Confidentiality policy

Recognizing that it is crucially important that we protect your privacy, the Santé Montréal Portal, administered by Montréal's Agence de la santé et des services sociaux, is pleased to present its privacy protection policy governing the use of the personal information that is gathered when you visit the site.

Please read the policy carefully, and check it regularly to stay informed of any changes it may undergo.

AUTOMATIC INFORMATION EXCHANGES

As soon as you connect to the Santé Montréal Portal site, your computer and the Portal's server automatically exchange specific types of information in the background. The information exchanged does not contain anything that could identify you personally (e.g., name, telephone, address, subject of request),  and is limited to:

your domain name (e.g., company.com, if you are using a private Internet access account; university.edu, if you are accessing the Portal from a university network; etc.);

  • your IP address (e.g., 123.45.67.890), which could be used by an Internet supply provider to disclose the identity of the person to whom the address is registered;
  • the type of browser (e.g., Netscape, Firefox, Explorer) and operating system (e.g. : Windows, Mac OS) you are using;
  • the pages you access;
  • the date and time when you access each page; and
  • the address of the referring site which led you to the Portal.

The reason why the Portal gathers this information is that there are technological requirements that must be met for Internet browsing to occur. Our server needs to know what computer equipment you are using in order to send you compatible files. The important thing to remember is that this information can in no case be used to identify you.

The information is kept and used for statistical purposes, i.e., to track the number of visits, the most frequently visited pages, the technology used by visitors, the referring sites and the country of origin of visitors. It is under no circumstance used to draw up lists of users.

COMMUNICATION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Portal does not gather any personal information without a visitor's consent, in accordance with the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information.

Articles 64 and 65 of the Act state that a ministry or an organization which asks an individual to provide a piece of personal information must make sure that information it is requesting is necessary, identify itself and inform the individual:

  • of the name and address of the public body on whose behalf the information is being collected;
  • of the purposes for which the information is collected;
  • of the categories of persons who will have access to the information;
  • of the fact that a reply is obligatory, or that it is optional; 
  • of the consequences in case of a refusal to reply; and
  • of the rights of access and correction provided by law.

Generally speaking, you don't have to provide any personal information. The only exceptions would be particular services that may request such information, in which case strict measures are taken to make sure that the parts of the site in question are secure.

We remind you that no information sent by e-mail is totally secure, which is why we advise you not to e-mail such personal information as your social insurance number. To protect your privacy, the Santé Montréal Portal team will not answer your questions by e-mail if this involves providing information of a confidential nature.

Electronic messages are subject to the same confidentiality safeguards as postal mail. If you submit personal information in an e-mail or on a non-secured on-line form or by signing up to a mailing list, the Santé Montréal Portal team will conclude that you are consenting to its use. Rest assured, however, that the Portal will only use information that is needed to respond to and process your request;

  • this information is stored, and subsequently destroyed, in accordance to the provisions of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information;
  • under no circumstances will your information be used to create user profiles;
  • the Portal will only communicate your information to another government organization if that organization is the one for which your request is intended, or if the law requires the information to be communicated; and
  • the Portal will not communicate any information to a private organization.

As a general rule, personal information is gathered by the Portal when a person:

  • subscribes to alerts and the news bulletin;
  • fills out a form (comments, suggestions); or
  • responds to a user satisfaction and evaluation survey. 

LIMITED COLLECTION

The Portal only collects personal information required for the above-mentioned purposes. If applicable, it will indicate whether a particular item of personal information is required or optional and the consequences of agreeing or refusing to provide it.

LIMITATION OF USE, COMMUNICATION AND STORAGE 

The Portal neither uses nor communicates personal information for purposes other than those for which it was gathered, unless the concerned person so consents or the law so requires. The personal information is kept as long as necessary for the specified purposes.

ACCURACY

The Portal verifies that personal information is accurate, complete and up-to-date at the time when it is used . Any person may contribute to ensuring the accuracy of the information by clicking on the "Contact us" link and writing us a message advising us of any change that needs to be made. 

SECURITY MEASURES

Personal information is protected by security measures that are commensurate with the circumstances.

RECEIPT AND HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS CONCERNING NON-RESPECT OF THESE PRINCIPLES

The Portal receives and handles all complaints about the way this policy is implemented. Complaints must be submitted in writing a message in the «Contact us» section of the site.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A USER

To ensure that your level of security is as high as possible, we recommend that you:

  • use the latest version of a security-compliant browser [i.e., with 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption];
  • delete your computer's cache memory after sending your data;
  • keep your ID information, access code and password secret (the Portal can under no circumstances be held responsible if they are used without your authorization; if their confidentiality is breached, please immediately advise the site's administrators to prevent fraudulent use of your identity).

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS POLICY

All questions on access to information and confidentiality can be submitted by one of the means provided for under "Contact us".