438 809-5197

Privacy Policy

 

1. PRELIMINARY REMARKS

For GERMINA (hereinafter referred to as “GERMINA,” “we,” or “our”), the protection of the information and data we collect when you visit our website or the websites of our affiliated companies is of utmost importance, and our practices for respecting your personal information comply with the applicable laws in Quebec and Canada.

This Privacy Protection Policy (hereinafter the “Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, process, and protect Personal Information and Browsing Information that you share with us when:

a) you visit the com web site or the hyperlinked sites of our affiliated companies (hereinafter the “Site”);
b) you use its newsletter subscription system
c) you consult pages related to our products or services
d) you register to receive communications, newsletters, updates, special offers;
e) you participate in contests and/or promotions.

2. PERSONAL INFORMATION

2.1 DEFINITION OF “PERSONAL INFORMATION”

“Personal Information” refers to any information related to an individual that allows for their identification, including but not limited to their name, first name, residential address, email address, home telephone number, and cell phone number.

Germina.ca also collects aggregate information and information specific to individual users, such as data related to web pages visited by consumers and information voluntarily provided by consumers, such as survey information and information regarding contest registration. When you visit Germina.ca and interact with it, certain information may be automatically collected, including but not limited to:

  • • Your computer’s IP address.
  • • The type of browser and operating system used.
  • • Web pages visited by you immediately before and after your visit to Germina.ca.
  • • Your activities in community discussions.
  • • Information about the searches you conduct on Germina.ca and how you use the results of those searches.
  • • Information about the services you use on Germina.ca and the frequency of your usage.
  • • Information about the services you use on Germina.ca and the frequency of your usage.
  • • Data about the location and other information about mobile devices used to access and interact with Germina.ca.
  • • Standard server log information.
  • • Information collected using cookies, invisible pixels, and similar technologies.
2.2 COMPLIANCE WITH THE TEN (10) PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING THE MODEL CODE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We commit to adhering to the ten (10) principles of personal information protection outlined below, as established in the Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information (CAN/CSA-Q830-96) and enshrined in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) (S.C. 2000, c. 5).

You can obtain the full text of the Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). You can also order the Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information by writing to the following address:

CSA International
178 Rexdale Boulevard
Etobicoke, Ontario M9W 1R3
Telephone: 1 800 463-6727, (416) 747-4044

2.3 STATEMENT OF THE TEN (10) PRINCIPLES OF THE MODEL CODE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
A) PRINCIPLE 1 – ACCOUNTABILITY

All our employees are responsible for applying and respecting the principles set out in this Policy. You may direct your questions and comments to our Customer Service Department at the above address, and a designated person will respond as soon as possible.

B) PRINCIPLE 2 – IDENTIFYING PURPOSES

The purposes for which your Personal Information is collected are determined beforehand or at the time of collection. In the event that we wish to collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information for purposes other than those stated in this Policy, we commit to informing you and obtaining your consent in advance.

C) PRINCIPLE 3 – CONSENT

We commit to obtaining your free and informed consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your Personal Information, except as required by law.

D) PRINCIPLE 4 – LIMITING COLLECTION

The collection of your Personal Information will be limited to what is necessary for the purposes we have specified, and we will collect it in a lawful and honest manner.

E) PRINCIPLE 5 – LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE, AND RETENTION

Your Personal Information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, unless we have obtained your free and informed consent or as required by law. We will retain your Personal Information only for the period necessary to fulfill the specified purposes.

F) PRINCIPLE 6 – ACCURACY

We take reasonable measures to ensure that your Personal Information remains accurate, complete, and as up to date as possible. You can help maintain the accuracy of your Personal Information by informing us of any changes to your record and by notifying us in writing of any errors you notice. You can contact our Customer Service, whose contact information is provided at the end of this Policy.

G) PRINCIPLE 7 – SECURITY MEASURES

We have implemented security measures in accordance with industry standards to protect your Personal Information using security measures commensurate with its level of sensitivity. Our security measures are periodically reviewed and enhanced as needed.

Despite these precautions, you should be aware that no data transmission over the internet is entirely secure. When you disclose Personal Information on a website, that information may be intercepted, collected, and used. This applies to information shared on bulletin boards, in discussion forums, and even through emails. You transmit this information at your own risk, regardless of whom you send it to, and we cannot be held responsible if information is intercepted and used by third parties.

H) PRINCIPLE 8 – TRANSPARENCY

We will provide you, upon request, with information about our policies and practices regarding the management and protection of Personal Information.

I) PRINCIPLE 9 – ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION

We commit to informing you, upon request, of the existence of Personal Information about you, how it is used, whether it has been disclosed to third parties, and to allow you to access it. . You will also have the ability to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your Personal Information and request appropriate corrections. Requests for access to Personal Information can be made to our Customer Service, whose contact information is provided at the end of this Policy.

J) PRINCIPLE 10 – COMPLAINTS AND REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION

For any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding this Policy, or for a request to access your Personal Information, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service, whose contact information is provided at the end of this Policy.

2.4 CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In certain circumstances, we may request that you provide certain personal information, for example, when you fill out a form on the website in the “Contact Us” or “Submission” section.

All Personal Information is collected with your consent, and you are free at all times to decide whether or not to provide such Personal Information. However, in the case of refusal, you may not have access to sections of the Site that require you to provide such Personal Information.

A) PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THIRD PARTIES

When you provide us with Personal Information belonging to another person, such as a third party, we assume that you have obtained valid consent from that person, allowing us to collect, use, disclose, process, and protect that Personal Information in accordance with this Policy.

B) MINORS

If you are under the age of eighteen (18), please obtain permission from a parent or guardian before transmitting personal information to us.

2.5 USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect, use, and/or disclose your Personal Information for the following purposes:

  • • To provide you with the product, service, or information you have requested.
  • • To offer you customer service.
  • • To help us assess and improve our Site by tailoring its content to your needs and personal preferences.
  • • To communicate with you, inform you of new offers and promotions, as well as any facts or events that may be of interest to you.
  • • To organize and administer contests and/or surveys.
  • • To allow us to maintain the quality of interactions and enforce etiquette rules in sections where you can provide comments.
  • • To conduct business operations.
  • • To process payments and, if necessary, recover unpaid debts.
  • • To identify and protect you against errors, fraud, theft, and other illegal activities.
  • • For any other purpose for which you have provided your consent at the time of providing your Personal Information.
Career Opportunities

Employment Opportunities at Germina: We may announce job opportunities on our website. When you apply for a job or submit inquiries related to a job opportunity, you may provide certain personal information about yourself (such as that contained in a resume, cover letter, or similar job-related documents). We use this information to process your job application or any other request you make and to respond to it.

Contests and Promotions

Finally, Germina.ca may collect information about you if you participate in a contest or promotion hosted by Germina.ca or one of our partners. Additionally, Germina.ca may sometimes ask you, through such forms, if you are interested in receiving information about other services, contests, or news about Germina.ca or our partners. Additionally, Germina.ca may sometimes ask you, through such forms, if you are interested in receiving information about other services, contests, or news about Germina.ca or our partners. You will always have the choice to decline this request or unsubscribe from a personalized service you have previously opted for. The information collected may include your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and details related to your participation in the contest or promotion.

2.6 SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

In accordance with this Policy and the ten (10) principles of the MODEL CODE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION, we may share certain of your Personal Information for the purpose of providing you with services. We will take reasonable measures to ensure that Personal Information shared with third parties is protected and retained in accordance with the principles outlined in this Policy, but we cannot guarantee or accept liability for this.

We want to clarify that we will not disclose your Personal Information to advertisers, clients, partners, or third parties without obtaining your prior written consent. Notwithstanding the above, we may disclose your Personal Information to the following individuals and organizations in the contexts outlined below:

A) TO SERVICE PROVIDERS

We may transfer your Personal Information to service providers acting on our behalf, for the purposes mentioned in this Policy. This could include a company or organization whose services have been retained for our software or applications.

B) TO OUR AFFILIATED COMPANIES

We may share your Personal Information with our affiliated companies to better serve you and inform you about all our products and services.

C) TO OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS

Occasionally, we may share your Personal Information by sharing our customer lists with carefully selected organizations that wish to introduce you to products and services they believe may be of interest to you.

D) IN THE CONTEXT OF BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

We may participate in the sale, merger, restructuring, or transfer of part or all of our business. In such transactions, we may disclose your Personal Information to the acquirer or the new organization. In this case, we will require that the confidentiality of your Personal Information be protected by the acquirer or the new organization in accordance with this Policy and applicable laws regarding the protection of Personal Information.

E) UNDER THE LAW

In addition to the aforementioned contexts, we may, for example, disclose your Personal Information:

  • • To our legal counsel.
  • • To a government agency authorized to obtain such Personal Information.
  • • If we have reason to believe, in good faith, that the disclosure of Personal Information could be useful in an investigation into illegal or fraudulent activity.
  • • To comply with an order or decision of a court or tribunal.
F) OTHER SOURCES

We may access other information about you from third-party sources and platforms (such as social networking sites, databases, internet marketing, and advertising targeting companies), including:

  • • If you access third-party social networking services (such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter) from Germina.ca, your username and connection lists for those services.
  • • Demographic data, such as age group, gender, and your interests.
  • • Data on interaction and ad viewing, such as ad click-through rates and the number of times you have viewed a particular ad.
  • • Unique identifiers, including mobile device identification numbers, which may determine the physical location of such devices in accordance with applicable law.

Please note that Germina.ca may combine the information we collect with information obtained from third parties.

2.7 TO AVOID SHARING OR HAVE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION DELETED

You can request at any time that the Personal Information we hold about you not be shared under paragraphs a), b) c) and (d) of the preceding section, or that it be deleted. Simply send us a request via our contact form or via the contact information listed at the end of this Policy, to request that your Personal Information not be shared or deleted from our databases.

3. NAVIGATION INFORMATION

3.1 DEFINITION OF “NAVIGATION INFORMATION”

“Navigation Information” refers to general information and statistical data related to your browsing activity on the Site or the nature of your device (computer, tablet, or mobile device), your browsing history, the duration of your visit to the Site, the pages viewed, the order in which pages are viewed, the content of these pages, the number of clicks, your general geographic location (country or province), and the advertisements and videos you view on the Site.

3.2 COLLECTION OF NAVIGATION INFORMATION

Browsing the Site signifies your consent to the collection of Navigation Information in the manner and for the purposes stated in this Policy. Navigation Information is collected using cookies, which are small data files installed by our server on your device. A persistent cookie is installed during your first visit, and other cookies, whether permanent or temporary, may be used depending on the applications and choices you make during your subsequent visits to the Site.

Navigation Information is not Personal Information and is not used to discover your identity. It is used for the purposes described below.

However, you can, at any time, clear the cookies on your device or disable the feature that allows their storage by accessing the configuration options of your web browser. . If you make this choice, you will still be able to access information on the Site, but you will be considered a new user each time you visit.

3.3 COOKIES

We use cookies to enhance your user experience and provide you with enriched and personalized content.

A cookie (hereinafter referred to as “Cookie(s)”) is a text file that may be saved on a terminal (computer, tablet, smartphone) when browsing a Service with browsing software. During its validity period, a Cookie enables its issuer to recognize the concerned terminal each time that terminal accesses digital content containing Cookies from the same issuer.

The User is informed that when connecting to the Site or Applications and using the Services, Cookies are installed on their receiving terminal (computer, tablet, smartphone, etc.) for the proper functioning of the Services, or on their browser subject to the User’s choice regarding cookies; this choice can be modified at any time.

1) WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES OF COOKIES?

In order to inform the User about Cookies more effectively, it is appropriate to categorize these Cookies into 4 categories: (a) Site and Application navigation Cookies (b) audience measurement Cookies (c) advertising Cookies (d) network sharing Cookies.

– Site and Application Navigation Cookies:

Navigation Cookies improve the performance of the Services to provide the User with a better experience on the Site and Applications. These Cookies do not require the prior information and consent of the User to be placed on the User’s terminal.

Specifically, these navigation Cookies allow:

  • • Adapting the presentation of the Site and Applications to the display preferences of the terminal (language used, display resolution, operating system used, etc.) when Users visit the Site and Applications, depending on the hardware and viewing or reading software that the terminal uses.
  • • Storing information about the form that the User has filled out on the Site and Applications or information that the User has chosen on the Site or Application. • Providing the User with access to their account or any other reserved space using their credentials.
  • • Implementing security measures, such as when the User is asked to log in again to access content or a Service after a certain elapsed time.
– Audience Measurement Cookies:

Audience measurement Cookies help establish statistics and volumes of attendance and usage of various elements on the Site and Applications (sections and content visited, user paths). This allows the Publisher to improve the interest and ergonomics of the Services.

– Advertising Cookies:

Advertising Cookies determine in real-time which ads to display based on the User’s recent browsing on the Site and Applications to limit the number of times the User has seen an ad and to help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

Audience Measurement Cookies:

The Publisher offers Users the possibility of sharing editorial content and any other type of content published on the Site via social networking sites. Social media Cookies are managed by the publisher of the social media site. Users are invited to review the Cookie management policy of social media sites in question.

2) HOW CAN USERS MANAGE COOKIES?

Firstly, Users are informed that the Publisher’s partners and other third parties may place Cookies on the Site. Only the issuer of a Cookie may read or modify information contained in it, and the Publisher has no access or control over the Cookies that third parties may use. The issuance and use of Cookies by third parties are subject to the privacy policies of these third parties, in addition to the provisions of this Charter. Therefore, Users are encouraged to visit the websites of these third parties for more information on the Cookies they store and how Users can manage them.

– Consent to Cookies

Users are presumed to have given their consent by:

  • • Clicking on the “X” icon or the “I Understand” button displayed on the information banner visible during their first visit to the Site.
  • • Continuing their navigation, i.e., when the User clicks on an element of the Site (image, link, “search” button, etc.) or goes to another page of the Site.

If the User accepts the storage of Cookies in their terminal through their browser software, the Cookies integrated into the pages and content they have viewed can be temporarily stored in a dedicated space on their terminal. They will only be readable by their issuer.

The consent given by the User is valid for a period of thirteen (13) months from the first deposit in the User’s terminal equipment, following the User’s expression of consent.

– Refusal of Cookies

If the User refuses to store Cookies in their terminal or browser, or if they delete those already stored, the User is informed that their browsing and experience on the Site or Application may be limited. This could also be the case when the Publisher or one of its service providers cannot recognize, for technical compatibility purposes, the type of browser used by the terminal, language and display settings, or the country from which the terminal appears to be connected to the Internet.

In such cases, the Publisher declines all responsibility for the consequences related to the degraded operation of the Services resulting from (i) the User’s refusal of Cookies or (ii) the Publisher’s inability to store or access the Cookies necessary for their operation due to the User’s choice.

3.4 USE OF YOUR NAVIGATION INFORMATION

We collect your Navigation Information for the following purposes:

  • • To gauge your interest in our promotions, special offers, and specific sections of our Site.
  • • To generate statistical data concerning the performance of our Site, the use of its content, and its traffic.
  • • To enhance communication between our server and your browser.
  • To improve your browsing experience by offering you, for example, your choice of language and other settings that are specific to you and that you won’t have to enter repeatedly.
3.5 MODIFICATION OF THE POLICY

This Privacy Policy has been effective since January 2023. We reserve the right to make modifications to this Privacy Policy at any time, and these changes will take effect upon their posting.

We aggregate and analyze the data we collect to learn more about how Germina.ca is used. Among other things, we may use this information to monitor and analyze the usage of Germina.ca, improve its functionality, and better tailor its content and design to meet the needs of our visitors.

3.6 CUSTOMER SERVICE

For any questions, comments, or requests related to this Privacy Policy and the practices we have implemented regarding the protection of Personal Information, you can contact GERMINA at the following contact details:

Contact:
GERMINA
9250, Avenue du Parc, #201
Montréal (Québec) H2N 1Z2
438 809-5197

OFFICE OF THE PRIVACY COMMISSIONER OF CANADA

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada may also address some of your questions, and you can contact this organization for information. Toll-free phone: 1-800-282-1376. https://www.priv.gc.ca