Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

When you visit the City of Burlington website you do so anonymously and are not required to tell us who you are. The City may request personal information from you in order to provide requested specialized services, but such information is handled as it would be on an in-person visit. When personal information is requested it is our commitment to provide notice outlining:

• The legal authority to collect your personal information
• The purpose for collecting the personal information
• How the information will be used
• Who to contact if you have any questions about these practices

Access is limited to only those employees who need access in order to perform their assigned duties. Employees are regularly instructed in their responsibilities in protecting personal information and privacy.

All information voluntarily sent to the City website, by email, feedback form or other means, becomes the property of the City of Burlington.

The City of Burlington does not sell, nor distribute this information to any outside company or organization. The City does not reveal specific information about users or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by law. This privacy statement is limited to the City of Burlington Web site.

The City assumes no responsibility for the Web sites that are linked to, hosted by or otherwise electronically connected to the City's Web site or Web server. The City of Burlington may change this policy at any time at its sole discretion.

In this policy, the City of Burlington refers to The Corporation of the City of Burlington and its departments and authorized service providers that support the operation of City digital services.

This Cookies Policy explains how the City of Burlington (the City, we, or us) uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and store information when you visit our website. This may include information from residents, businesses, visitors, job applicants, service users, and others who interact with City digital services (referred to as you or your in this policy).

A cookie is a small data file that is placed on, or collected from, your computer or other device. Cookies are used for several purposes, such as recognizing you when you return to a website using the same device and browser, either for the duration of your visit (a session cookie) or for repeat visits (a persistent cookie). Other similar technologies work in a comparable way, and in this Cookies Policy, the term cookie is used to refer to all such technologies that collect information in this manner.

The City of Burlington website, located at burlington.ca, and other City-managed digital services may use cookies to collect information. Some cookies are strictly necessary to enable the core functionality of the website, including features related to security, accessibility, and performance. The City website may use first-party and third-party cookies, including necessary cookies, preference cookies, and analytics and performance cookies. These are used to collect information for the purposes described in this policy and to improve the overall user experience.

All City employees and authorized service providers who have access to information collected through cookies are required to respect the confidentiality of that information and handle it in accordance with applicable privacy legislation and City policies.

The City of Burlington is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding personal information. This Cookies Policy should be read alongside the City’s Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect, use, disclose, and manage personal information in accordance with applicable MFIPPA legislation. In this policy, personal information refers to any information that identifies you as an individual.

Web browsers typically accept cookies automatically. You can choose to disable or decline cookies through your browser settings. Please refer to your browser’s help options for instructions. You can change your cookie preferences at any time. Please note that if you decline cookies, some interactive features or online services that rely on cookies may not function as intended. For more general information about cookies and how to manage them, you can visit allaboutcookies.org.

Log files

City systems that support website operations may generate log files to record access information. A log file is automatically produced and time stamped documentation of events relevant to a particular system.

When you browse the City’s website, our servers automatically collect limited amounts of standard information for traffic monitoring and statistical purposes. This information does not identify visitors personally and is used only to administer the site, monitor system performance, and identify usage trends that help us improve the website.

Our web logs may store information such as the domain name and IP address from which the City’s website was accessed, the type of browser and operating system used, the date and time the site was accessed, the pages visited, and the region of the world from which the site was accessed. Administrators may also review overall visitor volumes, the number of requests for each page, and general usage patterns. In some cases, logs may include limited technical information entered into the website.

This information is used to support system administration, security monitoring, performance management, and ongoing service improvement.

Local storage technologies

Local storage technologies, such as HTML5 local storage, may be used to store information on your device that can persist between browser sessions. On the City website, this may be used to support technical functions, such as helping deliver regionally relevant information or maintaining certain user preferences. Many web browsers allow you to disable local storage or delete stored information through browser settings.

Data analytics and related technologies

The City website uses log files and data analytics tools, which may include services such as Google Analytics, to better understand how the website is used.

We may conduct statistical analysis of website usage patterns. This can include automatically logging IP addresses (the electronic addresses of devices connected to the Internet) to analyze trends, administer the site, monitor system performance, and gather general demographic or geographic information. This helps us improve website content, usability, and the effectiveness of online services.

Information collected for analytics purposes is generally aggregated and used to support service improvement. It is not used to identify individual users.

Strictly necessary cookies

Strictly necessary cookies are essential for the website to function properly. Without these cookies, certain core features, such as security functions or accessibility tools, may not work. These cookies do not track your browsing habits across other websites.

Experience and preference cookies

The City may use cookies to support website functionality and improve user experience, such as remembering user preferences or settings. These cookies help make the website easier to use and may store a unique identifier associated with your browser.

Targeting and advertising cookies

As a municipal organization, the City of Burlington does not use cookies to deliver commercial advertising. In some cases, cookies may be used to support the promotion of City programs, services, or public information campaigns through digital platforms. These technologies may collect information about your device and browsing activity in order to measure the effectiveness of communications or ensure information is delivered in a relevant way.

The city's website has links to other external websites for your information and convenience. The City of Burlington is not responsible for the privacy practices of websites linked to from our site.

The City of Burlington endeavors to make its information accessible to the public. Some records, however, contain information that is either privileged or of a personal nature. The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act compels the municipality to review such documents prior to their disclosure. Request to access such records requires a formal written Freedom of Information request.

BY ACCESSING THIS SITE, YOU SIGNIFY ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS.

1. Grant of license

• 1.1 In consideration of and subject to these Terms, the entity providing this Website (including its affiliates, vendors, subcontractors, and sub-processors) (together the “Site Owner”) grants to You a nonexclusive, nontransferable, revocable license to use and access this Website, including any upgrades and new version releases that may be available from time to time (the “Website”) for the purposes intended by the Site Owner.
• 1.2 You understand that some of the features may be temporarily or permanently discontinued, changed, upgraded, improved, or limited, without prior notification to You and without liability to the Site Owner.
• 1.3 If you are participating in a trial of any feature, product, or service, including but not limited to AI chatbot functionality, such access is granted for a limited period (the “Trial Period”) solely for evaluation purposes which can expire at anytime without notice. Usage data and feedback may be collected and shared during the Trial Period to evaluate product performance, support feature improvements, and inform pricing models.

2. Acceptable Use Policy

• 2.1 You are responsible for keeping your user ID, password, and account information private and confidential. The obligation of confidentiality shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
• 2.2 You shall not input or provide content that could be subject to government regulation, content that may require enhanced security measures, or personal data into the Website, without obtaining prior written consent or direction from the Site Owner.
• 2.3 You authorize the Site Owner to store, process and use Your contact information and account data for business dealings with You.
• 2.4 The Website is to be used solely for the legitimate purposes intended by the Site Owner.
• 2.5 You shall not copy, reproduce, translate, adapt, vary, modify, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer the Website, nor assign, license, sublicense, sell, rent, loan or otherwise provide the Website in whole or in part or in any form or variation to any person.
• 2.6 You acknowledge that all intellectual property rights in the Website are the property of the Site Owner or its vendors and nothing in this Agreement implies the transfer of any such rights to You.
• 2.7 You may not, through its own operations, circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account, cause disturbances, outages or other problems which may affect the Site Owner’s network or network-based equipment, or which may adversely affect the Site Owner's ability to provide the Website.
• 2.8 The Site Owner reserves the right to, at its sole determination and without notice, remove any material or data and to block the use of the network for one or more users when their use or purpose does not meet these Terms.
• 2.9 You may not use the Website to access any computer systems, software, data or any confidential, copyright protected or patent protected material of any other person without the knowledge and consent of such person, make unauthorized attempts to gain access to any account or computer resource not belonging to You (i.e., engage in "spoofing") or otherwise gain unauthorized access to, alter or destroy any information of another person by any means or device.
• 2.10 You may not use the Website to upload, post, publish, deface, modify, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way, information, software, or other material which is confidential, protected by copyright or other intellectual, property or proprietary right, or related derivative works, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or right holder.
• 2.11 You agree not to input any confidential, proprietary, regulated, or sensitive personal information into any AI-powered features or tools available through the Website. You shall not rely solely on AI-generated outputs for decision-making in legal, financial, or operational matters without human verification or oversight. You acknowledge that responses are generated using probabilistic models and may be incomplete or inaccurate

3. Term

• 3.1 This License shall, at the option of the Site Owner, terminate immediately and without notice in the event You fail to comply with any of the Terms. Any such termination shall be in addition to and without prejudice to such rights and remedies as may be available to either party, including injunction and other equitable remedies. Upon receipt by You of notice of termination from the Site Owner, End User shall immediately cease accessing or using the Website.

4. Warranty, Disclaimer, Limitation of liability, Indemnity

• 4.1 EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET OUT HEREIN, ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE SITE OWNER DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE WILL MEET ALL OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS OR THAT IT WILL OPERATE IN ALL COMBINATIONS WHICH MAY BE SELECTED FOR USE BY YOU OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE ERROR FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED OR THAT ALL SOFTWARE DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED OR THAT ANY DATA OR DOCUMENT IS COMPLETE OR WHOLLY ACCURATE, OR THAT ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE WILL FUNCTION WITHOUT FAILURE OR INTERRUPTION.
• 4.2 The SITE OWNER HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND COLLATERAL CONTRACTS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED BY STATUTE, AT COMMON LAW, BY COURSE OF CONDUCT OR USAGE IN THE TRADE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES REGARDING ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR USE OR PERFORMANCE.
• 4.3 The Site Owner shall not be responsible and disclaim any and all liability to You or any other person for consequential or other indirect damages and implied warranties, including the implied warranties of non-infringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or for any loss or damage whatsoever or howsoever caused or arising in connection with the Website, or its use, including but not limited to any loss or damage arising as a result of the adequacy, performance or nonperformance of any product or service, or in respect of equipment or property, or for loss of profit, business, revenue, goodwill or anticipated savings, lost or damaged data, the availability of data, stoppage of work or impairment of any property, the usage or inability to use the Website, or for any other commercial or economic losses of any kind.
• 4.4 You shall indemnify and save harmless the Site Owner from and against all claims, cause of action, demand, liability, damages, or costs howsoever arising from Your misuse of the Website or regarding the infringement of any patent or other proprietary right or otherwise due Your actions or inactions.
• 4.5 The Site Owner shall have no liability for any damages, whatsoever relating to the third-party tools, products, or any goods or services not developed or provided by the Site Owner.
• 4.6 Artificial Intelligence (AI) features may be used to assist with providing general information or suggested responses based on publicly available content or previously supplied data. These responses are generated automatically and are provided “as is.” Site Owner makes no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy, reliability, or applicability of AI-generated responses. You understand and agree that: (i) AI responses may not reflect the views, policies, or guidance of the Site Owner; (ii) critical or sensitive information should be verified independently; (iii) Site Owner shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance on AI responses; and (iv) AI features should not be used as a substitute for professional or expert advice. By using AI functionality, You expressly accept these terms and bear all associated risks.

5. Service Providers & Other Web Sites

• 5.1 To provide and process the services you request, the Site Owner may share your PII (Personally Identifiable Information) with service providers that perform certain services or functions on our behalf. The Site Owner may also use technology partners, such as AI service providers to deliver certain services and features, subject to the same confidentiality and data protection commitments.
• 5.2 The Website that may link you to other Website that do not operate under the Site Owner’s information privacy practices. If you visit these third-party Websites, the Site Owner’s information privacy practices no longer apply. We recommend that you examine the terms and conditions for all third-party Websites.

6. General

• 6.1 Force Majeure. The parties shall not be liable for delays in delivery or performance due to causes beyond their reasonable control.
• 6.2 Assignment. This Agreement is personal to You and shall not be assigned by You without the prior written consent of Site Owner. Any attempt by You to assign any rights, duties or obligations which arise under this Agreement shall be void in the absence of such written consent. This Agreement shall ensure to the benefit of and be binding on the parties’ successors and permitted assigns.
• 6.3 Waiver. Failure or neglect by either party to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed or deemed a waiver of that party’s rights hereunder, nor in any way affect the validity of the whole or any part of this Agreement, nor prejudice that party’s rights to take subsequent action.

Text-based information

We offer information in two formats - HTML and Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF documents are accessible by using Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe Web Site.

Map-based information

We offer our map based information in several formats. Non-interactive maps through image files and PDF documents. Our interactive mapping service Navigate Burlington is based upon our main geographical information system (GIS) database. This is the City of Burlington's platform for exploring and downloading open data, discovering apps and stories.

We are continually incorporating into our Web site the Universal Accessibility concept - serve our large audience by following guidelines set out by the AODA - The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and the World Wide Web Consortium.

Presently, the information provided through www.burlington.ca, is in two possible versions: Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) or Portable Document File (PDF). Currently, HTML is accessible via screen readers while some PDF documents are not.

If you require PDF communications in an alternative format you can request accessible formats and communication supports using our Accessible Document Request Form.

The City of Burlington Web site audience includes those users with disabilities. If you have a suggestion on ways to improve the accessibility of the City's Web site, please email the Web Editor.

This accessibility statement is limited to the Web site of the City. The City assumes no responsibility for Web sites that are linked to, hosted by or otherwise electronically connected to the City's Web site or Web servers.

To learn more about accessibility and the City of Burlington visit our accessibility page.