Privacy policy

1.Who we are and scope of this policy

Avatec is a 100% Canadian information technology solutions and services company, with offices in Québec City, Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain and destroy personal information obtained through our website avatec.ca, by phone and in our exchanges with people who contact us.

It complies with Québec’s Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, as amended by Law 25 (Act to modernize legislative provisions as regards the protection of personal information), and with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which applies elsewhere in Canada.

Personal information is any information about a natural person that allows them to be identified, directly or indirectly. As a precaution, we also apply this policy to the business contact information (name, title, work email and phone) you send us.

2.Person in charge of the protection of personal information

As required by law, the person with the highest authority at Avatec ensures that the protection of personal information is respected and implemented; this function may be delegated in writing. For any question, request for access or correction, or complaint, contact the officer:

3.Information we collect

• “Let’s talk” form and Contact page: name, title (optional), organization, business email, topic, message and confirmation of your consent.
• Calls and emails: the information you choose to share so we can help you.
• Unsolicited applications: the information in your résumé and message, if you send them.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, page requested, date and time, logged automatically by our hosting provider to keep the site secure and working.
• Audience measurement, only if you accept it: pages viewed, referring page, country, device and browser type, in aggregate form.

We do not collect any sensitive information through this site (health, financial data, social insurance number, etc.). Please do not enter any in the form.

4.Why we use it

• To respond to your request and provide the follow-up you asked for.
• To prepare the proposal or provide the service you requested.
• To assess an application you sent us.
• To protect the site against fraud, abuse and attacks.
• To understand, in aggregate, how the site is used in order to improve it, with your consent.

We do not sell, rent or trade any personal information. We do no profiling, no marketing without separate consent and no decisions based exclusively on automated processing of your information.

5.Your consent

We collect your information with your manifest, free and informed consent, given for specific purposes: the form checkbox to respond to your request, and the cookie banner for audience measurement. Each consent is requested separately and is valid only for as long as necessary for those purposes.

You may withdraw your consent at any time, free of charge, by contacting the officer or, for cookies, with the “Manage cookies” button at the bottom of every page. Withdrawal does not affect use already made.

Our site is intended for organizations. We do not knowingly collect information about people under 14; the consent of a parent or guardian would be required.

6.Cookies and measurement technologies

No technology that can identify you, locate you or profile you is turned on by default. On your first visit, nothing is measured until you have made a choice.

We use no advertising cookies, no social media pixels and no third-party tracking tools. Links to Google Maps or to our partners’ sites load nothing until you click them. You can change your choices at any time:

7.Who has access to your information

Only the members of our team who need your information to handle your request have access to it. We use service providers acting on our behalf. They are contractually bound to confidentiality and security obligations and may use your information only for the mandate entrusted to them:

• Vercel Inc. (United States): hosting and delivery of the site, technical logs and optional audience measurement.
• Our email and office software providers: receiving and handling requests sent through the form.

We may also disclose information where required or permitted by law, for example to comply with a court order.

8.Disclosure outside Québec

Some of our providers, including our hosting provider, may process or store information outside Québec, notably in the United States. Before any such disclosure, we conduct a privacy impact assessment and ensure, through a written agreement, that the information will receive adequate protection. The information may then be subject to the laws of the place where it is located.

9.Retention and destruction

• Requests received through the form: as long as needed to handle your request and follow up, then no more than 24 months after our last exchange, unless a business relationship continues.
• Applications: 12 months, unless you authorize us to keep them longer.
• Technical logs: a limited period set by our hosting provider, for security purposes.
• Cookie choices: 12 months, after which you are asked again.

At the end of these periods, information is securely destroyed or anonymized for serious and legitimate purposes, as permitted by law.

10.Security

We apply reasonable security measures suited to the sensitivity of the information: encryption of all communications (HTTPS enforced), access limited to the people who need it, security headers on the site and contractual commitments from our providers.

11.Confidentiality incidents

In the event of unauthorized access, use or disclosure, or loss of personal information, we promptly take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm and prevent a recurrence. If the incident presents a risk of serious injury, we promptly notify the Commission d’accès à l’information and the people concerned. Every incident is recorded in a register.

12.Your rights

• Access: know what information we hold about you, for what purposes, who has access to it and how long it is kept, and obtain a copy.
• Correction: have inaccurate, incomplete or equivocal information corrected.
• Withdrawal of consent: at any time, going forward.
• De-indexing and cessation of dissemination: ask that dissemination of information stop or that a hyperlink leading to it be de-indexed, in the cases provided by law.
• Portability: obtain the information you provided in a structured, commonly used technological format, or have it sent to a person of your choice.
• Automated decisions: we make none about you; if that changed, you would be informed.

To exercise your rights, contact the officer in writing. We may ask you to confirm your identity. We reply within 30 days of receiving your request, free of charge.

13.Complaints

If you believe your information has not been handled in accordance with this policy or the law, write to the officer first: we will handle your complaint diligently and reply in writing. You may also contact, at any time:

• Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec1-888-528-7741 · cai.gouv.qc.ca
• Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada1-800-282-1376 · priv.gc.ca

14.Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or in the law. The update date appears at the top of the page. In the event of a significant change, we will indicate it clearly on the site and, where appropriate, ask for your consent again.