Important Notices

Accessibility

Canada Business makes every effort to meet the needs of our clients for websites that are highly accessible and in both official languages.

In the event you are experiencing difficulty accessing or interpreting this website, please contact us.

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by Canada Business for the purpose of providing Canadians with direct access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada.

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

Canada Business encourages linking to our website. We ask only that:

• users exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
• Canada Business be identified as the source; and
• the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of Canada Business.

Third-Party Materials

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on the Canada Business website are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. This is particularly true of sites that are jointly operated by Canada Business and its partners, as part of a collaborative agreement. In such cases, some restrictions on the reproduction of materials or graphical elements may apply; it may be necessary to seek permission from the author or copyright holder prior to reproduction.

To obtain information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions on reproduction on this site, please contact us.

Canada Business Privacy Statement

Canada Business is committed to ensuring the protection of your privacy through responsible personal information practices. This page summarizes the privacy practices of Canada Business.

The Canada Business website does not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, phone number or e-mail address. We would only obtain this type of information if you supply it by sending us an e-mail, through an on-line feedback form or verbally by telephone.

Canada Business 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 Internet Protocol (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.

The Canada Business uses cookies to store a randomly generated identifier for the visit. The cookies do not collect or contain personal information about you. Here is the list of information that Canada Business is collecting by using cookies:

• Your IP address - Canada Business makes no attempt to link this address with the identity of individuals visiting the Canada Business site;
• The length of each visit;
• The number of requests per visit;
• Your type of operating system (Windows, MacIntosh, Unix, etc.);
• Your browser type (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.); and

By keeping this data, the Canada Business website administrators can fine-tune the sites based on user-activity trends.

Collected personal information will only be used by authorized Canada Business staff to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected or for a use consistent with that purpose. We do not share your information with other third parties including public bodies, corporate entities or individuals except as authorized by law. We do not sell, share or disclose your information to any type of mailing list. We may offer to put you on a Canada Business mailing list or listserv but only if directed by you via the Canada Business centre. (You may, at any time, request to be removed from the service.)

Any personal information you do provide is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that you have a right to know when information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected and that you have a right to access the information (see listing in InfoSource). We are legally required to retain any personal information provided by your for a minimum of two years after using it so you have reasonable opportunity to obtain access it. After the period of two years, the personal information will be destroyed.

For questions or comments regarding this policy or for additional information about the administration of the Privacy Act at Canada Business, please contact us.

For more information about privacy on the Internet, visit the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada website.

Comment Policy

Canada Business welcomes your comments on its blog. We appreciate hearing the voices of prospective entrepreneurs and small business on issues that are of importance to them.

We attempt to provide information on our blog that may be of interest to small business. However, Canada Business is not responsible for making policy decisions or administering programs. If you have input on policies and programs, we would encourage you to contact the responsible government department directly.

The views of the commenters participating in this blog do not necessarily represent the views of Canada Business.

You must provide a valid e-mail address for every comment. This address will only be used to send an automatic acknowledgement to validate your e-mail address. It will not be used for any other purpose by our office. We do not allow anonymous comments.

All comments will be moderated and reviewed by Canada Business staff during regular business hours, before being posted. As a result, there may be some delay between the time you post your comment and the time it appears on the site.

Please keep in mind that Canada Business will not approve comments that:

• are offensive to an individual or an organization
• are rude in tone, abusive or that use profane language
• contain announcements or advertising for businesses or organizations
• are written in a language other than English or French
• are unintelligible or irrelevant to the post
• the blog moderators feel will not add to the normal flow of conversation

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include phone numbers or e-mail addresses in the body of your comment.

Disclaimer

Information on this site comes from many different federal departments and agencies, as well as external sources and other levels of government. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy, currency and reliability of the content. Portions of the database are updated daily; however, at any time, some details may not yet reflect recent changes. If this occurs, please contact the Canada Business centre in your province or territory using the toll-free lines and a business information officer will be pleased to help.

Official Languages

Canada Business is bound by the Official Languages Act and relevant Treasury Board policies. All federal programs, services and regulations are available in both French and English. However, users should be aware that some information from external sources is available only in the language in which it was provided.