Privacy Policy

1.Person responsible for the protection of personal information

The website certilingua.ca is operated by ELLIPSE MONDE INC., doing business as Certilingua. In accordance with Quebec's Law 25, we have designated a person responsible for the protection of personal information, whom you may contact with any question, access request, or complaint:

Benjamin THOMAS, Person Responsible for the Protection of Personal Information
ELLIPSE MONDE INC. (Certilingua)
1084 rue de l’Église Montréal, Quebec, H4G 2N5
Email: privacy@certilingua.ca

2.Information we collect

We collect only the information needed to provide our services:

1. Identification and contact information: first and last name, email address, phone number, and mailing address. The address is used to calculate applicable taxes and, where relevant, for mail delivery.
2. Documents to be translated and their content: the documents you send us (for example birth certificates, diplomas, transcripts, marriage certificates, permits, criminal records, medical records). These documents may contain sensitive information.
3. Order information: type of translation and certification, language pair, selected options, and order-related correspondence.
4. Payment information: payment is processed by our provider Stripe. We neither receive nor store any card number. We receive only a transaction identifier and a payment status.
5. Browsing information: IP address, device and browser type, and pages visited, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see section 9).
6. Communications: emails and messages exchanged with our customer service team.

3.Purposes of collection

We use your information only for the following purposes:

1. to prepare a quote and perform the translation ordered;
2. to communicate with you (confirmation, requests for clarification, delivery, follow-up);
3. to collect payment and issue receipts and invoices;
4. to meet our legal, accounting, and tax obligations;
5. to keep the Site secure, prevent fraud, and improve our services.

We never sell your personal information. We never use the content of your documents for any purpose other than preparing the quote or translation.

4.Consent

By submitting a document and placing an order or quote request, you consent to our processing your information for the purposes described above. Where a document contains sensitive information, sending it to us constitutes your explicit consent to process it solely for the purpose of the translation or quote requested.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by writing to us. Withdrawal may, however, prevent us from providing the service requested.

5.Sharing with third parties

We share your information only with the people and organizations that need it to fulfill your order or operate the Site:

1. Certified translators who are members of a Canadian professional association, when your order requires a translation by a certified translator. They receive the documents needed for the translation and are bound by confidentiality.
2. A notary, only when you order notarization of the translator's affidavit.
3. Stripe, our payment provider, for secure payment processing.
4. Our hosting and cloud providers, for storing and running the Site.
5. Canada Post or another carrier, when you choose mail delivery.
6. Competent authorities, where the law requires it.

We require these third parties to protect your information and to use it only for the purposes for which we entrust it to them. None of them is permitted to use your information for advertising purposes or to sell it.

6.Disclosure outside Quebec and outside Canada

Some of our providers (notably Stripe) or translators may be located outside Quebec, or even outside Canada. Before disclosing personal information outside Quebec, we carry out the assessment required by Law 25, which considers the sensitivity of the information, the purposes, the protection measures in place, and the legal framework applicable in the destination. We govern these disclosures through appropriate contractual commitments.

7.Retention and destruction

We keep your documents only as long as necessary:

1. source documents and translations are destroyed 30 days after delivery;
2. documents submitted for a quote that did not result in an order are destroyed 30 days after the quote is issued.

Billing information (name, date, amount, type of service) is kept for the period required by applicable tax and accounting laws, without the content of your documents.

8.Security

We put reasonable technical and organizational measures in place to protect your information: encrypted transmission, access controls, a limited number of authorized people, and confidentiality commitments with our collaborators and translators. As no system is infallible, we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we handle your information with the utmost care.

9.Cookies and tracking technologies

The Site uses cookies and similar technologies:

1. strictly necessary cookies, essential to the operation of the Site and the order process;
2. functional cookies, which remember your preferences;
3. audience measurement cookies, which help us understand how the Site is used, on an aggregate basis.

Functions that may identify you or build a profile are turned off by default, in accordance with Law 25. You can set your browser to refuse or delete cookies; refusing strictly necessary cookies may affect how the Site works.

10.Your rights

Subject to the conditions provided by law, you have the right to:

1. access the personal information we hold about you;
2. have corrected any information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or ambiguous;
3. withdraw your consent to the processing of your information;
4. receive the computerized information you provided to us in a structured, commonly used technological format, or have it communicated to a third party (portability);
5. request de-indexation or the cessation of dissemination of information in the cases provided by law;
6. be informed when we make a decision based exclusively on automated processing (see section 11).

To exercise these rights, write to the person responsible identified in section 1. We respond within a maximum of 30 days. Exercising these rights is free, except where the law allows reasonable fees.

11.Automated decisions

We make no decision producing a legal effect concerning you that is based exclusively on automated processing of your personal information. The price of an order is calculated from the characteristics of the document (word count, languages, options), not from a profile built about you.

12.Information about minors

Our services are intended for people who are at least 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect information from minors. A document to be translated may contain information about a minor (for example a birth certificate submitted by a parent); such information is then processed solely for the purpose of the translation.

13.Confidentiality incident

In the event of an incident involving your personal information, we take reasonable measures to reduce its effects and prevent it from recurring, and we keep a register of incidents. Where an incident presents a risk of serious injury, we notify the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec and the individuals concerned, in accordance with the law.

14.Changes

We may amend this policy at any time. The date of the most recent update appears at the top of the document. In the event of a material change, we take reasonable steps to inform you.

15.Questions and complaints

For any question, or to exercise your rights, write to our person responsible for the protection of personal information at [privacy@certilingua.ca].

If you believe your rights have not been respected, you may file a complaint with the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec. If you reside outside Quebec, you may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.