Protecting your privacy is important for Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations (hereinafter “CCHF”, “we”, “our”). For this reason, we have implemented safeguards and sound management practices to maintain the confidentiality and security of your personal information in accordance with applicable laws, including Quebec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector that has been amended by Law 25.

This privacy policy (the “Policy”), which should be read in conjunction with our Terms and Conditions and the applicable Service agreements entered into by CCHF, describes our practices regarding the collection, use, processing, disclosure, and retention of Personal Information (as defined below) of our donors, visitors and users.

By using our websites https://childrenshospitals.ca/, https://childrensmiraclenetwork.ca/, https://report.childrenshospitals.ca/ and https://reports.childrenshospitals.ca/walmart-2023 or by interacting with us via technological means, you agree that we may collect, use, process, disclose and retain your Personal Information in accordance with the terms and conditions described herein. If you do not agree to comply with and be bound by this Policy, you may not visit, access, or use our Website or Services or share your Personal Information by technological means with us.

For its part, CCHF undertakes to take reasonable precautions to protect personal information against loss, theft, disclosure or unauthorized use.

Purpose of this Policy

This Policy aims to inform you regarding what personal information we collect by technological means, how we process it, and when we need to communicate it to subcontractors or third parties.

The term “Personal Information” refers to any information about a natural person that reveals, directly or indirectly, something about that person’s identity, characteristics or activities. Examples include your name, date of birth, personal e-mail address, financial information and personal identification numbers. It does not include information that is legally available in public records.

Contact Us

Any questions, comments, requests, concerns, exercise of rights or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy should be directed to our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at the following coordinates:

Email: privacy@childrenshospitals.ca

Address: 2, Bloor Street East, Suite 1802, Toronto, ON Canada M4W 1A8

Consent to the Collection of Personal Information

Your privacy and the confidentiality of your data are of paramount importance to CCHF. That is why we have developed this Policy to tell you what Personal Information we collect electronically and for what purposes, the means we use to collect it, how we process it, and when we need to disclose it to Service Providers or third parties, privacy and security measures, and your rights in relation to your Personal Information.

By providing us with Personal Information, you expressly authorize CCHF to collect and process, in accordance with the terms and principles described below, the following Personal Information, which is identified below.

Please note that you are always in control of your Personal Information and that you can refuse to allow us to collect Personal Information about you, as provided for by law. To do so, simply let us know or tell us when the information is collected on paper, verbally or in the presence of a member of our staff. You may also inform our DPO at privacy@childrenshospitals.ca and indicate your refusal to the collection. Please note, certain Personal Information is necessary for our operations. Your refusal may result in our inability to serve you.

The consent you give us to collect or process your Personal Information may be withdrawn at any time. We will respect your choice in accordance with our legal obligations.

In the course of our business, we may collect, process and/or use different types of Personal Information that you provide us as permitted by law including, but not limited to, the information listed below:

  • When browsing our Website;
  • When communicating with us by telephone;
  • When interacting via e-mail;
  • When interacting on websites such as Facebook, YouTube, etc.;
  • When consulting or viewing our online advertisements;
  • When recording audio or video.

Personal Information Collected

In the course of our activities, we may collect, process and use various types of personal information. We strive to limit the collection of personal information to that which is necessary to provide our services or which is permitted by law.

The personal information we collect includes:

Via our Website or Forms

  • Contact information, such as your first and last name, city, province, postal code and e-mail address to subscribe to a newsletter, get involved, suggest an idea or contact us;
  • Professional or employment-related information, such as your resume, and other information you provide to us when you apply for a job at CCHF through our Careers section on our Website;
  • Donor information, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, and postal code, to make a donation;
  • Information regarding your credit card or other payment method, as well as other related information for any transactional section that appears on our Website.
    • Personal Information may also be collected by our Internet payment partners, including DonoDrive, PayPal Braintree, ExtraLife. To learn more about how they process, store and destroy your Personal Information, we invite you to review their privacy policies.
  • Information automatically collected through the use of our Website and Services, including:
    • Website usage and other technical data, such as your IP address, the pages you visited, the time and date of your visits, the type of browser you were using, the operating system of your device and other hardware and software information;
    • Geolocation data, such as your IP address, a precise or approximate location determined from your IP address or the GPS of your mobile device (depending on your device settings).

During your Interactions with Us:

  • Professional or employment-related information, such as your resume, and other information you provide to us when you apply for a job at CCHF by e-mail;
  • Donor information such as first and last name, e-mail, and mailing address for the purposes of issuing receipts, providing updates from the hospital foundation, and sharing relevant children’s healthcare information;
  • Product or service-related information, such as information about products or services we have provided to you, those you have used or demonstrated an interest in;
  • Marketing information such as your preference for receiving communications from us and the choice you make after receiving such information;
  • Transaction and payment information, such as the payment method used, date and time, payment amount, billing postal code, your address, and other related information;
  • Information you choose to provide or share with us, for example, when you fill out a form, respond to surveys or contact one of our employees or representatives, including your preferences or interests;
  • Photos and videos of you or your child, with your express consent.

