PRIVACY POLICY

We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and personal privacy.

PRIVACY NOTICE

Collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information is subject to, and must comply with, the provisions of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). The purpose of this privacy notice is to describe our practices regarding personal information use and collection through any of BC Cancer’s websites. Please note that we do not disclose, give, sell or transfer any personal information about our website visitors unless required for law enforcement or otherwise provided for by law. We reserve the right to update this policy at any time. Users are responsible for reviewing this document periodically for changes.

What is personal information?

Personal information is recorded information about an identifiable individual other than business contact information and would include, but is not limited to, such things as an individual’s name, address, birth date, email address, phone number and Care Card number.

Collection & use of information

PHSA is authorized to collect personal information via this website under section 26(c) of FIPPA for the purposes described below. Information is collected from our websites, either directly from you or automatically.

Information collected directly from you

Personal information is collected through our websites in certain circumstances, such as when you send an email message to us or complete a questionnaire, form or other online survey found on our websites.

We only use the personal information you provide to us through our websites for purposes consistent with its collection.

You should also be aware that information provided by you becomes a record of the organization and is subject to the access and privacy protection requirements set out in FIPPA.

This information may be further collected, used and disclosed in accordance with that Act or as otherwise required by law. Under this legislation you are also entitled to access and correct any of your personal information that is within our custody and control. You may make such requests by contacting the privacy representative listed on this page.

Information collected automatically

Some of our web pages use “cookies,” which are small amounts of information stored by your web browser software on your work station.

Cookies are designed to track browsing history on a website generally for the convenience of the user. They help websites “remember” what areas of a website a browser has accessed or used previously. Cookies can, however, be misused, and have become a privacy concern for some because they can be used to record and analyze an individual’s broader browsing history.

The cookies we use on our websites and what we use them for are described below.

This site operates on “implied consent,” which means that by visiting and clicking through the site, we assume you agree with this usage. If you do not agree, then you should not use our sites, or you can delete the cookies after visiting our sites, or use your browser’s anonymous usage setting (called “Incognito” in Chrome, “In Private” in Microsoft Edge, “Private Browsing” in Firefox and Safari).

More information on cookies, what they are used for and how to delete cookies after visiting this site can be found at allaboutcookies.org.

It’s important to know that cookies are plain text files and cannot execute files or make copies of themselves. They do not carry or deliver viruses and cannot scan or retrieve your personal information.

There are two types of cookie – Session and Persistent.

Session cookies

Session cookie information is deleted as soon as you leave our websites. The use of temporary session cookies is solely for the purpose of allowing the user to interact with our websites in an effective manner.

Persistent cookies

In a few cases our website may use persistent cookies to store information for longer periods than the current session.

ANALYTICS & SAFEGUARDS

Analytics

BC Cancer uses Google Analytics (GA4), a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (Google).

Google Analytics uses first-party cookies to track visitor interactions. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information so that we may evaluate your use of this website, compile reports on website activity for the website operators and provide other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Your IP address is anonymized by GA4.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser – however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website.

Website visitors who do not want to be tracked by Google Analytics can download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics. The Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on does not prevent information from being sent to the website itself or to other web analytics services.

For more information visit the Google Analytics Overview page.

Safeguards

BC Cancer is obligated to protect your personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal. Security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operating practices as part of BC Cancer’s continuing commitment to the protection of personal information it holds.

Email

Information sent to our websites over the Internet is not secure. This means that if the visitor uses the Contact Us page, or other email addresses published on our websites, to send an email, the information provided may be intercepted as it travels to our websites. We will not be responsible for any damages suffered by individuals as a result of the transmission and information that is sent to us or for any errors or changes made to transmitted information.

Social media buttons

You might see “social media buttons” on some BC Cancer websites. Social media buttons let visitors share or bookmark web pages, and are often identifiable by the + sign with Share beside it. There may be buttons for: X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and others.

