Privacy Policy

Last update: November 29, 2023

The Musée de la civilisation (hereinafter “Museum”) respects your privacy and is committed to taking the necessary measures to protect your personal information, in accordance with the Act Respecting Access to Documents Held by Public Bodies and the Protection of Personal Information (hereinafter “Act”).

The purpose of this document is to help you understand how the Museum collects, uses, communicates, stores and protects your personal information. It also applies to the Fondation du Musée de la civilisation (hereinafter referred to as the “Foundation”), a duly registered charitable organization that has entrusted the Museum with the task of collecting and processing the personal information required to fulfill its mission.

This applies to all activities involving the collection, processing and retention of personal information, whether used for the benefit of the Museum or the Foundation.

1. Protective measures

The Museum has implemented physical, technological and administrative measures to protect your personal information against accidental loss and unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure. The following are a few examples:

• Sites protected by security guards, surveillance cameras, management of access to paper documents, documents that are locked up
• Management of access to electronic documents and servers, firewalls, intrusion tests
• Document classification plan, retention schedule, staff training

2. Consent

The Museum only collects and uses personal information with your consent. When a request for consent is made in writing, it is presented separately from all other information.

You are free to consent to or refuse the collection of personal information. You can also change or withdraw your consent at any time. When the collection of personal information is optional, the Museum will inform you.

Internet users under 14 years of age must obtain permission from a parent or guardian before submitting personal information to the Museum. Since technology limits verification of the exact age of its site’s users, the Museum relies on the good faith of users to meet this requirement.  The Museum does not knowingly collect personal information from Internet users under the age of 14 without the consent of a parent or guardian. If we learn that we have collected or receive personal information of a child under the age of 14 without the consent of their parent or guardian, we will delete that information.

3. Right of access and rectification of personal information

You have the right to access the personal information that you have provided.

If this personal information is inaccurate, imprecise or incomplete or if you have not authorized its collection, communication or retention, you may email the Museum at [email protected] to rectify or remove it. We will endeavour to handle all requests for rectification or removal of personal information in a timely manner.

4. Collection of personal information

The Museum collects personal information through its web and software properties, such as its websites, mobile app and surveys. The Museum may also collect personal information by means of technological tools on its premises, such as its Wi-Fi network, self-service kiosks and survey kiosks, if you use them.

Personal information is defined by the Act as any information concerning a natural person which directly or indirectly allows the person to be identified. The following is a list of examples of personal information that we may collect with your consent:

• Personal information regarding Identity, such as first name, last name, gender, date of birth, marital status, education level, language of correspondence, membership in designated groups (Indigenous, visible minority, ethnic minority or people living with disabilities) and accessibility needs
• Personal contact information, such as e-mail address, postal address and telephone numbers
• Information about your Museum account, such as the history of purchases, donations and participation in events, as well as communication preferences
• Technical personal information, such as Internet Protocol (IP) address, approximate location, cookies and other technologies on the devices you use to access the Museum’s website
• Information on Internet activity, such as browsing history, search history, interactions with our website and the rate of engagement with our publications
• Financial information, such as payment method
• Employment-related information such as your resumé, educational background and professional references

When you interact with the Museum’s platforms, the IP address associated with your device is automatically collected. The IP address enables us to collect information on your operating system and web browser, the time and duration of your visit to a platform, your virtual location and the pages you consult.

5. Use of personal information

The Museum may use your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, in accordance with your consent, and for other purposes authorized under the Act.

We may use the information collected for the following purposes:

• To identify you on the Museum’s platforms or at the Museum
• To process transactions made online or at the Museum
• To inform you of activities at the Museum
• To maintain a history of transactions and donations
• To personalize your experience and provide tailored content
• To the purpose of studies and to keep statistics on the Museum’s current and potential clientele
• To keep statistics on visitors’ opinions
• To ensure the security of the Museum’s premises and systems
• To ensure the proper operation of the Museum’s systems
• To administer job selection processes for employment at the Museum
• To maintain an updated list of the Museum’s newsletter subscriber
• To keep the Museum’s subscriber files up to date
• To keep donor files up to date
• To analyze indirect revenue categories

6. Communication of personal information

Access to personal information is limited to Museum staff and our partners who have a legitimate interest in its use, protection, retention or removal.

