Privacy Policy

Introduction

The City of Nanaimo is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its user community. The intent of this privacy policy is to clarify what information may be obtained about users of the City of Nanaimo's Web site, how this information is used and our disclosure practices. Please note that this information may be updated at any time in order to address new issues and reflect changes on our Web site. We will post those changes here as they occur, so you will always be aware of our current policies. This privacy policy applies only to the City of Nanaimo's Web site and not to other community, company or organization sites to which we provide links.

Individual Visitor Information

In general, you can visit the City of Nanaimo Web site without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself.

When a visitor to the City of Nanaimo's Web site decides to sign up for one of our services, we request individually identifiable information such as your name, mailing address and / or e-mail address. This information is collected under the general authority of the Community Charter and FOIPPA, and is protected in accordance with FOIPPA. Personal information will only be used by authorized staff to fulfill the purpose for which is was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

Whenever we request the identity of a visitor, we will clearly indicate the purpose of the inquiry before the information is requested. We maintain a strict 'No Spam' policy, which means we do not intend to sell, rent or otherwise divulge your personal and private information to a third party. In addition, the City of Nanaimo will not send you e-mail that you have not requested, except to send you important information regarding the services you have signed up for or in regards to your account.”

The privacy policy is accessible from the bottom of every page on our website.

Privacy of Children

The City of Nanaimo is strongly committed to protecting children's online privacy. As such, we have implemented the following special policies to protect the privacy of visitors who are under 13 years of age:

• No personally identifiable information (online or offline) is knowingly requested of visitors under 13 years of age;
• Visitors under 13 years of age may not register for services provided by the City of Nanaimo Web site on their own;
• No personal information concerning visitors under 13 years of age will knowingly be shared with third parties;
• The City of Nanaimo Web site will not give children the ability to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable contact information.
• The City of Nanaimo does not currently have services for children under 13 years of age. If a child wants to use our services, the children's parent or guardian must register for our services and participate with the child.

The City of Nanaimo recognizes that young people need special safeguards and privacy protection. We understand that they may not understand all the provisions of our policy or be able to make thoughtful decisions about the choices that are made available to our adult users. We urge all parents to participate in their children's exploration of the Internet and any online services, and to teach their children about the importance of protecting their personal information while online.

Opt-In / Opt-Out

If you "opt-in" to services provided by the City of Nanaimo website, you can change your mind later. If at any time you would like to stop receiving such information an unsubscribe link will be at the bottom of the email or you can let us know by sending an e-mail stating your preference to webmaster@nanaimo.ca.

Access to and correction of Individually Identifiable Information

We do our best to maintain the accuracy of the personal information you supply to us. If you would like to review any personal information we have retained about you in our database, please send us an e-mail request for this information at FOI@nanaimo.ca.

At your request, we will correct personal information about you that you state is erroneous. To request such a correction, please send an e-mail to FOI@nanaimo.ca.

Site Usage Information

Every device connected to the Internet is given an IP (Internet Protocol) address, containing a set of numbers. This number is related to the internet provider and may be shared by multiple users. The IP address is necessary in order for the website to return the requested information.

When a visitor requests a page from a City of Nanaimo Web Site, our web servers record the requesting IP address to be able to deliver the response. This information may be associated with other information you provide for validation and security.

Browser Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of text that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your device.

A cookie cannot:

• Read data off your device;
• Read cookie files created by other Web sites;
• Gather information;
• Damage your system.

The City of Nanaimo uses cookies to improve your website experience.

Some cookies are created by 3rd parties in order to provide anonymous stats about our website or features related to the website or service.

You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings of your browser. If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our site may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.

Security

The City of Nanaimo exercises care and due diligence in managing, transmitting and securing personal information once we receive it. We have taken careful measures to secure both your information and our physical premises. This may include access to an on-site office, secure access levels to databases, or the use of passwords and encryption.

If you register for any service within the City of Nanaimo network, your accounts are password protected or protected by Google or Facebook if you chose that option. Only visitors knowing your account information will have access to the information you have provided. We strongly encourage you not to divulge your password to anyone. It is your responsibility to not reuse a password from another site as that password is only as secure as the least secure site it is used on. Ultimately, you are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and any account information.

Disclosure Policy

The City of Nanaimo does not share any of the individually identifiable information you may provide with the sites to which the City of Nanaimo links. We may, however, share aggregate data with such Web sites (such as how many people use our site).

We may also use or disclose your personal information for another purpose if you have identified the information and consented to our other use. Lastly, we may use your personal information for a purpose for which it can be disclosed to us under Part 3 of the Act.

We may also disclose your personal information:

1. To a public body or law enforcement agency to assist in a specific investigation or law enforcement proceeding;
2. To our legal counsel for the purpose of legal advice or for use in legal proceedings involving us;
3. As otherwise permitted or required under Part 3 of the Act.

Links to Other Web Sites

Our privacy policy only applies to the City of Nanaimo Web site. It does not apply to external sites that you may connect to from our site.

We recommend that you read the privacy policy of any Web site before you divulge individually identifiable information, to understand how they manage personal information. We are not responsible for the content or practices of web sites operated by third parties that are linked to our sites. These links are provided as a service to our visitors. Unless otherwise stated, they do not constitute our endorsement, sponsorship or approval of their content, policies or practices.

3rd Party Login Data

When logging in with a 3rd party such as Facebook or Google we collect only an unique identifier and your email address.

We do not send any data back to the provider other than to request that they verify you are logged in.

If you want to remove your Facebook or Google login from your City of Nanaimo account you can unlink your account in Manage Your Account. You may need to do a password reset before unlinking to prevent your account from being inaccessible.

If you want to remove your account and delete all information linked to it you can contact us at webmaster@nanaimo.ca.

Acceptance

By accessing any of the pages within the City of Nanaimo's Web site, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the City of Nanaimo Web site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept those changes.

Where the information you are providing to us is sensitive, your consent must be expressed. The following are examples of expressed consent:

• Submitting a form that includes individually identifiable information
• Sending an e-mail requesting a product or service

The manner in which your consent is granted may vary depending on the sensitivity of the information that you are providing to us. Where the information is less sensitive, implied consent will be considered appropriate.

If you have any questions about the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information, please contact the Legislative Services Department at 250-755-4405 or by email at legislativeservices.office@nanaimo.ca.

For more information about FOIPPA please visit: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of BC

For the City of Nanaimo Privacy Policy please visit: The City of Nanaimo's Privacy Policy