Terms of use

Official languages

The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and related Treasury Board policies, and is committed to ensuring all information and services on our website are available in both English and French.

However, users should be aware that some information from external sources is available as a courtesy and will only be available in the language in which it was provided. Some hyperlinks direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act.

Linking to non-Government of Canada websites

Links to websites not under our control are provided for the convenience of our visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of the content. We also do not necessarily endorse these sites or their content.

You should also be aware that information on any non-Government of Canada website that we link to is not subject to the Privacy Act or the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. You should research the privacy policies of these websites before providing personal information.

Permission to reproduce

We produced and/or compiled material on this website for the purpose of providing Canadians with information about our services.

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

You may use and reproduce the materials on our website as follows:

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 that it may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Users are required to do the following:

  • exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
  • identify the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada as the source; and
  • refrain from representing the reproduction as an official version of the materials reproduced or as having been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada.

Commercial reproduction

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

Third-party materials

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on our website are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. 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 us.

Reproduction of symbols

Official symbols of federal institutions, including the Arms of Canada, may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

Social media

The Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada uses social media (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook) as an extension of our web presence. Social media accounts are public and are not hosted on our 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 used to access them.

Comments left by individuals on social media can be read by anyone. Therefore, we strongly advise you not to post any personal information, whether it is yours or not. We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate our commenting policy or contain personal information.

Because a third party manages social media platforms and their computer servers, social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. We accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Our decision to follow, “like” or subscribe to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

Questions about our website?

Please direct any questions about our website to communications@oic-ci.gc.ca.

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