Examples of Museum’ collaborators include third-party service providers and/or partners, including those offering donation solicitation, database analysis, website development, application development, hosting, maintenance or security services.

Before disclosing personal information to a third party, the Museum must first notify you, unless disclosure without consent is permitted under the Act.

When the Museum discloses personal information, it takes the necessary measures to ensure that the information is kept confidential.

7. Retention of personal information

Personal information is kept for as long as it is required to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and in accordance with the Museum’s retention schedule guidelines. Personal information may be stored in a physical or technological form, but it is always covered by appropriate protective measures.

When financial transactions are made, the Museum does not retain the payment information you provide. This information is communicated and managed by financial service providers. For more information on the measures put in place to ensure secure financial transactions with the Museum, please consult our Online Purchasing Policy.

8. Account creation

When you purchase tickets online to visit the Museum, you must create an account on our website. If you prefer not to create an account, you can purchase your tickets on site in the Museum lobby. When you create your account, you’ll need to set a password for future access to your account. Your account will remain active until it is deleted.

You do not need to create an account to make a donation. However, you may find it useful to create an account when you donate so you can save your contact information and not have to provide it again.

To apply for a position at the Museum, you need to create an account on the external Mynjobs website, which is where you submit all information required for your application.

9. Cookies

The Museum’s website uses cookies, which allow us to keep statistics on how you use the site, thereby optimizing your browsing experience. There are three categories of cookies:

• Performance cookies
  These cookies enable us to measure the use of our web properties, ensure that they are working properly and make any necessary improvements.

• Functional cookies
  These cookies allow us to keep statistics on the use of our web properties.

• Advertising cookies
  These cookies allow us to offer you a personalized experience. They help the Museum identify trends and match users with a preference profile to provide content that aligns with your interests. The Museum does not display third‑party advertising on its website or web properties. It uses these cookies to promote its own products, such as exhibitions and activities.

Cookies are unique, random identifiers consisting of text files, which are stored on the Internet user’s computer hard drive. They are used to identify the Internet user’s browser, their use of the site and sometimes their IP address. In some cases, closing the browser deletes cookies from the user’s device.

You can change your web browser settings to restrict the use of cookies or delete any cookies stored on your device. However, limiting the use of cookies may alter your browsing experience on the Museum’s web properties since cookies are essential to the proper functioning of these latter.

10. Google Analytics

The Museum uses Google Analytics to monitor the use of its web properties through the use of cookies. This information is depersonalized and allows the

Museum to follow its general statistics. Google Analytics tracks traffic on the Museum’s platforms, the popularity of its pages and the general location of its users. This data enables the Museum to improve your browsing experience.

The data used by Google Analytics is stored on servers belonging to Google, which may be located outside Quebec. To learn more about Google’s privacy practices, please refer to their privacy policy.

As with cookies, you can deactivate the use of Google Analytics on your browser by downloading the following extension: Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

11. Newsletter

You can subscribe to the Museum newsletter by entering your email address in the appropriate section of our website. When you subscribe to the newsletter, you will receive promotional mailings from the Museum.

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you always have the option to unsubscribe and stop receiving communications from us. To do this, click on the “Unsubscribe” link at the end of each newsletter or contact the Museum at [email protected].

12. Hyperlinks to other sites

The Museum’s web properties may contain hyperlinks so users can visit other websites operated by other entities. Since the Museum has no control over external sites to which certain hyperlinks may direct you, it accepts no responsibility for the availability or content of these sites. Any information you transmit to websites operated by other entities will be subject to these websites’ privacy policies.

Under no circumstances will the Museum be held responsible for any damage resulting from the use or inability to use material contained on sites linked to it with pointers.

13. Amendments

The Museum reserves the right to modify this privacy policy, available on the Museum’s website, at any time. An update notice will be published when changes are made.

14. Complaints

The Museum has a system for handling complaints about the processing of personal information. Full details of this process can be found in our governance policies regarding the protection of personal information. Any complaints should be emailed to [email protected].

15. Questions

If you have any questions about the Museum’s practices regarding the protection of personal information or if you wish to exercise any of your rights with respect to your personal information, please write to [email protected].