Génome Québec (“GQ,” “we,” “us,” “our”) is committed to protecting all personal information collected and used in the course of its activities, in accordance with privacy principles and requirements. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) applies to all personal information GQ collects and/or handles about users (“you,” “your,” “yours”) through its website, www.genomequebec.com, and any subdomains thereof (collectively, the “Site”). It does not apply to personal information about current and former GQ employees, GQ consultants and service providers, and biobank participants. This policy also excludes any information GQ may hold for the purpose of providing services to its clients and any information that is not personal information.
In this policy, “personal information” means any information that directly or indirectly identifies a specific individual. Information that has been anonymized or aggregated and can therefore no longer be used to identify a user, either on its own or in combination with other information, does not constitute personal information.
By using the Site, you expressly consent to the collection, use, disclosure, and handling of your personal information under the terms of this policy. If you disagree with the Policy, do not use the Site.
In general, people can use the Site without having their personal information collected or handled.
1. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to inform you of the ways in which your personal information may be collected, used, disclosed, and handled and about your rights regarding such information. Our primary objective in collecting and handling your personal information is to provide you with a safe, seamless, personalized browsing experience, to assist you, and to ensure you can use our services, all in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, including the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector. We only collect and handle the information necessary to do this and the information you choose to share with us, and in most cases, you don’t need to provide any personal information to use our site.
2. Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
We obtain, use, disclose, retain, and destroy personal information collected or provided through the Site as described in this policy. GQ may also handle such information in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, including the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, to fulfill its responsibilities.
3. Collection and use of personal information
GQ may collect personal information about you in the following situations:
- Comments, questions, and requests for information: If you contact us for information or to make comments or requests, you may choose to provide personal information so that we can contact you. GQ may collect and use your name, address, telephone number, email address, and any other information you provide.
- Employment: If you apply for a job with GQ, we will collect personal information you provide with your application, including your contact and résumé information, to analyze the application, contact you, confirm the information provided, and otherwise process the application.
- Content: You don’t have to provide any personal information to view and use the Site content. However, cookies may collect certain information about you as described in Section 4 below.
In addition to the purposes stated above, the personal information collected may also be used and disclosed to:
- Identify you
- Update and verify your information
- Contact you regarding your information request
- Provide you with other information or contact you about GQ services or programs
Such information may also be used and disclosed as permitted or required by law.
While we generally collect personal information directly from individuals, we may occasionally collect it from other sources, such as from the public domain or from third parties authorized to disclose the information.
We may collect personal information that you volunteer or otherwise provide when using our site or services, applying to one of our competitions, or signing up for one of our events. We may also collect personal information from third parties who provide services to us or to whom we provide services.
3.1 – Disclosure of Personal Information
We may need to disclose your personal information to other people, including service providers, who play a role in our activities (such as for insurance, web hosting, or IT development purposes or to analyze competition applications). In such cases:
- The people who have access to your personal information understand the importance of protecting your privacy. They agree to use such information only for the purposes set out in their agreement with GQ and protect it in accordance with the law.
- We limit disclosures to what is necessary and respect your consent terms, subject to the purposes permitted or required by law.
- We will never sell, trade, or otherwise market your personal information to other organizations.
- We are committed to taking all reasonable measures to protect your privacy at all times. These measures are designed to maintain the integrity, security and confidentiality of your personal information.
We may also disclose your personal information: in the context of legal proceedings and to a regulatory or government authority, a self-regulatory organization, or a person authorized by law to obtain it; when necessary to protect our rights; or in any other situation as required or otherwise provided for by law.
Your personal information may be disclosed to service providers (such as cloud service providers) outside Québec, particularly in other Canadian provinces or in the United States. Even if the privacy laws in other jurisdictions do not provide similar protections to those in Québec, we will take the steps reasonably necessary to ensure your privacy is properly protected. However, some personal information may be available to the authorities in such jurisdictions or may be subject to additional rules, particularly with regard to access. By using the Site, you consent to the transfer of your personal information outside Québec and to the foregoing.
For more information about our policies and practices regarding the transfer and handling of personal information outside Québec and/or Canada, please contact our privacy officer (details in Section 10).
4. Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small text files containing technical information that are stored in your browser when you visit a website. Our servers exchange cookies with the browser on your device (i.e., any device you use to visit the GQ Site, such as a computer, tablet or smartphone) to ensure our Site functions fully while you browse.
Necessary cookies are required for our site (or certain parts of it) to work properly. These cookies must be enabled because they’re involved in keeping our site secure and delivering a consistent user experience. Optional cookies are disabled unless you accept them.
You can accept or refuse other cookies that provide additional functionality by clicking on “Customize” in the pop-up window that appears when you first visit our site. Many browsers allow you to manage your preferences and configure the browser to refuse cookies or delete certain cookies. Many browsers also allow you to manage other tracking technologies. However, if you do so, you may have difficulty browsing our site or using some of its features.
5. Social Media
We use social media platforms where you can follow us and add us to your contact list. GQ can view webpages and profiles based on each user’s settings, as described in the privacy policies and terms of use for those platforms. GQ also receives notification of and access to links and/or other posts that mention it. You should check the privacy settings for your social networking accounts and pages to see what information we can view and, if necessary, limit it.
6. How we keep your personal information secure
GQ is responsible for keeping confidential all personal information in its lawful possession. To this end, it has:
- Appointed a privacy officer
- Established privacy policies and procedures
- Taken reasonable steps to ensure the security of personal information under its control, particularly information collected and handled by the Site
All personal information is stored in an environment that provides an appropriate level of security for that type of information.
