The Government of Canada and the Competition Bureau are committed to providing visitors with Web sites that respect their privacy. This page summarizes the privacy policy and practices on Competition Bureau's Web sites.

• Competition Bureau's Web sites do not automatically gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, telephone number or e-mail address. We would only obtain this type of information if you supply it by sending us an e-mail or registering in a secure portion of the site.
• All personal information created, held or collected by the Competition Bureau is protected under the federal Privacy Act. This means that at any point of collection you will be asked for consent to collect your information, and you will be informed of the purpose for which it is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.
• The Competition Bureau 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 Web site, 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 Competition Bureau does not normally use "cookies" to track how our visitors use this site or to determine sites previously visited. The system will notify you before any cookies are used so that you may refuse them. (A "cookie" is a file that may be placed on your hard drive without your knowledge by a Web site to allow it to monitor your use of the site.)
• Information on individual visitors is used by Competition Bureau employees who need the information in order to respond to your request or to ensure the security of this system. We do not use the information to create individual profiles, and we only share the information you give us with another government department where permitted or required by law.
• Visitors to the Competition Bureau's Web site who provide information to the Bureau require assurance that it will not be disclosed, except in accordance with the law. The Competition Act enshrines the principle of confidentiality in Section 29 and the Bureau has procedures in place to ensure that confidentiality will be upheld. For practical purposes, section 29 protects most information provided to or obtained by the Bureau as well as the identity of those who provide it. The communication of confidential information that is obtained through the use of formal powers or provided voluntarily is prohibited except in two specific circumstances: to another Canadian law enforcement agency or for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of the Act. With regard to the latter, this would include sharing information with foreign authorities, if required. Further details regarding the Bureau's confidentiality policy are set out in the document entitled Communication of Confidential Information under the Competition Act, which is available at: Communication of Confidential Information Under the Competition Act
• The Competition Bureau is a participant in the Government of Canada Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), which gives users the opportunity to communicate with the Competition Bureau in a confidential manner.

Questions or comments regarding this policy, or the administration of the Privacy Act in the Competition Bureau may be directed to the Privacy Co-ordinator:

If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by email at: info@privcom.gc.ca, by telephone at 1-800-282-1376 or visit their Web site at: http://www.privcom.gc.ca

The Competition Bureau respects the Official Languages Act and the relevant Treasury Board policies, and is committed to ensuring all information and services on this site are available in both English and French (or in one language only if a unilingual office). However, users should be aware that some information from external sources are not subject to the Official Languages Act. This information is provided as a convenience and is available only in the language in which it was provided.

Links to Web sites not under the control of the Government of Canada (GoC) are provided solely for the convenience of users. The GoC is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The GoC does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their contents.

Users should be aware that information offered by non-GoC sites that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and to which the Competition Bureau links, may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question.

Materials on this Web site were produced and/or compiled by the Competition Bureau 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.

Information on this Web site has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal or public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified.

Users are required to:

• Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
• Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author organization; and
• Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by the Government of Canada and that the reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.

Unless otherwise specified, this authorization is also applicable to all published information regardless of its format.

Reproduction of multiple copies of materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Government of Canada's copyright administrator, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Through the permission-granting process, PWGSC helps to ensure that individuals / organizations wishing to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes have access to the most accurate, up-to-date versions. To obtain permission to reproduce materials on this site for commercial purposes, please go to PWGSC's "Applying for Copyright Clearance on Government of Canada Works" page.

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the "Canada" wordmark, the Coat of Arms and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without written authorization. Request for authorization from the Treasury Board Secretariat may be addressed to:

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on Government of Canada Web sites are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. This is particularly true of sites that are jointly operated by a Government of Canada institution and an external organization as part of a collaborative arrangement. 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:

Some of the information in this website has been provided by external sources.The Competition Bureau is not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information provided by external sources. Users wishing to rely on this information should consult directly with the source of the information.

The Competition Bureau makes every effort to meet the needs of our clients by providing websites that are accessible and that offer content equally in both official languages. In the event that you are having difficulty accessing or interpreting any of our web pages, please contact us: