Terms and conditions

Your privacy and the internet

The nature of the Internet is such that web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers the IP address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when a visitor requests a web page such as the page or pages visited, date and time of the visit.

Unless otherwise noted, the CBSA does not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. The CBSA would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by email or by filling in a contact form. In such cases, details about how your personal information is handled will be provided in a Personal Information Collection Statement.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the Government of Canada, such as social media platforms or mobile applications, IP addresses may be recorded by the web server of the third-party service provider.

Communicating with the Government of Canada

If you choose to send the CBSA an email or complete a feedback form online, the CBSA uses your personal information to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. The CBSA does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with the Government of Canada are not secure unless it is specifically stated on a web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to the Financial Administration Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914).

Third-party social media

The CBSA's use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the web. Social media account(s) are public and are not hosted on Government of Canada servers. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them. The CBSA uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Personal information that you provide to the Government of Canada via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of the Financial Administration Act and the Canada Border Services Agency Act. This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, "likes", retweets) between you and the CBSA. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities. Comments that violate our rules of engagement will also be deleted. The personal information is included in Personal Information Bank Outreach Activities (PSU 938).

Improving your experience on Government of Canada websites

Protecting the Security of Government of Canada websites

The CBSA employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the IP address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

This information is collected pursuant to the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank Security Incidents (PSU 939).

Inquiring about these practices

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies regarding the CBSA's web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by email to atip-aiprp@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca, by calling the Access to Information and Privacy Division at 613-960-1414 or writing to the Access to Information and Privacy Director at:

Access to Information and Privacy Division
333 North River Road
14th Floor, Tower A
Vanier, Ontario
K1A 0L8

Non-commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:

• exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced
• indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author (where available) and
• indicate that the reproduction is a copy of the version available on the CBSA website (and provide the URL).

Commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from the CBSA.

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by the Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s).

To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials on this site for commercial purposes, please complete an Application for Copyright Clearance of CBSA Material and return it by mail or email to CBSA's Marketing and Creative Services:

marketing@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Marketing and Creative Services
Communications Directorate
Canada Border Services Agency
191 Laurier Avenue West, 9th Floor
Ottawa, Canada  K1A 0L8

Trademark notice

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada word mark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

Our commitment to accessibility

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility as defined in the Standard on Web Accessibility and the Standard on Optimizing Web sites and Applications for Mobile Devices. In the event of difficulty using our web pages, applications or device-based mobile applications, please contact us for assistance or to obtain alternative formats such as regular print, Braille or another appropriate format.

The CBSA is subject to the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations.

Interacting with us on social media

This notice has been written to explain how the CBSA interacts with the public on social media platforms.

Content and frequency

We use our social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing the content posted on our website and interacting with our stakeholders. By following our social media accounts (by "following," "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about the programs and services we provide.

We understand that the web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends are read and responded to as soon as possible.

Any communications activity during holidays, after core hours and on weekends would likely be related to an emergency or of an urgent nature, of significant value to our followers and subscribers. Otherwise, the accounts will be relatively inactive during these times.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third-party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to other websites and ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Follow, favourite and subscribe

Our decision to "follow", "favourite" or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (retweeting, liking, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

At this time, the CBSA's decision to "follow", "favourite" or "subscribe" will be limited to other Government of Canada institutions and organizations determined to be relevant to our followers or subscribers and to the CBSA's mandate.

We will share (retweet, repost, like or link to) information posted by accounts that are diverse, non-commercial, and non-partisan and of value to our followers and subscribers.

Comments and interaction

We will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We cannot engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of this notice.

We reserve the right to edit or remove comments that:

• contain personal information
• are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• express racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting or life-threatening messages
• put forward serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations
• are aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene or pornographic
• are offensive, rude or abusive to an individual or an organization
• are not sent by the author or are put forward for advertising purposes
• encourage illegal activity
• contain announcements from labour or political organizations
• are written in a language other than English or French
• are unintelligible or irrelevant
• are repetitive or spam
• do not, in our opinion, add to the normal flow of the discussion

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views of users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of the CBSA or the Government of Canada.

Also, please note that you participate in social media at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include full names, home phone numbers or email addresses, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, or any other personal information in the body of your comment.

Accessibility of social media platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by Government of Canada standards for web accessibility.

If you have difficulty accessing content on our social media accounts, please contact us and we will try to solve the problem or provide you with the information in a different format.

Copyright

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada websites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers.

For more information, please refer to the CBSA Privacy Notice regarding third-party social media.

Official languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your preferences. The Government of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information is available in both French and English and that both versions are of equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of general public interest, we may provide the information in both official languages.

The CBSA may share links that direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and available only in the language(s) in which they are written. When content is available in only one language, we make an effort to provide similar content in the other official language.

Media requests

Reporters are asked to contact our media relations team.