Introduction
The Canadian Museum of History is a Crown corporation with responsibility for the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum. The corporation also administers a national investment program, Digital Museums Canada, and presents a virtual exhibition, the Virtual Museum of New France. The term “the Museum” throughout this Privacy Notice refers to the corporate entity and all websites administered by the Museum.
The Museum engages in telling the story of Canada’s history and identity, as well as that of world history and cultures. Some of the Museum’s activities and programs involve the collection of personal information. The Museum is dedicated to a high standard of care for the personal information you entrust with us. Personal information obtained by the Museum is kept securely in line with the Privacy Act. Personal information under our control is accessed, used and shared by employees and Museum representatives (such as volunteers, contracted third parties, etc.) on a strict need-to-know basis (for example, only when necessary to fulfill their specific duties). The Museum does not use personal information to create individual profiles unless otherwise stated. Museum personal information is not rented, sold or traded with third parties.
In keeping with the high standard of care, this Privacy Notice describes how the Museum generally collects, uses and discloses personal information, as well as our website privacy practices.
Questions concerning this Privacy Notice should be directed to: aiprp-atip@museedelhistoire.ca.
For more information about how to protect your privacy online, please visit the website of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Definition of personal information
Personal information is information that, on its own or when combined with other information, identifies you. This includes your name, address, email address, preferences, financial information, and other data that can be reasonably linked to you.
When we refer to “you” or “your” in this Privacy Notice, we mean any individual whose personal information we collect.
Cookies and your privacy
Web analytics
The Museum promotes history through its websites under section 9(1)(h) of the Museums Act. To better reach its target audiences, the Museum engages in web analytics, which is the collection, analysis, measurement and reporting of data about web traffic and user visits for the purposes of understanding and improving website usage. Specialty software, including Google Analytics, automatically collects the data listed below from visitors’ computers for the purpose of analyzing traffic patterns to, from and within the Museum’s websites.
- Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using to contact our websites
- Type of browser you are using
- Type of device you are using
- Type of operating system you are using (for example, Windows and Mac OS)
- Date and time you accessed the site
- Pages you have accessed and documents you have downloaded
- Language of the content you accessed
- New or returning visitor
- Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, if applicable
- City of residence
The above listed information is then transmitted to analytics partners such as Google. The IP address is de-identified prior to data analysis. The information is then used to evaluate visitors’ use of the websites and compile statistical reports on website activity to help us make our site more useful to visitors. This information is made available to web managers, other designated staff, and/or contracted third parties who require this information to perform their duties.
Information collected for web analytics purposes may leave Canada for processing and become subject to the governing legislation of other countries (for example, the USA Patriot Act).
The data is only used for the purpose for which it was collected, and we make no attempt to link this data, or the IP addresses of the computers that have contacted our websites, with the identity of individuals visiting our site. The software programs are never used to gather specific personal information such as your name, telephone number, or email address.
Data used for Google Analytics is kept for a maximum of 14 months.
Website visitor survey
The Museum’s websites are important tools in fulfilling our mandate. From time to time, the Museum conducts website visitor surveys to gage the effectiveness of its web content. The Museum asks you, the survey participant, for your name, email address, and opinions on web content. Participation is voluntary. The Museum may use your name and contact information to follow up with you. Should you choose to respond to any of our surveys, your response will remain secure and confidential.
The Museum generally uses third-party survey providers when administering the website surveys. Before participating, you will be presented with a detailed privacy notice outlining the practices related to the specific survey, including the storage location of survey results (for example, inside Canada). The Museum, along with its third-party service providers, will only keep survey results for as long is as necessary to analyze data.
Digital advertisements
The Museum promotes its programs and activities online under section 9(1)(h) of the Museums Act. The Museum collects and uses information about your web browsing behaviour, such as the pages you have visited, the searches you have made, and your number of clicks (including the ads you have clicked), for the purposes of online advertising. This information is used to select which advertisement about the Museum’s offerings should be targeted and displayed to you on other websites. The ads we display become more relevant when they are shown to individuals who are likely to be interested in the offerings we advertise.
To this end, the Museum works with third parties (“service providers”) to market to you in a way that best reflects your interests, which in turn, facilitates your overall website experience. This may involve sharing aggregate information with service providers. The Museum does not share personal information with its service providers. The Museum and its service providers may use cookies or similar technologies in order to provide you with advertising based on your browsing behaviour. These types of ads are called “interest-based advertising.”