We strive to limit the collection of personal information to that which is necessary to provide our services to you or as permitted by law.

We may also collect non-personal information. This information is referred to as non-personal information because it does not directly or indirectly identify a specific individual.

In the event that non-personal information is combined with personal information in such a way as to make it possible to identify the individuals concerned, such information will be treated as personal information until such time as it is impossible to link it to a specific individual.

Use of Personal Information

In general, we only use your Personal Information for purposes allowed or required by law, or for the following purposes:

  • Offer or improve our programs, products and services or develop new programs, products and services;
  • Allow you to subscribe to a newsletter, apply for a job, get involved, answer your questions, gather opinions, ideas and comments or provide you with assistance when needed;
  • To operate, maintain, supervise, develop, improve and offer all the functionalities of our Website;
  • For the purposes of verifying your identity, personal background, as permitted by law, or to comply with our obligations under applicable laws and regulations;
  • Send messages, updates, security alerts or transmit communications as permitted by law;
  • Administer a contest, promotion, survey or other feature of the Website or our services;
  • Conduct research and analysis in connection with our business and services;
  • Detect and prevent fraud, error, spam, abuse, security incidents and other harmful activities;
  • Ascertain, exercise or defend any legal right or proceeding.

We will always respect the purposes for which we have collected your personal information. If we wish to use or disclose your personal information for other purposes, we will seek your consent, except as permitted by law.

Individuals Under 14 Years of Age

We do not collect or use personal information from persons under the age of 14. If you are under 14 years of age, you must not provide us with your personal information without the consent of your parent or guardian.

If you are a parent or guardian and become aware that your child has provided us with personal information without consent, please contact us as described in the “Contact Us” section to request that we delete that child’s personal information from our systems.

Disclosure of Personal Information

In the course of our activities, we make your personal information available to our employees, consultants or agents whose duties so require.

Although we try to avoid sharing your personal information with third parties, we may use service providers to perform various services on our behalf, such as IT management and security, HR management, auditing, marketing, and data analysis, hosting and storage. In such circumstances, we provide only the personal information necessary for the performance of their mandate, and we are committed to ensuring that the principles set out in this Policy are respected.

In addition, these service providers provide us with sufficient guarantees that they have implemented adequate safeguards for the protection of your personal information processed or communicated before your personal information is communicated to them. When our service providers no longer need your personal information, we ask them to destroy it in an appropriate manner.

When you donate to CCHF, your contact information may also be shared with the participating children’s hospital designated as the recipient of your donation. You are encouraged to consult that hospital’s privacy policy to understand how they handle donor information.

If you participate in a Payroll Deduction Program in support of Children’s Miracle Network, we may share your personal information only with the selected local hospital foundation, and your employer.

The personal information we collect and store remains protected and is securely hosted on servers that may be located outside Quebec, notably in Canada and the United States.

We may also share, transfer or communicate, strictly in accordance with this Policy, your personal information with third parties when required by law or as part of a business transaction involving the transfer or assignment, in whole or in part, of CCHF or our assets, in part or in whole. In such a case, and in the event that the transaction is completed, we will inform you before your personal information is governed by another privacy policy.

We do not sell, trade or otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties, subject to exceptions provided by law.

Retention of Personal Information

Subject to applicable law, we retain your Personal Information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, unless you consent to your Personal Information being used or processed for another purpose. After this period, your personal information will be securely destroyed or anonymized.

A user’s personal information is retained for the maximum period indicated in the retention schedule after the end of the contractual relationship with us.

For more information on how long your Personal Information is retained, please contact our DPO using the contact information provided in the “Contact Us” section.

Your Rights Regarding Your Personal Information

The Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector of the province of Quebec provides you with the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Access: You have the right to be informed of the Personal Information we hold about you and to request a copy of the documents containing your Personal Information, subject to the exceptions provided by applicable law;
  • Accuracy and rectification: You have the right to have the Personal Information we hold about you rectified, amended and updated if it is incomplete, equivocal, out of date or inaccurate;
  • Withdrawal: You have the right to withdraw or change your consent for CCHF to collect, use, disclose or retain your Personal Information at any time, subject to applicable legal and contractual restrictions;
  • Deindexing: You have the right to ask us to stop disseminating your Personal Information and to de-index any link attached to your name that provides access to that information if such dissemination violates the law or a court order;
  • Information: The right to be informed when you are the subject of a decision based exclusively on automated processing or when identification, location or profiling technology is used, and of the means offered to activate these functions;
  • Complaint: You have the right to file a complaint with CCHF regarding the protection of your personal information;
  • Complaint: You have the right to file a complaint with the Commission d’accès à l’information, subject to the conditions set out in the applicable law.

In order to comply with your request, you may be asked to provide appropriate identification or otherwise identify yourself, as required by law.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us as indicated in the “Contact Us” section.