We collect personal information through the Site only as described in this policy.
Our security policies and procedures are periodically updated as necessary. They include:
- Physical measures, such as physical access controls
- Organizational measures, such as need-to-know access controls and a procedure for dealing with privacy incidents
- Training for employees and service providers on the importance of keeping personal information confidential and their responsibilities in doing so
- Technological measures, such as computer passwords, secure data-transmission and backup practices, and recovery procedures
- The destruction of personal information once it has served the purpose(s) for which it was collected, in order to prevent unauthorized access to such information
Only our employees, partners, and authorized service providers can access personal information in our custody or control. We require all employees, partners, and authorized service providers who handle personal information to use appropriate safeguards to ensure such information is kept private and secure.
Despite our best efforts to protect your personal information, third parties may unlawfully intercept information transmitted on our site, or there may be a security breach in our systems, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your personal information. In such cases, we will not be responsible for any loss, alteration, or unauthorized disclosure of personal information beyond our reasonable control.
7. Retention of your personal information
We only retain personal information as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or for longer if required or permitted by law (such as to comply with our legal obligations, protect our rights, and enforce this policy). When your information is no longer needed, we will use reasonable means to destroy it securely, subject to any exceptions provided by law.
8. Third-party websites
Our site may contain hyperlinks to third-party websites for your convenience. If you click on these hyperlinks, you will leave the GQ Site and be redirected to third-party websites that are not covered by this policy and may follow different privacy policies and practices. Please check the policies of third parties before providing any personal information on their websites. GQ provides these hyperlinks for your convenience and information only. GQ is not responsible for third-party websites and how they collect, use and disclose personal information.
9. Your rights and how to exercise them
9.1 – Your consent
There are two types of consent you can give for the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information: express and implied. Express consent is generally required and means consent that is given in a clear, free and informed manner and in accordance with other applicable legal requirements. Implied consent may occur in situations provided for by law.
You may consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at different times, including when you:
- Visit our Site
- Submit an unsolicited application or apply for a job with us
- Request information
- Apply to one of our competitions or sign up for events
- Apply for funding, sponsorship, or a corporate partnership
GQ must obtain your consent before using or disclosing your personal information for purposes other than those specified in this policy, unless the law permits or requires such disclosure, collection or other handling of personal information.
Before you provide us with someone else’s personal information, you must obtain that person’s express consent to disclose the information to us and have it collected, used, disclosed and otherwise handled in accordance with this policy.
Other than the Educational space, the Site is not intended for minors. No personal information is collected on the Educational space pages.
You can withdraw your consent to our use, disclosure and handling of your personal information. If you do so, we may not be able to provide you with services or support that require personal information. We will explain the implications of withdrawing consent at that time so that you can make an informed decision.
You can also unsubscribe from our emails at any time by contacting our privacy officer or by clicking on the unsubscribe link that appears at the bottom of all our emails.
9.2 – Your right to choose whether or not to provide personal information
Your personal information belongs to you. Subject to legal requirements, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the collection, use, disclosure and handling of your personal information. We will deal with requests to withdraw consent as quickly as possible.
If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide you with services or support that require personal information. We will explain the implications of withdrawing consent at that time so that you can make an informed decision.
You may contact us at any time to request a change to the personal information you wish to share with us. We will deal with such requests as quickly as possible.
9.3 – Your rights
Privacy laws give you rights in relation to the personal information we hold about you. In particular, you have the right to:
- Request access to the personal information we hold about you
- Request that your personal information be corrected
- Ask us to stop disseminating your personal information or to remove it from any hyperlink that can identify you
- Withdraw your consent
- File a complaint about the handling of your personal information
We make reasonable efforts to ensure the personal information we hold about you is accurate, complete, and as up to date as possible. We will update your information as required by law or when we receive updated information from you. To help us ensure the personal information we hold about you is accurate and up to date, please notify us of any changes as soon as possible so that we can update our records.
If you wish to access or correct personal information in our custody or control or exercise any other rights, please submit a written request to our privacy officer. We will process all access and correction requests in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
10. Contact and additional information
If you have any questions, concerns, requests, or complaints regarding this Policy or GQ’s management of your personal information, if you wish to access personal information we hold about you, challenge its accuracy or change it, or if you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact our privacy officer:
| By mail : | Privacy Officer Génome Québec 630 René-Lévesque Blvd West, Suite 2660 Montréal, Québec H3B 1S6 |
| By email : | protection@genomequebec.com |
If you file a complaint about the handling of your personal information, our privacy officer will review the complaint and contact you for further information if necessary. You will be informed of the outcome of the review. Such complaints can also be submitted in writing to the Commission d’accès à l’information (for more information about that process, see here) (only available in French).
11. Changes to the Policy
GQ reserves the right to make changes to this policy at any time. Such changes will be posted on our site and will be effective upon posting. We will take reasonable steps, where necessary, to notify affected individuals of any material changes. If you disagree with any such changes, you must stop using the Site before they take effect; any use of the Site thereafter will constitute acceptance of the changes.
To obtain a current copy of this policy, please contact our privacy officer.
12. Other
12.1 – Severability
If any provision in this policy is unlawful or unenforceable, it will be deemed severable from the remaining provisions and rewritten to be valid and enforceable while preserving its original purpose as far as possible.
12.2 – Force majeure
GQ will not be liable for any damage caused by a major unforeseeable event (force majeure event).
12.3 – Applicable laws
This policy is governed by the laws in force in Québec, and no foreign law will apply. Any dispute that cannot be resolved by direct negotiations in good faith will be submitted to the courts of the Province of Québec, which will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle the dispute.