Privacy Policy

Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly (“Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is published for the Ontario Road Builders’ Association by Lester Communications Inc. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit or interact with www.ontarioinfrastructure.ca (the “Website”).

Your privacy is important to us. We collect and use personal information only as reasonably necessary to operate the Website, provide requested services, communicate with users, maintain security, and improve the Website.

Who Operates This Website

Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly is published for the Ontario Road Builders’ Association (ORBA) by Lester Communications Inc., a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based publishing and communications company. The Website is hosted by GoDaddy.

Information We Collect

The type and amount of information we collect depends on how you use the Website.

Information You Provide

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including:

• Your name and email address;

• Username and account information, if you register for an account;

• Information you provide through contact forms;

• Information you provide when subscribing to communications or newsletters; and

• Any other information you voluntarily submit through the Website.

We use this information only for the purposes for which it was provided, including responding to inquiries, managing accounts, providing requested services, and sending communications you have requested.

Website Usage Information

When you visit the Website, certain technical information may be collected automatically by our web hosting, security, analytics, and other service providers. This may include information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, referring website, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit.

This information may be used to operate and secure the Website, understand how visitors use the Website, identify technical problems, and improve website performance.

Registration and Account Information

If you register for an account on the Website, we may store your username, email address, and other information that you choose to add to your user profile. You may be able to view, edit, or delete certain information associated with your account. Website administrators may also have access to account information as necessary to administer the Website.

Contact Forms

Information submitted through contact forms on the Website is sent to our designated company email account. We retain contact-form submissions only as reasonably necessary to respond to inquiries, provide customer service, maintain business records, or otherwise fulfill the purpose for which the information was submitted.

Contact-form information is not used for marketing purposes unless you have separately requested or consented to receive marketing communications. Email and email-delivery services may be provided through third-party service providers, including Microsoft and Brevo. These providers process information as necessary to provide their respective services.

Newsletter Subscriptions

If you subscribe to Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly email communications, we collect the information necessary to provide those communications, such as your name and email address. Newsletter subscription information is processed using third-party email and marketing service providers. We use this information to send the communications you have requested and to manage your subscription.

You may unsubscribe from newsletter communications at any time by using the unsubscribe mechanism included in our emails or by contacting us directly. Unsubscribing from marketing communications does not necessarily result in the immediate deletion of information that we are required or permitted to retain for administrative, legal, or record-keeping purposes.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use the Website and to improve its content, functionality, and performance. Google Analytics may collect information about your use of the Website, including information about pages viewed, approximate geographic location, device and browser information, and other usage information. We use analytics information primarily in aggregate form to understand Website traffic and usage patterns. We do not use Google Analytics to intentionally identify individual visitors. Google may process information collected through Google Analytics in accordance with its own privacy policies and terms.

For more information about how Google handles information collected through its services, please consult Google’s privacy documentation. You can also use Google’s available browser tools and privacy controls to limit or opt out of certain analytics tracking.

Cloudflare Turnstile

We use Cloudflare Turnstile, a security service provided by Cloudflare, Inc., on certain forms and areas of the Website to help protect against spam, abuse, automated submissions, and malicious activity.

Turnstile is designed to determine whether activity on the Website is likely to be generated by a human visitor or an automated system. Depending on how Turnstile is configured, it may operate without requiring you to complete a traditional CAPTCHA or other interactive challenge. To perform this security function, Turnstile may process limited technical signals from your browser and device. These may include your IP address, TLS fingerprint, User-Agent information, the Turnstile site key, and information relating to the website where Turnstile is being used.

Cloudflare states that Turnstile does not access, store, or transmit information entered into forms or other page inputs. Turnstile is intended to process only the information necessary to provide its security and bot-detection functions and is not used for advertising or ad retargeting. Cloudflare may process information as a service provider on our behalf to provide Turnstile. Cloudflare also processes certain information as a controller for purposes of improving Turnstile’s bot-detection capabilities. For more information, please see the Cloudflare Turnstile Privacy Addendum and Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

Embedded Content

Pages on this Website may include embedded content from third-party services, such as YouTube videos. Embedded content from other websites may behave in the same manner as if you had visited the third-party website directly. These services may collect information about your interaction with the embedded content and may use cookies or other tracking technologies. We do not control the privacy practices of third-party services. Their collection and use of information is governed by their own privacy policies.

YouTube

We may embed videos hosted by YouTube. Where technically supported, YouTube content may be configured to limit the collection of information before you interact with the video. Once you interact with embedded YouTube content, YouTube may collect information in accordance with Google’s privacy policies. For more information, please review Google’s/YouTube’s privacy documentation.

Cookies

This Website uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that allow a website to remember information about your visit. We may use cookies for purposes including:

• Maintaining website sessions and functionality;

• Remembering preferences;

• Providing security features;

• Understanding Website usage and traffic;

• Supporting analytics; and

• Improving Website performance and functionality.

Some cookies may be placed by third-party services that operate on our behalf or provide functionality used by the Website. You can control or disable cookies through your web browser. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Website.

Necessary Cookies

Certain cookies or similar technologies may be necessary for the Website to function properly. These may include session or security-related technologies. For example, PHP-based functionality may use a session cookie such as PHPSESSID to maintain a user’s session. The specific cookies used by the Website may change as Website functionality, plugins, security services, and third-party services are added or removed.

Third-Party Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to operate, secure, analyze, and maintain the Website and to provide services requested by visitors. These providers may process personal information on our behalf as necessary to provide their services. Depending on the services currently in use, these providers may include:

• GoDaddy — website hosting and related infrastructure;

• Google — analytics and embedded services;

• Cloudflare — security services, including Turnstile;

• Microsoft — email and related services; and

• Brevo — email delivery and related services.

Third-party service providers are expected to handle information in accordance with applicable privacy laws and their own privacy policies.

Sharing of Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose personal information to third-party service providers when reasonably necessary to operate the Website, provide services you request, communicate with you, maintain security, analyze Website usage, or perform other legitimate business functions. We may also disclose personal information where required or permitted by applicable law, including in response to valid legal processes, court orders, regulatory requirements, or law-enforcement requests.

International Processing and Data Storage

Our Website and service providers may store or process information in Canada, the United States, or other countries where our service providers operate. When personal information is processed outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is stored or processed. We use reputable service providers and take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately. The location of data processing may change as our service providers update or change their infrastructure.

How Long We Retain Personal Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including providing services, responding to inquiries, maintaining business and administrative records, resolving disputes, and complying with legal obligations. Contact-form submissions and account information may therefore be retained for different periods depending on their purpose and our operational or legal requirements. You may request deletion of personal information that we are not required to retain.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. The Website uses HTTPS/SSL encryption to protect information transmitted between your browser and the Website. No method of transmission or electronic storage is completely secure.

While we take reasonable precautions to protect information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a privacy or security incident involving personal information, we will take appropriate steps in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you;

• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

• Request deletion of personal information, subject to legal and legitimate business requirements;

• Withdraw consent to certain uses of your personal information where consent is the legal basis for processing; and

• Ask questions or raise concerns about our handling of personal information.

We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests in order to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure.

Canadian Privacy Law

We aim to handle personal information in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy legislation, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) where applicable and any other privacy legislation that may apply to our activities. Privacy legislation may provide individuals with additional rights concerning the collection, use, disclosure, access to, and correction of personal information.

Third-Party Websites

The Website may contain links to websites operated by third parties. These third-party websites are not controlled by us, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices, security, content, or policies. Visiting a third-party website is subject to that website’s own privacy policy and terms of use. Social media links and sharing buttons may also appear on the Website. These services may collect information when you interact with them. Please review the privacy policies of the relevant social media provider before using those features.

Legal Disclosure

We may disclose personal information where reasonably necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal proceedings, court orders, or other valid legal requirements. We may also disclose information where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly, Lester Communications Inc., the Ontario Road Builders’ Association, our users, or others.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the Website, our services, applicable laws, or the third-party services we use. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we handle personal information.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to request access to or correction of your personal information, or have a privacy-related concern, please contact us through the contact information provided on the Website. Ontario Infrastructure Quarterly is published for the Ontario Road Builders’ Association by Lester Communications Inc.