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Important Notices

Privacy Statement

We are committed to providing our visitors with a website that respects their privacy. This summarizes the privacy policy and practices on the Canadian Consumer Information Gateway.

• We do not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number, e-mail or address. This information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily, usually through contacting us via e-mail.
• Any personal information you do provide is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that, at the point of collection, you will be informed that your personal information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected and that you have a right of access to the information.
• We use software that receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our website. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site.
• We do not regularly use "cookies" to track how our visitors use the site. Whenever we enable "cookies" to facilitate your transactions, we will first inform you.
• Visitor information is not disclosed to anyone except Industry Canada personnel who need the information, e.g., to respond to a request.

For questions or comments regarding this policy, contact us by e-mail at consumer.information@ic.gc.ca or call (613) 946-2576.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

Materials on this website were produced and / or compiled by Industry Canada for the purpose of providing Canadians with direct access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada and its partners.

The material on this site is covered by the provisions of the Copyright Act, by Canadian laws, policies, regulations and international agreements. Such provisions serve to identify the information source and, in specific instances, to prohibit reproduction of materials without written permission.

Non-commercial Reproduction

Information on this site has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Industry Canada.

We ask only that:

• users exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
• Industry Canada - Canadian Consumer Information Gateway be identified as the source department; and,
• the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made, in affiliation with or with the endorsement of Industry Canada.

Commercial Reproduction

Reproduction of multiple copies of materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Government of Canada's copyright administrator, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Through the permission granting process, PWGSC helps ensure individuals / organizations wishing to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes have access to the most accurate, up-to-date versions. To obtain permission to reproduce materials on this site for commercial purposes please contact:

Public Works and Government Services Canada
Canadian Government Publishing Directorate
Constitution Square Building, 4th Floor, 350 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0S5
or
Copyright.Droitsdauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca

Third-party Materials

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on the Canadian Consumer Information Gateway are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. This is particularly true of sites that are jointly operated by Canadian Consumer Information Gateway and an external organization as part of a collaborative arrangement. In such cases, some restrictions on the reproduction of materials or graphical elements may apply and it may be necessary to seek permission from the rights holder prior to reproducing the material.

To obtain information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions on reproduction on this site, please contact:

Industry Canada
Office of Consumer Affairs
235 Queen Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A OH5
Tel: (613) 946-2576
E-Mail: consumer.information@ic.gc.ca

Disclaimer

Some of the information on the Canadian Consumer Information Gateway has been provided by external sources. Industry Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information provided by external sources. Users wishing to rely upon this information should consult directly with the source of the information.

Official Languages

The Government of Canada is bound by the Official Languages Act and relevant Treasury Board policies and all Government of Canada information is available in both French and English. However, users should be aware that some information from external sources is available only in the language in which it was provided.

Accessibility Notice

Industry Canada is committed to equitable access to information, regardless of the technologies used. We are continually striving to make our site accessible to all, including persons with disabilities and to those who use assistive devices.

The Consumer Information Gateway web site is developed according to accessibility standards which require compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Guidelines Version 1.0 - Priority 1 and 2 Checkpoints.

Industry Canada has included some accessibility features on the Web site for the benefit of individuals using assistive technology as follows:

• Skip Navigation Links
  Skip Navigation links are used mainly for use with assistive technologies such as screen readers, and PDA's (Personal Digital Assistants). They allow readers to skip directly to the content or to a local sub menu. The Skip Navigation links are placed in the upper left hand corner of the screen. A white spacer image holds the link and the alternative text indicates how it works.
  
• Text equivalents
  When graphics are used for navigation or functional purposes, alternative text has been provided to explain their purpose and can be used if you've turned off your browser's graphics. Where auditory content has been used, text scripts have been provided to convey the same function and/or purpose.

Industry Canada makes every effort to meet the needs of our clients by providing websites that are accessible and that offer content equally in both official languages. In the event that you are having difficulty accessing or interpreting any of our Web pages, please contact us.