In order to connect social buttons to the relevant external sites, there are scripts from those domains, which are outside of this site. Those sites could be collecting information about what you are doing all around the internet, including this site. To be certain what information those sites collect, and how to opt out, check the respective policies of each site.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media Moderation, Terms of Service and Data/Privacy Policies

PHSA Social Media Moderation Guidelines

We welcome participation in discussions, but we believe people should feel respected and safe on our channels, as well as be protected from misinformation, harmful advice, advice that is not evidence-based or spam. We also expect conversations to follow the conventions of polite discourse so that everyone feels welcome to participate. To support these objectives, BC Cancer social media moderators will use moderation options provided by the platforms to moderate content that interferes with these objectives, such as (without limitation):

Content that contains profanity or is discriminatory, hateful, defamatory, racist, sexist or obscene.
Content that breaches employee or patient privacy.
Content that contains personal attacks beyond the expectations of civil discourse.
Content that unreasonably invades anyone’s privacy.
Content that impersonates anyone.
Content that spreads misinformation, disproven medical claims or harmful advice.
Content that constitutes spam or promotes services or products not approved by BC Cancer.
Content so far off-topic that it has no relevance to the topic at hand or interferes with the conversation.
Content that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability, or that otherwise violates any applicable laws, regulations or treaties.
Content that is contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
PHSA moderation options include, but are not limited to, hiding or deleting posts and turning off comments. Where other options have failed, moderation may involve blocking users.

If you have questions about this moderation policy or how we apply it, please contact: social@phsa.ca.

Monitoring Hours

BC Cancer social media channels are generally monitored during regular business hours, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time. We will do our best to respond to posts within two business days.

Media

Please note, for media inquiries about BC Cancer or its programs and services, call the media line at 778-867-7472. Media inquiries are not responded to on BC Cancer social media channels.

Medical Advice

Medical advice will not be provided through social media.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about a BC Cancer employee or program, please email social@phsa.ca.

Complaints about BC Cancer staff and programs posted to social media will be reported if they violate any of the conditions listed in the BC Cancer Social Media Moderation Policy and posters may be banned from Bc Cancer social media channels.

Retweets (RTs), Quotes, Shares, Likes

Retweets, shared posts, liked posts and quoted posts do not imply endorsement on the part of BC Cancer. We may like, share or quote news, links and personal observations we believe are relevant to the work we do. A like, share or quote should not be taken as explicit endorsement of any position or argument that may vary from BC Cancer’s official position.

Following

Our decision to follow a particular social media user does not imply endorsement of any kind.

How We Protect and Use the Personal Information We Collect

BC Cancer’s collection, use, disclosure and retention of information comply with the provisions of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Collected information is used only by authorized BC Cancer staff to fulfil the purpose for which it was originally collected.

We will not sell or trade any personally identifiable information that may be collected from our website and will not disclose such information to third parties except as authorized by law.
When you send us email via our website, your message is stored as business correspondence accessible only to authorized BC Cancer website staff.

Privacy

To protect your privacy, and the privacy of others, please do not include any personal information including telephone numbers and email addresses in comments. In addition, please do not share personal information about others, including pictures or videos, unless you have obtained consent to do so.

All content posted will be received with the assumption that the person who posted it holds all necessary rights to that content.

Terms of Service

In accordance with the terms of service and data/privacy policies of social media platforms, this document serves as notice that by posting comments to any BC Cancer social media account you are consenting to the collection of the information you provide. Furthermore, by using or accessing a social media platform, you agree with the contents of their terms of service and data/privacy policy as updated from time to time. Please be aware that any information collected may be stored and/or accessed outside of Canada on servers that do not belong to BC Cancer.

In respect of personal information posted to any BC Cancer social media account, subsection 26(c) of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act authorizes the collection of this information by a program of BC Cancer for the purposes of engaging and consulting with the public.

BC Cancer is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or reliability of content posted by others on social media channels. If a third party uses this content, they will agree to indemnify and hold BC Cancer harmless from all third party claims, demands, actions or costs arising out of use of these sites.

BC Cancer social media channels are managed by BC Cancer employees who post news, announcements and other items of interest for the public. Please note: If you comment on a post, share it, like it or otherwise engage with it, your personal identifiable information will be visible to other visitors. The amount of visible personal information displayed will depend on the platform and your privacy settings.