This Privacy Policy is designed to explain the manner in which the Centre d’accès à l’information juridique (“we”, “us” or the “CAIJ”) handles personal information about the individuals who use the services of the CAIJ, namely visitors and users of the websites operated by the CAIJ, including the Espace CAIJ and Mon CAIJand the other digital platforms of the CAIJ (collectively, the “Website”), visitors and users of the network of CAIJ libraries and users of the CAIJ card (referred to as “you”).

The handling of personal information by organizations is regulated and we are required to obtain your consent before carrying out certain actions. By accepting this Policy and providing us with personal information, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, retention and destruction of your personal information in accordance with the terms and conditions described in this Policy.

If you do not accept this Privacy Policy, please stop browsing or using the Website, or stop using the other CAIJ services, as the case may be.

The CAIJ follows strict security, privacy and protection of personal information standards, and gives the highest priority to ensuring the security and confidentiality of the personal information you provide to it.

1.      Collection of personal information

When providing our services, we have to collect certain information regarding individuals which allows us to identify them.

The type of personal information collected by the CAIJ depends of several factors and on the context, as described below. The CAIJ collects only the personal information required to carry out its activities and for specific purposes.

Information collected from individuals

We collect the information sent to us voluntarily, through the Website interface (for example, when you fill out a form) or otherwise (for example, in an e-mail or regular mail). This information may include the following:

• Last name and first name;
• E-mail;
• CAIJ card number;
• Telephone number;
• Physical address;
• Country, province or state of residence;
• Profession;
• Barreau du Québec membership number;
• Your CAIJ orders, including loans and reservations;
• Training activities completed via the Website;
• The balance of your CAIJ card and the transactions performed using your CAIJ card;
• Any information shared with CAIJ by an individual via the Website, via chat, by e‑mail or over the telephone; and
• Your research records in Mon CAIJ, which could include queries and research documents, case law and research highlighting, personal notes and annotations on the search results.

The CAIJ may also collect personal information from other sources, such as its partners and subcontractors. Persons authorized to access the services offered by the CAIJ, whether or not they hold a CAIJ card, have such access pursuant to agreements between the CAIJ and certain organizations, such as the Barreau du Québec, the École du Barreau du Québec, judicial councils or universities. In order to allow these persons to access the CAIJ services, these organizations provide the CAIJ with certain information about these persons, including their last name, first name and e-mail address. As for CAIJ subcontractors, they may send the CAIJ reports on the use of services provided via the Website.

You acknowledge that the CAIJ may observe access to the Website, the use thereof and all other activities relating thereto and that it may intervene in this regard, if the CAIJ believes in good faith that such a measure is necessary in order to comply with the law or legal proceedings, to protect itself, to defend its rights or property or to cooperate in detecting or preventing illegal activities, but the CAIJ makes no representation or warranty as to whether or not it will carry out such monitoring or intervene in such a manner. You hereby consent to such an intervention if it is necessary.

Information on payments

We do not collect any information relating to payment cards. Payments made via the Website are processed directly by our service provider, which has sole access to payment card information.

Your on-line transactions are secured in accordance with the transmission standards used by our service provider, so that your transactions are routed and processed securely.

Information collected automatically

We collect certain information automatically when the Website is browsed, via tools such as log files, HotJar or Google Analytics. This information may include the following:

• The IP address used to access the Website;
• The configuration of the browser and operating system;
• The configuration of the mobile device, when the Website is accessed via a mobile device;
• Geographic location and location data;
• The pages visited, the products viewed, the path followed on the Website;
• Key words used during a search; and
• The date and time of the visit.

However, we do not send any personal information to services such as Google Analytics.

Information related to cookies

We use cookies in order to improve the performance of the Website and the user experience. Cookies are small files saved onto your hard drive by the server on which the Website is located or by third party servers (such as advertising servers) which make it possible to recognize a Website user and customize content. Certain cookies are automatically erased when a user closes their browser, while others remain indefinitely. You can usually control whether cookies are saved through the browser options. Certain Website functionalities may no longer be available if you disable cookies. For example, the use of the cookies is required to authenticate users for certain services offered through the Website.

Unless a user has previously provided information about them (as such as by activating a service related to a user account) from their mobile device or computer, cookies cannot identify the user.

Social platforms

We collect information sent by social networking sites or applications (such as LinkedIn and YouTube) when a visitor interacts with profiles owned or controlled by the CAIJ on these social networking platforms. These sites or applications are governed by their own policies relating your personal information, which may differ from ours and may also be applicable.

If you decide to interact with us through these social media, you should first read the conditions of service and confidentiality policies of these third party service providers and the applications used to access them.

