The City of St. Catharines is committed to providing residents with information and services in a manner that respects and protects their privacy. Our privacy policy complies with the provisions set out in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario oversees MFIPPA and the legislation established as to how government institutions may collect, use and disclose personal information.
When you visit our site, you do so without providing any personal information about yourself. The City may request personal information from you in order to provide requested services, but such information is handled as it would be at an in-person visit. When personal information is requested, it is our commitment to provide notice outlining:
- The legal authority to collect your personal information
- The purpose for collecting the personal information
- How the information will be used
- Who to contact if you have any questions about these practices
Personal information gathered through emails and/or form submissions will only be accessed by those employees within City departments responsible for directly responding to your question or comment.
We do use software to gather specific information about your visit to our website; however, this information does not identify you personally. Information collected includes the date and time of visit, the pages visited and if you were referred to our site by another website. This information is used to help staff make improvements to the site.
This site uses electronic "cookies” which provides the user with an enriched experience while using the City's website. The City does not build profiles of users through the use of cookies and does not attempt to track individual users through the use of cookies. In order for a cookie to be written to your computer, cookies must be enabled by your browser. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it. If you decide to refuse a cookie, you may find that the website may not respond as designed.
The City of St. Catharines does not sell, nor distribute information to any outside company or organization. The City does not provide specific information about users or other personally identifiable data to any third party for their use, except if required to do so by law. This privacy statement is limited to the City of St. Catharines website.
The City of St. Catharines takes every precaution to protect your personal information on our website. We protect your account information by requiring you to enter a unique login and password each time you want to access your account information. This password should never be shared with anyone. The City of St. Catharines uses encryption technology to protect personal information (eg. credit card numbers, etc.) during transmission.
The City’s website contains links to other sites and is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. When you leave our site, we encourage you to read the privacy statement of each website that you visit before you provide any personal information. The City’s privacy statement applies only to information collected on the City’s website.
Personal information, as defined in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001, and in accordance with MFIPPA, for the purpose of administering online services and providing you with access to your City of St. Catharines accounts. Inquiries about the MFIPPA or the collection, use, and disclosure of this personal information may be directed to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@stcatharines.ca or 905.688.5601, ext. 1517.