Security Measures

CCHF has implemented physical, technological and organizational security measures to adequately protect the confidentiality and security of your personal information against loss, theft or any unauthorized access, disclosure, reproduction, communication, use or modification. These measures include controlling access to our offices and equipment, setting up a secure connection between your device and our server on our Website, making CCHF employees aware of this Policy, obtaining their commitment to comply with it and to respect the confidentiality of your personal information, and adopting governance measures aimed in particular at the secure storage and destruction of your personal information.

In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those staff members who need it to perform their duties. These people only have access to the information they need to perform their duties.

Despite the adoption of such measures, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your Personal Information. If you have reason to believe that your Personal Information is no longer secure, please contact us immediately as indicated in the “Contact Us” section.

Limitation of Liability

CCHF undertakes to take all reasonable measures to ensure a level of confidentiality and security of Personal Information in accordance with technological standards appropriate to its sector of activity and the sensitivity of the data collected.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge that no computer system offers absolute security and that there is always a degree of risk involved in transmitting Personal Information over the public Internet.

You agree that CCHF cannot be held responsible for any breach of confidentiality, hacking, virus, loss, theft, misuse or alteration of Personal Information transmitted or hosted on its systems or those of a third party. You also agree to waive all claims in this regard, except in the case of gross negligence or intentional misconduct on the part of CCHF. Accordingly, you agree to hold CCHF and its officers, directors, affiliates and business partners harmless from any damages of any kind, whether direct or indirect, incidental, special or consequential, arising out of the use of your Personal Information.

In the event of a Privacy Incident involving your Personal Information that poses a high risk to your rights and liberty, you will be notified of such breach as soon as possible, and CCHF will take appropriate steps to preserve the confidentiality and security of your Personal Information.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (collectively, “Cookies”) to help us operate, protect and optimize the Website and the services we offer. You can set your browser to notify you when you visit the Website, so that you can decide whether or not to accept some or all cookies.

Among the Cookies we collect via our site are the following:

  • Essential or technical cookies: These are cookies that are essential for the operation of the website, enabling good communication and facilitating browsing. Also known as functionality cookies, they enable the website to communicate effectively and facilitate navigation by remembering the choices you make (such as your user name, preferred language, etc.) to provide you with a personalized and enhanced experience on future visits.
  • Statistical or analytical cookies: These cookies enable us to recognize and count the number of visitors to our site, and to monitor their browsing behavior. This improves user navigation and makes it easier for them to find what they’re looking for.
  • Performance cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use the website. They are used to evaluate and improve the content and performance of the website (e.g. by counting the number of visitors, identifying the most popular pages or clicks), and to better match commercial proposals to the user’s personal preferences.
  • Tracking cookies (Google Analytics): The website uses tracking cookies via Google Analytics, in order to help us measure the ways in which users interact with the content of the website, and which generates visit statistics. These statistics enable us to continually improve the website and offer users relevant content. We use Google Analytics to gain an overview of website traffic, the origin of this traffic and the pages visited. This means that Google acts as a subcontractor. The information collected by Google Analytics is generated as anonymously as possible. For further information, the user is invited to consult Google’s data protection policy, available at the following address: http://www.google.nl/intl/en_uk/policies/privacy.

The length of time cookies are kept varies according to their type: essential cookies are generally kept until the browser is closed, while functional cookies remain valid for 1 year and performance cookies for 4 years.

We authorize public search engines to visit the Website via crawlers for the sole purpose of making access and content of the Website available via their search engines, without granting us the right to archive the website. We reserve the right to withdraw the authorization as formulated in this article at any time.

Cookie Management

Most browsers are configured to accept cookies automatically, but all allow you to customize the settings according to your preferences.

If you do not wish the Website to place cookies on your computer or mobile device, you can easily manage or delete them by modifying your browser settings.

You can also set your browser to notify you when it receives a cookie, so that you can decide whether or not to accept it.

If you wish to block and/or manage certain cookies, you can do so by following the link for your browser:

If you do not wish to accept cookies from Google Analytics, you can do so via the cookie message that appears on your first visit to the Website, or by customizing your browser settings to refuse cookies.

To stop being tracked by Google Analytics on any website, please visit the following website: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.

If you deactivate certain cookies, it is possible that some parts of the site may not be available for consultation and/or use or may only be partially available.

Third-party Websites

Our Website may contain links to other websites. When you click on one of these links, you enter another site for which we have no responsibility. We recommend the user to read the Privacy Policies of all these sites as they may differ from ours. We therefore accept no responsibility for the content and activities of these sites. We strongly advise you not to publish any Personal Information about yourself on social media in order to ensure the protection of your personal data.

Updating Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time in accordance with applicable law. In the event of a change, we will post the revised version of the Privacy Policy, update its effective date, and provide notice of the update on the home page of our Website. The notice will indicate the date of its publication, the general purpose of the changes made and the date on which the changes take effect.

We encourage you to review this Policy whenever you access our Website to stay informed about our safeguards and practices for handling your personal information.

If you do not agree to the new terms of the Privacy Policy, please do not continue to use our Website and services. If you choose to continue using our Website or services after the new version of our Policy becomes effective, your use of our Website and services will be governed by the new version of the Policy.

This Policy was last updated on 2025-03-29.