Privacy Statement and Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
The City of Vaughan (the City) adheres to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) regarding both access to City held information and the privacy and protection of City held personal information. The City is committed to the protection of personal information that may be collected, used and disclosed by the City and when visiting the City's web site in accordance with the requirements of MFIPPA. The privacy of our users is important to us and we appreciate your trust. By visiting vaughan.ca, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Statement.
Collection of Personal Information
When personal information is collected directly on vaughan.ca, we make an effort to include a link to this Privacy Statement on that page. You may choose not to provide certain information, however, such choice may restrict your ability to take advantage of that or other features.
The City collects personal information to deliver services to our residents and to conduct City business. In most cases, you will receive written notice for any collections of personal information done on behalf of the City at the time the information is collected.
Telephone Audio and Facility Video Recording
In some cases, it is impractical to provide written notice at the time of the collection. The Regulations in MFIPPA allow for the City to make available for public inspection a statement describing the purpose of the collection of personal information and the reason that notice has not been given, if providing notice at the time of the collection would frustrate the purpose of the collection.
For purposes of two City programs, specifically telephone audio recording and facility video recordings, it was determined that providing the level of Notice required under MFIPPA at the time of the collection was not consistent with the goal of delivering timely and cost effective customer service.
The audio and video recordings are collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001. The purpose of the audio recordings is to capture information from both residents and others who have contacted the City voluntarily to access services. The purpose of the video recordings is to record activity in City owned facilities and other resources. The recordings are used for quality assurance purposes. This can include but is not limited to delivery of service, responding to complaints, training, public safety, law enforcement and to enhance the level of security of City owned facilities and resources.
Posting of Information to the Website
The City has obligations under many pieces of legislation to make information available to the public. In addition, the City supports making as much information as possible available to support transparent and accountable government.
Information that is publically available can be viewed in the appropriate City department. The City also posts information to its website. This allows for an equal level of accessibility for the City’s residents and facilitates the availability of information beyond regular City office hours.
Despite the need to make information available, the City recognizes that there may be times when redaction (removal) of certain personal information from the website may be appropriate.
To address these limited situations, the City has developed a Public Record Redaction Procedure for requests of this nature. If you wish to request the City to remove specific personal information from the website, please click on the link above to review the Procedure. You will find a link to the application form should you wish to proceed with your request.
Further information regarding collections of personal information or other privacy matters at the City of Vaughan may be obtained from the Access & Privacy Officer, City Clerk’s Office, 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive, Vaughan, ON, L6A 1T1. 905-832-2281, Ext. 8988.
Terms of Use
Information Usage
We advise that we will be performing statistical analysis of user behaviour and characteristics, in order to measure interest in and use of the various sections of our site so as to improve design and navigation and to gather marketing information. Only aggregated data from this analysis, not individual data, will be used for this purpose. In addition, we also use the information that you provide to communicate with you. Users may remove themselves from any mailing list by following the instructions contained in every communication provided.
Contests
Users participating in Vaughan.ca contests may be required to submit varying degrees of personal information, depending upon the nature of the particular contest. The specific information to be collected and how it will be used will be disclosed in the general contest rules and regulations and/or in related correspondence.
External Links and Links to Third Party Sites
Be aware that Vaughan.ca has links that take you to other sites that may collect personally identifiable information about you. This type of link will generally instigate the opening of a new browser window. The City is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by the City, nor can we be held responsible in anyway for the content found on any third party web site.
This Privacy Statement and Terms of Use does not cover third party data collection practices and we do not assume any responsibility for the actions of third parties.
Accuracy
Every effort is made to ensure the information on the City’s web site is timely and accurate however, due to circumstances beyond our control, information and dates are subject to change without notice. The City offers no guarantee regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information on these pages or the related graphics published on this server for any purpose. All information, documents and related graphics are provided on an “as is” basis without warranty of any kind, express or implied, statutory or otherwise.
The City disclaims warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose, with respect to the accuracy and completeness of the information, documents and related graphics provided therein. The City does not warrant that the content provided on the City’s web site will meet the user’s requirements or will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected or that the server that makes it available is free of viruses, worms, or other harmful components. No part of this web site, or the information contained therein, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the City.
Cookies
Users should be aware that certain non-personal information and data may be automatically collected through the Vaughan.ca site through the operation of what are called "cookies". "Cookies" are small text files that identify an individual computer's browser entering a web site. They allow the site to track that browser's movement through the site over several sessions. Through cookies, a web site can recognize repeat users, facilitate the user's access to and use of the site, and allow a site to track usage behavior that will allow content improvement. We use cookies only for the above-mentioned purposes and will not use them to identify users or to track other usage.
If you do not want a cookie placed on your computer as a result of using Vaughan.ca, you may disable cookies altogether by modifying the Preferences section of your web browser be it Netscape or Internet Explorer. Note that it is possible that some aspects of Vaughan.ca may be unavailable to you if you choose this option.
If you choose to accept cookies, but wish to be informed of their appearance, you may turn on a warning prompt by modifying the cookie warning section also located in the Preferences section of your Netscape or Internet Explorer browser.
Site Ownership, Operation and Production
Vaughan.ca is owned and operated by the Corporation of the City of Vaughan, for and on behalf of the Corporation of the City of Vaughan.