Third party hyperlinks

The Website may contain hyperlinks to third party websites (the “Third Party Sites”) that will cause you to leave the Website. The CAIJ provides these hyperlinks for your convenience. The Third Party Sites are not under the control of the CAIJ, such that the CAIJ has no control over the privacy or confidentiality practices of the Third Party Sites. Therefore, any personal information sent via the Third Party Sites is subject to the privacy policy of these Third Party Sites. Users are responsible for familiarizing themselves with said privacy policy in order to ensure the protection of their information.

2. Use of personal information

We collect and use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Provide the CAIJ services:

○ Provide the products and services or the information requested by our users;

○ Manage your transactions with the CAIJ;

○ Establish a user space allowing you to group together certain resources and facilitating your use of the Website;

○ Customize the user experience on the Website, in particular by saving user preferences and the products and services selected by users and by selecting products and services liable to be of interest to certain users;

• Communicate with you:

○ Reply to requests for information regarding our products and services;

○ Contact our users in the course of our usual activities;

○ Receive and process service calls from our users;

○ Communicate with our users regarding our products and services;

○ Inform our users about news, updates, information and special offers regarding CAIJ products and services, but electronic messages for this purpose are sent in accordance with so-called anti-spam legislation;

• Improve our services:

○ Develop and improve our products and services;

○ Perform analyses regarding our users and the habits of Website visitors and users;

○ Identify and remedy technical problems with the Website;

○ Enhance the performance of the Website, particularly by determining which pages are visited and which functionalities are used the most often, and by monitoring Website traffic;

○ For statistical purposes;

○ Use resources provided by Google Analytics to analyze and optimize websites and digital platforms, which possible resources are described at https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites?hl=en&gl=ca

○ Monitor the use of several services by a user in order to better integrate the services offered with one another, including via Google Analytics;

○ Recognize which platform visits and uses, whether or not authenticated, are made by various types of users;

○ Observe or record access and behaviour by users of the Website, and associate the access and behaviour of a user from one platform to another, so as to provide and improve the CAIJ services;

• As required or permitted by law;
• Establish databases with the contact information of our users and potential users.

3. Retention of personal information

The CAIJ retains the personal information it collects as long as necessary to carry out its activities and for specific purposes, insofar as it is reasonable to do so for customer service purposes, legal purposes or commercial purposes. The retention period depends on the product or service and the nature of the information. Upon the expiry of this period, the information is destroyed, erased or depersonalized. However, we do not undertake to retain the information collected for a specific period, except where required by applicable laws or regulations.

Depending on the nature of the personal information, it may be retained at the CAIJ offices, in the various computer systems of the CAIJ or its service providers or in the storage facilities of the CAIJ or its service providers.

In some cases, we may deal with external service providers who may retain personal information outside Québec. The CAIJ takes reasonable steps to ensure that such external suppliers undertake to handle the personal information held by the CAIJ in accordance with this Policy and the applicable legislation.

The CAIJ has entered into agreements with its service providers in order to ensure that: (i) the information is kept in a strictly confidential manner, (ii) the information is not disclosed to any third parties without your prior authorization, and (iii) security measures are implemented in order to protect the information against loss or theft and against unauthorized consultation, disclosure, copying, use or modification.

Subject to legal or contractual requirements, you can, at any time, revoke your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information by sending a reasonable prior notice to the CAIJ. However, withdrawing such consent could limit the CAIJ’s ability to offer you certain products or services, prevent the CAIJ from providing them to you or even oblige the CAIJ to cease offering them to you. Furthermore, even if you withdraw your consent, pursuant to law, the CAIJ may nevertheless have the right or obligation to continue to retain, use or disclose certain personal information.

4.  Confidentiality of the personal information

We consider personal information regarding our users to be confidential.

The security and protection of personal information is important to the CAIJ. The CAIJ takes reasonable technical, contractual, administrative and physical measures to protect the personal information of its users against unauthorized use or disclosure and against loss or theft, including through secure exchange encryption, where required. While it is impossible to guarantee 100% protection, the CAIJ has adopted rigorous methods that meet strict security standards to ensure the protection of personal information.

However, the tools offered by the CAIJ are not designed to retain a degree of confidentiality fit for the solicitor-client privilege. Website users should not use its functionalities to share or retain information protected by the solicitor-client privilege.

Notwithstanding the efforts made and protection measures taken by the CAIJ, complete confidentiality and security over the Internet are not currently ensured. Any unencrypted electronic communication made via the Internet is neither secure nor confidential and is liable to be intercepted, lost or modified. You acknowledge that such communications are made at your own risk.

