Privacy Policy
1. About This Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how the Wolfville Business Directory (the “Directory”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when you visit DowntownWolfville.ca (the “Site”) or when your business is listed in the Directory. It applies to visitors who browse or search the Directory and to businesses whose information appears in it.
2. Who We Are
The Directory is a public, searchable listing of Wolfville, Nova Scotia businesses, operated by iSteve.ca (“we”, “us”). You can reach us about privacy matters at privacy@downtownwolfville.ca.
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Business listing information.
For each business listed, the Directory publishes: business name; category (one or more); street address; telephone number; website address; email address (where one has been provided); social media links (where provided); a map link; and a short description. This information comes from publicly available sources (such as business websites and public listings) and from the businesses themselves. Listings are business contact information about an organization; they are not intended to include personal information about private individuals. If a listing does identify an individual — for example, the operator of a home-based business — that person may contact us to correct or remove it (see Section 9).
3.2 Information collected automatically.
When you use the Site, our web server records standard technical information in access logs, including your IP address, browser type, the pages and search queries you request, and the date and time of each request. We use these logs only to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the Site. We do not use them to profile you or to build advertising profiles.
3.3 Cookies and similar technologies.
The Site sets only strictly necessary cookies: a session cookie used to protect forms against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and to support secure administrative sign-in. Sessions are server-side and expire when you close your session or after a period of inactivity. We do not set cookies for advertising, profiling, or analytics, and we do not permit third-party advertising, analytics, or social media providers to collect information through the Site. All Site assets — stylesheets, scripts, fonts, and icons — are served directly from the Site itself.
4. How We Use Information
We use the information described above only to:
- display, search, filter, and paginate business listings;
- maintain, verify, and update the accuracy of listings;
- secure the Site, including log review, rate limiting, and abuse detection;
- respond to questions, update requests, and removal requests; and
- comply with applicable law and enforce our terms.
We do not sell, rent, or trade information. We do not use collected information for behavioural advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making.
5. Legal Basis and Applicable Law
We operate in Nova Scotia, Canada, and handle information in accordance with applicable Canadian privacy law, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and, where applicable, Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPOP) and Personal Health Information Act (PHIPA). Business contact information published in the Directory is collected and used for contact purposes related to the business, consistent with PIPEDA’s provisions respecting business contact information.
6. Sharing and Disclosure
We do not share business listing information or visitor information with advertising networks, data brokers, or analytics providers. We may disclose information only:
- to service providers that host or operate the Site on our behalf, under contractual confidentiality and security obligations;
- to professional advisers, where reasonably required;
- where required by law, legal process, or an order of a court or tribunal; or
- where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of the operator, Site users, or the public.
7. Storage and Retention
Listing data is stored in a database on the Site’s hosting infrastructure, and technical logs and session data are stored alongside it, on servers located in Beauharnois, Quebec, Canada. We retain business listings for as long as a business remains part of the Directory, or until a removal request is granted. Technical access logs are retained for no more than 30 days. Session data is retained only until it expires. When information is no longer needed for the purposes described in this policy, we delete it or anonymize it.
8. Security
We protect the Site and the information in it using administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including: encrypted connections; CSRF protections on forms; administrative access restricted by password-based authentication, with administrative credentials stored only as salted hashes; least-privilege access to servers and the database; and backups. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Your Choices and Rights
Businesses. A listed business may review its listing at any time and may request corrections, updates, or removal of its listing by contacting privacy@downtownwolfville.ca. We may take reasonable steps to verify a request before acting on it. There is no charge for a correction or removal.
Visitors. Where Canadian privacy law gives you rights of access, correction, or deletion of personal information, you may exercise them by contacting us. You may also withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, and you may lodge a complaint with us or with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. We respond to requests within 30 days or within any shorter period required by applicable law.
10. Children’s Privacy
The Site is a general-audience directory and is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Links to Other Websites
Listings link to third-party websites (for example, business and social media sites). Those sites are operated by others and are governed by their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices; please review their policies before providing them with information.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version is always posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. If we make a material change to how we handle information, we will take reasonable steps to notify you, such as by posting a notice on the Site.