Office of the Senate Ethics Officer

Important Notices

Site Management

The Office of the Senate Ethics Officer’s website is managed jointly by the Office (content and design) and the Information Services Directorate of the Senate (all technical measures relating to the hosting of this site).

Our website content is updated on an ongoing basis, but may not be complete or current at all times. Access to our website and its contents is therefore provided on an as-is and as-available basis.

Our website content is best viewed on Internet Explorer 9 or higher, a current version of Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Chrome or equivalent software.  If your browser is older, you may have trouble viewing some of our website’s features properly.

Parliamentary Privilege

As provided by the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Parliament of Canada Act, the general and public law of Canada includes parliamentary privilege, which consists of the privileges, immunities and powers held, enjoyed and exercised by the Senate, Senators and the Senate Ethics Officer.  Parliamentary privilege enables the Senate, Senators and the SEO to perform their functions free from external interference. Parliamentary privilege is one of the safeguards of the constitutional separation of powers.

Our website contains documents and information that may be protected by parliamentary privilege. Their publication on this website has been authorized by the SEO. You should be aware that if you reproduce or republish privileged materials, you are not protected by parliamentary privilege.

Privacy Statement

We respect your privacy. Personal information that you directly provide to us is used for the purpose for which it is provided. Such information, as well as information that may be collected due to your browsing of our website, is kept in accordance with information management practices, and it may be used for security or other internal purposes.

The Office does not automatically collect any personal information through this website. This information would only be obtained if it was supplied by contacting the Office, in which case the personal information would only be used to respond to a visitor's specific inquiry or request and for no other purpose. To better safeguard their privacy, visitors who wish to contact the Office should not include any personal information that is not required for responding to a comment or request. For instance, an email request would not require a home or business address for the response.

Personal information submitted by visitors who wish to make comments or requests will not be disclosed to anyone outside the Office unless authorized by the individual concerned, or unless required or authorized by law.

Privacy and the Internet

Web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor’s Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet service providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. Web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the cooperation of an ISP, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, we consider the IP address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when a visitor requests a Web page, such as the page or pages visited and date and time of the visit.

Unless otherwise noted, our website does not gather any specific personal information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. This information is obtained only if you provide it to us.

Communicating with Us

If you communicate with us, we will use your personal information and any information you provide in order to respond to your inquiry. We do not use the information to create individual profiles. We also do not disclose the information to a third party unless the inquiry relates to the third party or a third party needs to be consulted to provide you with a response. We do not disclose the information, without your consent, to anyone other than to those in the Office who need to provide you with a response, unless disclosure is permitted or required by law.

We recommend that you not send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or date of birth, through non-secure electronic means, including email. Information received and generated by us is managed in accordance with our policies, guidelines and best practices on information management and information security.

Digital Markers (e.g., “Cookies”)

A digital marker is a computer file created by a visitor’s Web browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for a Web server to reference during the same visit or subsequent visit(s) to the website. Examples of digital markers are “cookies” or HTML 5 web storage.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies. However, it may affect your ability to interact with the website.

Web Analytics

Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement and reporting of data about Web traffic and visits for purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. Information in digital markers may be used for the purpose of Web analytics to identify and track your online interactions with our website.

We use Google Analytics to help measure traffic patterns to, from, and within our website. This analytics measurement tool uses “session” and “persistent” cookies to collect standard Internet log information and to track visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer and expire two years after your last visit to a website. The information generated by the cookies about your visit to our website (including your truncated IP address) is transmitted to Google. No personal identifying information is recorded or provided to Google. This anonymous information is then used to evaluate visitors’ use of our website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. The aggregate data and statistical reports are only used to help us make our website more useful to visitors, and they are only made available to Web managers and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties.

For further information, consult Google Analytics and its privacy policy.

Disabling Digital Markers

If you wish, you may opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics by disabling or refusing the digital markers, by disabling JavaScript within your browser or by using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On. Disabling Google Analytics or JavaScript will still permit you to access comparable information or services from our website. However, if you change the settings on your browser so that digital markers will be denied or so that you will be warned before a digital marker is saved on your computer, navigating on our website may be a much slower process. It may also have an impact on your user experience on our website. To disable digital markers, please refer to your vendor’s browser instruction guide.

Ownership and Usage of Content Provided on the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer Website

Materials on our website are produced and/or compiled by us for the purpose of providing you with direct access to the latest news, information and activities of the Office. Materials are protected under the Copyright Act and international agreements. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:

Reproduction of Website Content

For information regarding the reproduction of materials covered by parliamentary privilege on our website, either in whole or in part, please contact us.

Non-Commercial Reproduction of Other Content

Unless otherwise specified, non-parliamentary documents are made available on our website with the intent that they be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use. You may reproduce these documents, either in whole or in part and by any means, without charge or further permission from us, provided that

  • due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the material reproduced;
  • the Office is identified as the author and the complete title (when available) is included;
  • it is indicated that the reproduction is a copy of the version available on the Office website at [URL where original document is available];
  • the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the material reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Office or the Senate Ethics Officer, if applicable; and
  • the material is not used in a way that would compromise its accuracy and integrity or undermine the dignity of the Office and of the Senate Ethics Officer.

Commercial Reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, reproduction of materials on our website, either in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from us.  To obtain permission to reproduce materials on our website for commercial purposes or to obtain additional information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions, please contact us.

Third-Party Materials

Our website includes material subject to copyright held by third parties, including the Senate who owns the copyright of the pictures of the Senate Building. You should therefore be aware that you may need to seek permission from the third party to reproduce or otherwise use such material.

Trademark Notice

The Senate Emblem — the official symbol of the Senate of Canada — cannot be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Official Languages

The Office respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring all information on our site is available in both French and English.  However, some of the information appearing in the Public Registry is personal information provided by senators in the language of their choice. 

Linking to External Websites

Links to websites not under our control are provided solely for your convenience. We are not responsible for the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information provided by external sources. We do not offer any guarantee in this regard and are not responsible for the information found through these links, nor do we endorse the sites and their content, unless otherwise specified.

You should also be aware that information offered by external sites to which our website links is not subject to the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. You should research the privacy policies of these websites before providing personal information.

Disclaimer of Liability

We are not responsible for any damages that may result from the use of the contents of our website or from any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of information under any cause of action.

Comments and Questions

If you experience problems while navigating our website, wish to report any typos or broken links, or have comments or questions about these Important Notices, please contact us.