Personal Information and Privacy Policy

This privacy policy (our “policy”) describes how The Support of the Quebec Society for Intellectual Disabilities (“Le Support”, “we”) process your personal information, including the reasons we collect your personal information.

This policy also contains important information about your rights regarding your personal information and how you can exercise them.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us.

Protection of Personal Information at Le Support

By email: mtessier@lesupport.ca
By phone: (514) 725-9797 (Voicemail)
By mail:

Le Support
Attention: Data Protection Officer
6275 Boul des Grandes-Prairies,
Montreal (QC) H1P 1A5

What is the scope of this policy?

This policy applies to all personal information collected, used, or communicated, whether in the context of our collection services or when browsing our website.

However, this policy does not apply to services offered by third parties, even if they are accessible through our website, such as social networks. We suggest reviewing the personal information practices of these third parties to determine if you wish to use them.

This policy does not apply to the processing of personal information of our employees.

We collect personal information for purposes, including, but not limited to, direct mailings, telemarketing, or other relationship marketing operations.

What is personal information?

Personal information is any information directly or indirectly related to an individual.

This information may include, but is not limited to, your name, mailing address, location data, phone number, email address, IP address, electronic identifiers, age, or one or more specific elements of your physical, psychological, economic, cultural, or social identity.

You can find more information on the Quebec Access to Information Commission (CAI) website.

Personal information also includes information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies, such as pixels or mobile device advertising identifiers. Cookies allow our website to collect and remember certain information about you, such as your preferences, but they also allow us to conduct targeted marketing based on your interests and geographic location.

Why do we collect personal information?

We collect personal information to provide a newsletter, enable relationship marketing, and organize certain events. Thus, we obtain personal information directly from you. When you consent to the processing of your personal information, you can withdraw this consent at any time, including by contacting our Data Protection Officer at mtessier@lesupport.ca. For digital communications, you can withdraw your consent using the unsubscribe feature in the communications.

Also, as part of our digital advertising activities, we use marketing cookies that track your activities to serve you personalized digital ads based on your preferences, or in other words, targeting activities. We adhere to the principles established by the Digital Advertising Alliance regarding digital advertising.

PURPOSE OF COLLECTION & POTENTIALLY COLLECTED PERSONAL INFORMATION

Contact us regarding a query, a collection request, or any comment, including but not limited to our contact forms and via social networks:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Email
  • Phone number
  • Consent

Newsletter and specialized communications related to updates about the charity organization:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Email address
  • Preferences
  • Consent

Targeted advertising based on your interests, including through marketing cookies, as long as you have consented to the collection of your personal information through interactivity between you and our website:

Note: We do not have access to data that specifically identifies you through targeted advertising. Cookies and advertising services are managed by third-party platforms, like Facebook.

  • Browsing preferences
  • Websites visited

Obtaining performance statistics and analyses regarding our website, including through analytical cookies like Google Analytics, to improve and manage it:

  • IP address
  • Operating system
  • Pages visited and requests
  • Connection time and day
  • Administering our website and ensuring its security during your browsing:
  • IP address
  • Log files

Obtaining performance statistics and analyses regarding our email communications:

  • IP address
  • Indication of opening or not opening an email
  • Clicked links
  • Number of email opens
  • Geographic area (country)
  • Operating system
  • Date and time of the last action taken

How do we use cookies?

We use cookies for various purposes, as shown in the table below. We use cookies installed by ourselves, but also those from third parties. If you have consented, these third parties collect data on every website with such a cookie installed to provide us with contextual analytics data or to target you with relevant advertising.

Cookie Categories & Usage

Essentials

Essential cookies are used to offer our online services and especially to ensure their security. They are essential for accessing and using our website, for example.

Functional

Functional cookies are used as part of features or services available through a website. For example, they remember the display language.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to better understand the performance of our website, including the content appreciated by visitors, or to measure the impact of our advertising campaigns. For instance, we use Google Analytics cookies to obtain information like the number of visitors, the origin of visitors, visited pages, and the time spent on our website. We only see the data provided by Google Analytics in aggregate form.

Marketing

Marketing cookies are installed by third parties to collect information about your browsing preferences and interests when you browse the web. They allow you to be targeted with relevant advertisements. For instance, we use tracking technologies from third parties like Facebook and YouTube.

How can you manage your cookie preferences?