5. Disclosure of personal information

Save as specified in this Policy, personal information collected by the CAIJ is not sold, distributed, leased or disclosed to other persons or organizations.

CAIJ staff and other users

Personal information collected by the CAIJ is accessible to our officers and to certain employees who require access in order to use the information as provided for in this Policy. These individuals are bound by this Policy and undertake in favour of the CAIJ to use the personal information collected by the CAIJ solely in accordance with this Policy.

Certain personal information is also communicated to other persons or organizations that are CAIJ service providers. In such a case, these persons or organizations will undertake in our favour to preserve the confidentiality of the personal information and to use it solely in order to perform their mandate for us.

Certain personal information is communicated to other persons or organizations in accordance with the conditions applicable to a CAIJ service or product, in order to facilitate performance of the service in question or the sale of the products, including so as to satisfy legal requirements.

Consolidated information

We may disclose consolidated and depersonalized information obtained from personal information to other persons or organizations. In such a case, we will take reasonable measures so that such information cannot be used to identify a particular individual.

Restructuring

In the event the restructuring or sale of the business operated by the CAIJ is contemplated, we will be entitled to disclose the information collected to persons or organizations involved before and after the transaction, whether or not the transaction takes place. In such a case, we will require that these persons or organizations undertake in our favour to preserve the confidentiality of the personal information disclosed and to use it solely for purposes of the transaction or further to such a transaction and in accordance with this Policy.

Legal requirements

We can also disclose personal information collected to other person or organizations if an authority of competent jurisdiction orders use to do so pursuant to the applicable legislation or if the applicable legislation expressly permits such disclosure, even if the person in question has not given their consent.

The CAIJ may disclose certain personal information if it considers such disclosure reasonably necessary in order to protect the rights, property and security of third parties and those of the CAIJ or to ensure compliance with the obligations of users towards the CAIJ.

6. Access to personal information

Certain personal information we hold about you is accessible via the Website and can be modified if you authenticate your identity on the Website. Subject to the exceptions provided for at law, individuals may access their personal information and ask that we make corrections to that information, where necessary, by writing to us at the following address:

Centre d’accès à l’information juridique
c/o Access to personal information officer
480 Saint-Laurent Blvd., Suite 503
Montreal, Québec
H2Y 3Y7
1-844-596-CAIJ (2245)
Or at info@caij.qc.ca

To the extent possible, we will respond to a written request within 30 days following its receipt. We will allow reasonable access to the personal information regarding the individual in question that is contained in our records in accordance with the laws and regulations in force. Fees may apply in certain cases.

We may verify the identity of a person requesting access to personal information. The information provided for purposes of such verification will not be saved or used for other purposes.

The CAIJ will see to it that personal information regarding its users is as accurate, complete and current as possible for the purposes for which it is used. However, it is your responsibility to update your personal information, such as your contact information, with the CAIJ.

7. Undesirable messages

We comply with the anti-spam laws and regulations currently in force. If you no longer wish to receive electronic communications from us or if you believe you have received an inappropriate or undesirable communication, follow the unsubscribe procedure set out in the CAIJ’s electronic messages.

Nonetheless, we will still be entitled to contact our users regarding their orders, their requests for information or their personal information, the whole in accordance with the applicable legislation.

8. Amendment of the Policy

This Policy may be amended in order to reflect changes in the way we handle personal information. If a change is made, we will take reasonable means to give prior notice of the change to individuals who have provided us with an e-mail address. Individuals who have not provided an e-mail address may consult the amended Policy via the Website. Users are encouraged to routinely check whether this Policy has been amended. Users are considered to have accepted the amended Policy if they continue to provided personal information to the CAIJ after the amendments have been posted.

9. Governing Law

The handling of personal information is governed by applicable legislation in various jurisdictions. Given that the CAIJ’s services are offered to Québec’s legal community, this Privacy Policy and all transactions relating thereto shall be governed by, and interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the province of Québec and the laws of Canada applicable therein.

10. Questions, comments, suggestions or complaints

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding this Policy or regarding our practices for the protection of personal information which are not dealt with in this Policy, you may contact us at 1-844-596-CAIJ (2245) or by e-mail at info@caij.qc.ca.

You are entitled to file a complaint with the CAIJ if you believe the CAIJ is not complying with its obligations pertaining to the protection of confidential information. The CAIJ will investigate the complaint and, if it is justified, the CAIJ will take appropriate measures to remedy the situation. If you are not satisfied with the internal investigation of your complaint, you can contact the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec.