Privacy Policy

Bang the Table Pty Ltd (Bang the Table) hosts this site on behalf of the City of Owen Sound.

Bang the Table and the City of Owen Sound, take our privacy obligations seriously and we’ve created this privacy policy to explain how we treat your personal information collected on this website. Personal information is the information we hold which is identifiable as being about you.

Our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information is regulated by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, as amended from time to time. You can find more information about your privacy rights at the web site of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC).

The software platform this website runs on and associated technology operations are provided by Bang the Table Pty Ltd. Click this link for the Privacy Policy governing their service.

What personal information we collect:

Profile Information

We collect information from you when you register to use this site. This includes your email address and additional demographic information as provided by you on the registration form.

Please note that you are able to browse any publicly accessible sections of this website completely anonymously without signing up.

User-Generated Information 

We collect information that you put on the site after you have signed up including but not limited to:

  • Comments in forums
  • Votes on other comments in forums
  • Responses to surveys and quick polls

User-Behaviour Information

We collect information about your behaviour on the site including but not limited to:

  • Documents downloaded from the library
  • Videos viewed
  • Pages viewed

Note that you can browse the site completely anonymously without signing up.

Why do we collect this information:

To Collect and Collate your Feedback to Inform Better Policy

The principle reason for collecting this information is to help inform the creation of better policy. The information is therefore provided to the City of Owen Sound for analysis and interpretation at their discretion.

To Send you Periodic Emails

The email address you provide for registering on the site may be used by either Bang the Table or the City of Owen Sound to send you information and updates pertaining to the issues discussed on this site or any other site that we feel may be of interest to you.

Note: If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include a simple unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email.

To Protect the Integrity of the Discussion

By monitoring the information you provide we are able to protect the integrity of the discussion from individuals and groups who may attempt to unduly influence the outcomes of the consultation process.

To improve the Website and Software

The principle use of this information by Bang the Table is to help us to improve this website and the software that underpins it. We are continually striving to improve the experience of our participants based on your feedback.

Who has access to this information:

When you register for a user account you provide three types of information:

  • Publicly available information
  • Information available to both the City of Owen Sound and Bang the Table
  • Information available to Bang the Table only

Publicly Available Information

Publicly available information is limited to your screen name and any comments you leave under that name in the forums or other tools on the site.

Individual survey responses, voting patterns and quick poll responses will not immediately be made available publicly on the site, however, feedback (including overall results of polls and surveys, and in some instances, unidentifiable and randomly chosen quotes or comments from surveys) may be published in publicly available reports at the end of the consultation period.

Please also keep in mind, however, that under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act submissions uploaded to this site can be made available for public viewing by the City of Owen Sound at its own volition or at the request of a member of the public.

Information available to both the City of Owen Sound and Bang the Table

  • All information from the Registration form
  • Comments
  • Survey, Quick Poll, and comment voting responses
  • General site activity such as document downloads

Information Available to Bang the Table only

Information which is available only to Bang the Table is restricted to your IP address for site security purposes.

Does Bang the Table disclose any information to third parties other than the City of Owen Sound?

Bang the Table does not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our or others rights, property or safety.

However, we may from time to time notify you about other sites we are managing when we feel they may of direct relevance and interest to you. Please note that you can easily unsubscribe from these notifications at any time.

External links

This website may contain links to other websites. Those links are provided for convenience and may not remain current or be maintained. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked websites and we suggest you review the privacy policies of those websites before using them.

Security

While no online service is completely secure, we work very hard to protect information about you against unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction and take all reasonable measures to do so.

Your Consent

By using our website, you consent to this Privacy Policy, by opting in during the registration process.

Who do I contact for more information?

Subject to applicable local laws and regulations, you may have some or all of the following rights with respect to your personal data:

  • to access your personal data and to rectify any inaccuracies within that personal data;
  • to request for the erasure of your personal data residing with us;
  • to request your personal data in portable, machine-readable format; and
  • to withdraw your consent to our processing of their personal data.

If you wish to contact us with a request relating to the personal information we hold about you, please contact us using the contact details set out below including your name and contact details. We may need to verify your identity before providing you with your personal information. 

In some cases, we may be unable to provide you with access to all your personal information and where this occurs, we will explain why. We will deal with all requests for access to personal information within a reasonable timeframe.

Contact Us

For further information about our privacy policy and related information practices, or to access or correct your personal information, or make a complaint, please contact us on communications@owensound.ca for privacy requests.

Notice of Collection

Personal information, as defined by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), including (but not limited to) your name, contact information, and comments, is collected and will be used in accordance with MFIPPA and all other relevant privacy laws. All information received will be compiled and considered by staff for use under the purposes of this site. All comments made on this site are available to the public and may form part of public records.