recruitment, to process applications and assess the suitability of candidates for the profiles sought within our company.
- To enforce our rights, meet our legal or regulatory disclosure obligations, or protect the rights of third parties.
We undertake to use your personal information only for the legitimate purposes for which it was collected or for purposes compatible with those purposes, in accordance with the expectations of Law 25 and our privacy policy.
SHARING PERSONAL INFORMATION: FRAMEWORK AND GOVERNANCE
Our company is committed to managing personal information with the utmost diligence. We only share such information within the strict framework of our activities and with selected parties, as follows:
Partners and affiliates: Your data may be transmitted to partner entities solely to provide the requested services, subject to your explicit consent and in compliance with their original purpose.
External service providers: We use third-party providers for various operational services (e.g. customer relationship management, data analysis, IT support). Access to your data is strictly limited to what is necessary to perform their tasks, and they are contractually bound to respect the confidentiality of your information.
Legal authorities: By applicable legislation, we may be required to disclose personal information to competent authorities or to satisfy legal obligations such as judicial requests.
Our organization also uses third-party platforms to provide content and promotional offers. These platforms may use cookies or similar technologies to collect information about your browsing behavior in order to provide you with advertising tailored to your interests. You have full control over these cookies and can manage them via your browser settings;
RETENTION PERIOD FOR PERSONAL DATA
Our municipality is firmly committed to not retaining personal data beyond the period necessary to achieve the objectives defined in our privacy policy or in accordance with current legislation. The criteria we apply to determine retention periods are as follows:
- The duration of our relationship with you, including any service requests.
- The existence of a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as tax registration requirements or other regulatory directives that require data to be retained for a certain period of time.
- If retention is desirable for our legal position, e.g. to comply with limitation periods applicable to legal actions or for internal and external audits.
- When personal data is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected or processed in accordance with the law, it is either deleted or rendered safely anonymous.
- If you would like further information about the specific period of time for which your personal data will be retained or the criteria used to determine this period, please do not hesitate to contact us using the details set out in the “How to contact us” section of this policy.
We assure you that your personal data is managed with the utmost care and is constantly aligned with legal obligations and best privacy practices.
LOCALIZATION AND PERSONAL DATA MANAGEMENT
Our company applies rigorous methods to the storage of personal data. Here’s how we do it:
Data storage and security:
Personal data is stored either in our secure on-site databases or with external data storage service providers with whom we have strict confidentiality agreements. This data is stored in access-controlled environments and protected by industry-standard security protocols.
Physical location:
Our main servers are located in a secure data center in Quebec. To ensure data redundancy and availability, we may also use backup servers located in other provinces or countries, while respecting the requirements of Bill 25 on the protection of personal information.
International transfers:
When personal data is transferred outside Quebec, we conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to ensure that the level of protection offered is consistent with our high standards of confidentiality and with Quebec legal requirements. We will take all necessary steps to ensure that your data is managed securely and in accordance with our privacy policy.
We are transparent about our data management practices and remain at your disposal if you have any questions or concerns about where your personal data is stored or the safeguards we apply. For more information, please contact us using the details in our contact section.
SECURING PERSONAL INFORMATION
In our company, protecting your personal information is a top priority. Here are the strategies we implement:
Safety measures applied:
We apply recognized and proven security standards to protect the personal information entrusted to us. These measures include physical and electronic security protocols designed to protect information against destruction, loss, alteration, disclosure, unauthorized access or processing.
Incident prevention and management:
Strict procedures are in place to prevent any breach of information security. Our staff are trained to recognize and respond effectively to any data security breach. In the event of a security incident, we are committed to reacting quickly to minimize any potential impact and to notifying the parties concerned, in accordance with our legal obligations.
Limited access:
Access to personal information is strictly limited to personnel whose duties require such information. Strict access controls are implemented to prevent any unauthorized access or sharing of data.
Insurance and risk management:
Although no security system is infallible, we are committed to implementing and maintaining precautionary measures to ensure the security of your personal information. Suppose we identify a security breach affecting your information. In this case, we will inform you without delay and take all necessary corrective measures.
We are committed to maintaining the trust you place in us by protecting your personal information. If you have any questions or concerns about the security of your information, please contact us using the means provided in our contact section.
INDIVIDUAL PREROGATIVES WITH REGARD TO PERSONAL DATA
Each individual has specific prerogatives under current regulations on the protection of personal data:
Right of verification: the right to verify the existence of processing of one’s personal data and to obtain access to it. Under legal provisions, and possibly on payment of a small fee, it is possible to request a copy of the personal information held and other relevant details.
Right to accuracy: the company has an obligation to ensure that its information is accurate, complete and up-to-date in order to avoid any erroneous or obsolete information.
Right of rectification: the possibility of requesting the correction of erroneous or incomplete personal data.
Right of de-indexation: the right to demand that the dissemination of personal data, or the deletion of hyperlinks associated with their name, cease if such dissemination causes damage or is unlawful.
Right to anonymization: the possibility of requesting that personal data be transformed into anonymous data to be used only for legitimate and serious purposes, such as keeping documents for possible tax audits.
Right to information on automated decisions: to be informed in the event of a decision taken on the basis of an automated process.
Right to information and control of tracking technologies: to be informed about the use of tracking or profiling technologies and the options available to control or disable them.
In addition, it is possible to lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority, whether in the jurisdiction where the person resides, where the company is located, or where a breach of data protection laws is presumed to have occurred (in Quebec, this is the Commission d’accès à l’information).
To activate these rights, please contact us using the means specified in the “How to contact us” section.
USE OF COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES
Our company uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your online experience and understand how you use our website. These technologies enable us to personalize our services, ensure the security of our platform, measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and perform aggregate analyses of traffic on our site.
COMMUNICATION WITH OUR MUNICIPALITY
If you have any questions, comments or complaints about our privacy policy, or if you wish to exercise your rights regarding your personal data, our Privacy Officer is at your disposal. To lodge a complaint or request information on how we manage data with our partners, you can contact him at the following coordinates:
Naomie Rivet
Municipality of Fort Coulonge
134, rue Principale
Fort-Coulonge, Québec J0X 1V0
Telephone: (819) 683-2259
Email: dg@fortcoulonge.qc.ca
UPDATE OF OUR PRIVACY POLICY
We reserve the right to modify our privacy policy. Changes may occur in response to evolving practices, service offerings or legal requirements. We encourage you to review these policies regularly when you visit our website to stay informed about how we protect your personal information.
The current version of our policy was revised on March 26, 2024.
