Privacy policy

The Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) invites you to read about its privacy policy in order to know the rules that it applies with regard to the protection of personal information and private life.

Responsibilities of the user

In order for you to browse safely, the RBQ advises you to use the most recent version of a browser in compliance with the safety requirements (SSL protocol with a 128 bits encryption).

Delete browsing history and cookies

When you visit a website, your browser stores information such as website localization and downloaded files.

That is why deleting your browser history and cookies is important, since it:

• prevents using old versions of forms and programs
• allows you to see the updated information of the RBQ’s website
• protects your personal information.

Learn how to delete your browser history and cookies in:

• Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari for Mac
• Safari for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
• Microsoft Edge.

Information collected for statistics purposes

From the moment a visitor accesses its website, the RBQ automatically collects the following information:

• The user’s Internet domain name : a domain name is the part of an Internet name which identifies specifically the website of a given organization or body. (For instance, rbq.gouv.qc.ca is the domain name of the RBQ’s website.)
• The user’s IP address : this IP or Internet Protocol address (for instance: 123.456.789.90) identifies precisely the PC station which is connected to the Internet and enables its localization.
• The type of browser (Explorer, Firefox, etc.) and operating system (Windows, Mac OS) used.
• The date and time of the visit.
• The pages browsed through.
• The address of the referrer, when the visitor accesses the RBQ’s website from another site.

This information enables the RBQ’s servers to transmit to the visitor a file which is compatible with his/her computer equipment. The intent of the collecting of this information is not at all to identify the visitor.

This information is kept and used by the RBQ for statistical purposes, to determine:

• the number of visitors on its site
• the pages most often visited
• the technology used by the visitors
• the referrers
• the country of origin of the Internet users.

Use of cookie files or “cookies”

The RBQ does not place any persistent cookie files, or cookies, inside the files of the browsers of their visitors.

To improve the performance of certain functionalities of the website (schedule of the activities, search engine), a session cookie can be placed in the browser’s files. This temporary cookie is automatically deleted when the visitor leaves the site.

The visitor can at any time disable the acceptance of the cookie files by selecting the appropriate option in his/her browser. This deactivation could however deprive him/her of certain functionalities of the site, such as modifying the size of the characters, or render the browsing more difficult within the search engine.

Collecting personal information

The Régie du bâtiment applies the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information. Consequently, no personal information concerning the visitor is collected without his/her consent.

Under the paragraphs 64 and 65 of this law, if the RBQ collects personal information about a person, it must ensure of the necessity of doing so, identify itself and in return supply to the site visitor the following information:

• the name and address of the public body on whose behalf the information is being collected;
• the purposes for which the information is collected
• the categories of persons who will have access to the information
• the fact that a reply is obligatory, or that it is optional
• the consequences for the person concerned or, as the case may be, for the third person, in case of a refusal to reply
• the rights of access and correction provided by law.

The RBQ is committed, as per Section 65.1 of the Act:

• to use the personal information transmitted through a form or a questionnaire, from its own site only, to give reply to a visitor’s query, or to follow-up on it
• to transmit to another public body the personal information collected only if the query is addressed at this specific body, or if this referral is required by law
• to not use the information transmitted for the purpose of building the visitors’ profiles
• to not communicate any of this information to a private body.

Only the RBQ’s authorized personnel has access to the personal information transmitted, within the performance of its duties and for the specific tasks it must carry out.

Transmission of personal information by e-mail

The RBQ processes electronic messages with the same cautions regarding privacy than with any ordinary mail.

The transmission of information by e-mail is however not an entirely secured process. This is why the RBQ recommends not disclosing by e-mail certain personal information, such as social insurance numbers or credit card numbers. Likewise, the RBQ does not give answer by e-mail to questions requiring the transmission of data of a confidential nature.

Transmission of personal information by online payment

During an online payment, the RBQ stores the following information securely in its database:

• payment authorization number
• payment reference number
• transaction number
• transaction type
• card type
• encrypted credit card number
• transaction date and time.

This is the same information the customer receives in the transaction confirmation email.

Links to external sites

The RBQ’s website proposes hypertext links to governmental sites or to public or private bodies, whether in the province of Québec or elsewhere. The information exchanged on these sites is subject not to the privacy policy of the RBQ’s website but instead to that of the external website linked to, when applicable.

Rights of the website visitors regarding personal information

The RBQ is committed to respecting the rights of the visitors of its site regarding the protection of personal information, namely:

• The respect of the private nature of such information
• The access to this information
• The correction of this information, if it proves to be either incomplete or inaccurate
• The deletion of this information, if its collection, communication or conservation is not permitted by law.

To gain access to your own personal information, or to correct it, you must forward a written request, either by ordinary mail or by Fax, to the attention of the person in charge of the access to the documents and of the protection of personal information:

Mrs Caroline Hardy
Régie du bâtiment du Québec
255, boulevard Crémazie Est, 11^e étage
Montréal (Québec) H2M 1L5

Fax: 514 864-9303
acces_information@rbq.gouv.qc.ca

Application of the privacy policy

If you believe that the RBQ or a member of its personnel has not respected this policy, you may file a complaint regarding this by writing to the address indicated above.