You can manage your cookie preferences directly in your browser, including uninstalling or blocking certain cookies. Click on your browser in the list below to get instructions (some of these web pages might not be available in French). You can withdraw your consent to cookies at any time by managing your preferences. However, some features might be affected by the inability to install cookies in your browser, wholly or partially.

You can also install an extension for your browser to prevent the use of cookies that share information with Google Analytics.

Who do we share your personal information with?

We share your personal information with our service providers. Contracts with our service providers dictate how they must handle your personal information. Here are the categories of third parties with whom we share your personal information:

  • IT service providers. To host our website and provide our online services, we use providers like WordPress, Cloudways, Cloudflare, and Webflow.
  • Communication service providers. We use service providers to communicate with you, especially regarding events we organize, or our newsletter. For instance, we use Cakemail to manage and send our newsletters.
  • Marketing partners. We use cookies as part of digital advertising. These cookies are operated by marketing partners, including Facebook and YouTube.

We might be obligated to share your personal information with authorities if we are forced to comply with applicable laws or in the context of their administration. This includes a court order forcing us to disclose personal information. When reasonably possible and legally allowed, we will inform you of such communication.

At Le Support, access to your personal information is granted only to employees who need it in their job functions. Our employees and subcontractors must sign a confidentiality agreement before accessing personal information.

Where is your personal information hosted?

Le Support strives to host data in Canada and, when possible, in Quebec. However, with the globalization of exchanges and the increasing use of new technologies, especially those related to cloud-based solutions, data is likely to be transferred or transmitted to recipients outside of Canada. For telemarketing activities, we use Searchbug to validate certain phone numbers. These providers are located in the USA.

As part of our website hosting services, your personal information is hosted in one of the jurisdictions indicated in the table below, as applicable.

Web Hosting Services used by Le Support

Jurisdiction

  • Dedicated Web Servers for Rent: Quebec
  • WP Engine: Quebec
  • Cloudways: USA
  • Cloudflare: USA
  • Webflow: USA

Although we have contracts with these entities, foreign laws may provide different levels of protection regarding your personal information when hosted in another jurisdiction.

How do we protect your personal information?

The personal information we collect is kept in secure environments. Le Support strives to adopt reasonable physical, administrative, and organizational measures to protect personal information, including:

  • Granting access to personal information as needed.
  • Granting a minimal level of computer privileges based on our employees’ roles.
  • Implementing a confidentiality agreement with our employees.
  • Providing our employees with training on personal information protection.
  • Ensuring the protection of printed personal information with a lock.
  • Using technical and operational security measures like:
    • Network monitoring,
    • Backup protocol,
    • Firewalls and antivirus usage,
    • Strong password policy and secure software solutions for access management and sharing,
    • Multi-factor authentication to log in to cloud platforms,
    • SSL protocol use,
    • Encryption of multiple storage spaces,
    • Periodic review of privacy protection measures.

How long do we keep your personal information?

We retain your personal information for the necessary duration of the collection purpose or longer if required by law. When personal information is processed on behalf of a client, the client usually determines the retention period.

What are your rights regarding your personal information?

Depending on the circumstances, various rights may be granted to you regarding your personal information, including the right to modify them, access them, or withdraw your consent. Visit the Quebec Access to Information Commission (CAI) website for more information. Different rights might apply if you are outside of Quebec.

How can you exercise your rights?

You can exercise your rights at any time by communicating with our Data Protection Officer or using the technical features made available to you, where applicable.

Protection of Personal Information at Le Support

By email: mtessier@lesupport.ca By phone: (514) 725-9797 (Voicemail) By mail:

Le Support Attention: Data Protection Officer 6275 Boul des Grandes-Prairies, Montreal (QC) H1P 1A5

We might require additional personal information to validate your identity. If we cannot accept your request, we will inform you of the refusal reason. If you disagree with our decision, you can contact our Data Protection Officer again, and we will reexamine your request. Otherwise, you can exercise your rights with the Quebec Access to Information Commission (CAI) or the responsible authority in your jurisdiction if you are outside Quebec.

Can we modify this policy?

Yes, we can update this policy as needed, especially to reflect changes in our personal information processing. In case of a significant change, we will try to notify you when possible, especially through our newsletter. You can consult the latest policy update date at the bottom of this page.

Personal Information Privacy Policy Effective Date: September 18, 2023.