Some of our service providers are based in other jurisdictions, which means that information may be transmitted outside of Canada and become subject to the governing legislation of other countries.
Opt-out of interest-based ads
If you would like to learn more about our service providers’ privacy practices and/or opt-out of interest-based advertising by those providers, you may do so by clicking the links available in the sections below.
Please review this list of service providers periodically as it may be updated from time to time.
Facebook pixel
The Facebook pixel is a code that has been placed on our websites. It collects data about our website visitors that helps the Museum to track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads, build targeted audiences for future ads, and remarket to individuals who have already taken some kind of action while on our websites. It works by placing and triggering cookies to track users as they interact with both our websites and the Museum’s Facebook ads.
Individuals who wish to limit the advertisements personalized to them as a result of Facebook pixel can adjust their preferences. For instructions on doing so, please refer to Facebook.
Google Display Network
Google Display advertising relies on data collected from your Google profile — and other information such as your device type and ID, operating system, and cookies — to keep track of the websites you visit and the searches you make. This information is accessible to Google when you are signed into Google Chrome, or a Google account such as YouTube or Gmail.
Google uses the data it collects to track your browsing activity and personalize your online experience. Advertisers, like the Museum, are then able to reach their target audiences and show you ads that are more likely to be relevant to you. Cookies or similar technologies are also used to track your interaction with the Museum’s advertisements on third-party websites in order to measure ad campaign success rates.
The Museum’s use of this service is subject to Google’s Personalized Advertising Policy and Google’s Privacy Policy.
You may opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ad Settings.
Note: the above options will opt you out of interest-based advertising, however, you may continue to receive generic, non-personalized ads that are not as relevant to you.
The security of our websites and electronic communications
As per section 161 of the Financial Administration Act, the Museum uses software programs to monitor network traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to change information or damage our systems. This software receives and records the IP address, domain, browser type, operating system, and city of origin of the computer that has contacted our websites, the date and time of the visit, and the pages visited.
The Museum makes no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our sites unless we have detected or been advised of an attempt to damage the sites. If there is no criminal activity suspected, your personal information will be kept for 14 months, after which time it will be deleted. Please visit the sections on Cookies and your privacy and Web Analytics to learn more about Google Analytics.
The information may be shared with law enforcement authorities if we suspect criminal activities. This information may be used for network security related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting. It is included in Personal Information Bank PSU 939 Security Incidents and Privacy Breaches.
Online purchases
The Museum is permitted to charge for goods, services and admission under section 9(1)(p) of the Museums Act. One means of doing so is through the Museum’s websites. When you make an online transaction with the Museum — including admission for Museum activities, donations, Boutique purchases, CINÉ+ admission, and memberships — we request the necessary information to process your order.
For additional information about the Museum’s general handling of your personal information for the purchase of goods, services and admission to Museum activities, please refer to the Standard Personal Information Bank PSU 932 Accounts Receivable.
Financial donations
The Museum offers you the opportunity to make a financial donation online. The Museum uses the Bambora third-party payment solution to process payments.
For more information about donating to the Museum, to correct your personal information, to tailor what communications you receive, or to opt-out of receiving future correspondence, call 1-800-256-6031 or email dev@historymuseum.ca. Please consult the Museum’s Financial Donations Privacy Notice for more information.
To learn more about the Museum’s processing of online payments, please visit the Online purchases section.
Membership
The Museum offers you the opportunity to purchase a membership online. The Museum uses the Chase Payment Solutions third-party payment solution to process payments. For more information about Museum memberships, to correct your personal information, to tailor what communications you receive, or to opt-out of receiving future correspondence, call 1-800-555-5621 or email membership@historymuseum.ca. Please consult the Museum’s Membership Privacy Notice for more information.
To learn more about the Museum’s processing of online payments, please visit the Online purchases section.
Mailing lists
The Museum uses mailing lists for marketing and promotional purposes. Please consult the Museum’s mailing list subscription page for more information.
School programs
Under section 9(1)(h) of the Museums Act, the Museum offers multiple learning opportunities for elementary and high school teachers and students. Some of these programs involve the submission of personal information as part of the application process. Further details about these opportunities are listed below. You may also consult the personal information bank PSU 938 Outreach Activities.
Communications
Under section 9(1)(h) of the Museums Act, the Museum engages with the public through email and social media. This exchange involves the sharing of personal information by you, the website user.
Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with us are not secure unless it specifically says so. It is not recommended that you send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.
Whenever we collect personal information from you through email and social media, and whenever personal information is created as a result of your interactions with us through email and social media, we have to comply with the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.
More information about the Museum’s handling of your personal information for communication purposes can be found in the standard personal information banks PSU 914 Public Communications and PSU 938 Outreach Activities.
Contact us web page
The Museum receives your feedback through the Contact us pages of its websites. The Museum collects your name, email address, subject and comments for the purpose of responding to inquiries. The information you provide will be shared with the Museum staff and contractors best suited to answer your question. The information will only be shared with third parties if absolutely necessary for responding to your question.
Social media
The Museum’s use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the internet. Social media accounts are public and are not hosted on Museum servers. Users who choose to interact with the Museum via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications used to access them. The Museum uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Personal information that you provide to the Museum via social media accounts is collected to capture conversations, questions and answers, comments, and “likes” between you and the Museum. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes. Should you participate in contests on the Museum’s social media platforms, the Museum will capture only the essential information required for the successful completion of the contest. We can make the content of social media interactions publicly available if we have obtained participant consent in advance. Comments posted that violate the Museum’s Social Media Code of Conduct or Canadian laws will be deleted and may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities.
When you interact with Government of Canada official social media accounts, your social media profile information may be recorded as per the practices of the social media platform. However, you have the right to refuse to give us any additional personal information when you interact with us on social media. There will be no legal or administrative consequences, but you might not be able to take part in a particular activity.
You can ask to access personal information that you have given us or that may have been created when you have interacted with us through our social media accounts. We don’t collect and retain this information with the intention of it being retrievable, so if you ask to access to it, please give the date and time of the interaction and any other details that could help us to retrieve it. To access this information, you can fill out a personal information request form.
Copyright and reproduction
The Museum is permitted to provide copyright and reproduction services through section 9(1)(p) of the Museums Act. The Museum receives your copyright and reproduction requests through its websites. The Museum collects your name, institutional or business affiliation, email address, telephone number, and a description of your request for the purpose of copyright and reproduction. With regard to royalties, your credit card or banking information is necessary for processing payment.
Facility rental
The Museum is permitted to rent its facilities under section 9(1)(o) of the Museums Act. The Museum receives your facility booking information through its websites or through contact with Museum sales executives. The Museum collects your name, institutional or business affiliation, email address, and details of your event, for the purpose of responding to inquiries and planning your event. The Museum also collects financial information to process payment of the rental. Please see the Bambora sub-heading under Online transactions to learn more.
Christmas Market
The Museum makes its facilities available for a Christmas Market under section 9(1)(o) of the Museums Act. The Museum selects vendors through an online application process. In order to do so, the Museum collects from the vendor contact information (applicant name, telephone number, email address, company name, etc.), business information, language abilities, biographical details, and agreement to follow code of conduct and vendor guidelines through an application form.
Successful applicants will be asked by the Museum to provide payment. The applicant may do so through the Museum’s websites with the transaction processed in the same way as a facility rental payment. Please see the Bambora sub-heading under Online transactions to learn more.
Recruitment
The Museum offers you the opportunity to apply for jobs with the Canadian Museum of History and the Canadian War Museum online. The Museum uses Taleo, a third-party application for recruitment purposes. By submitting an online application for a career opportunity with the Museum, or otherwise interacting with the Taleo platform, you agree to become subject to the Oracle Services Privacy Policy. Please note that Taleo stores your personal information gathered through online recruitment activities on servers in Canada. Please consult the Museum’s Employment Application Privacy Notice for more information.
Use of website by children
The Museum does not solicit personal information from children on its websites. Website visitors under the age of majority are required to obtain parental or guardian consent before submitting any personal information.
Your choice – your rights
You do not always need to use the Privacy Act to access or correct your personal information held by the Museum. An “informal request” can be made in this regard. At any time however, you may exercise your right under the Privacy Act to submit a formal request for access to or correction of your personal information.
For questions or concerns about the Museum’s privacy practices or to exercise your rights under the Privacy Act, please contact:
Director, Evaluation, Audit and Regulatory Affairs
Canadian Museum of History
100 Laurier Street
Gatineau, QC K1A 0M8
Canada
AIPRP-ATIP@museedelhistoire.ca
If we are unable to resolve your inquiry in a satisfactory manner, or you would like more information on the Privacy Act, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca.