Important Notices

Privacy Notice

The Government of Canada and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board are committed to providing websites that respect the privacy of visitors. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy practices for the Veterans Review and Appeal Board's online activities.

All personal information collected by this institution is governed by the Privacy Act. This means that you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

Your Privacy and the Internet

The nature of the Internet is such that Web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. Web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers the IP address to be personal information, particularly when combined with other data automatically collected when a visitor requests a Web page such as the page or pages visited, date and time of the visit.

Unless otherwise noted, the Veterans Review and Appeal Board does not automatically gather any specific information from you, such as your name, telephone number or email address. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board would obtain this type of information only if you supply it to us, for example, by email or by filling in a contact form. In such cases, how your personal information is handled will be provided in a Personal Information Collection Statement.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the Government of Canada, such as social media platforms or mobile applications, IP addresses may be recorded by the Web server of the third-party service provider.

Communicating with the Government of Canada

If you choose to send the Veterans Review and Appeal Board an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by the Veterans Review and Appeal Board in order to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than to those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with the Government of Canada are not secure unless it is specifically stated on a Web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914).

Third-Party Social Media

The Veterans Review and Appeal Board's use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the Web. Social media account(s) are public and are not hosted on Government of Canada servers. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board uses Twitter.

Personal information that you provide to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board Act. This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, "likes", retweets) between you and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities. Comments that violate our rules of engagement will also be deleted. The personal information is included in Personal Information Bank Outreach Activities (PSU 938).

Improving your Experience on Government of Canada Websites

Digital Markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitors' browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for the Web server to reference during the same or subsequent visit to the website. Examples of digital markers are "cookies" or HTML5 web storage. Some examples of what digital markers do are as follows:

• they allow a website to recognize a previous visit each time the visitor accesses the site;
• they track what information is viewed on a site which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for.

The Veterans Review and Appeal Board uses sessional digital markers on some portions of its website. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board's Web server. The digital markers used do not allow the Veterans Review and Appeal Board to identify individuals.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies, if you so choose. However, it may affect your ability to interact with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board's website.

Protecting the Security of Government of Canada Websites

The Veterans Review and Appeal Board employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the IP address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

This information is collected pursuant to section 161 of the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank Security Incidents (PSU 939).

Inquiring about these Practices

Any questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding the administration of the Privacy Act and privacy policies regarding the Veterans Review and Appeal Board's Web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by email to atip-aiprp@vrab-tacra.gc.ca or by calling 1-800-450-8006 or writing to

Veterans Review and Appeal Board
c/o VRAB ATIP Coordinator
P.O. Box 9900
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
C1A 8V7

If you are not satisfied with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board's response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by telephone at 1-800-282-1376.

Interacting with Us on Social Media

This notice has been written to explain how the Veterans Review and Appeal Board interacts with the public on social media platforms.

Content and Frequency

We use our social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing the content posted on our website and interacting with our stakeholders. By following our social media accounts (by "following," "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about the programs and services we provide.

We understand that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and responded to as soon as possible.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to Other Websites and Ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Following, "Favouriting" and Subscribing

Our decision to "follow," "favourite" or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

Comments and Interaction

We will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We cannot engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of this notice.

We reserve the right to edit or remove comments that:

• Contain personal information;
• Are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
• Express racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting or life-threatening messages;
• Put forward serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations;
• Are aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene or pornographic;
• Are offensive, rude or abusive to an individual or an organization;
• Are not sent by the author or are put forward for advertising purposes;
• Encourage illegal activity;
• Contain announcements from labour or political organizations;
• Are written in a language other than English or French;
• Are unintelligible or irrelevant;
• Are repetitive or spam; and
• Do not, in our opinion, add to the normal flow of the discussion.

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views of users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board or the Government of Canada.

Accessibility of Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by Government of Canada standards for Web accessibility.

If you have difficulty accessing content on our social media accounts, please contact us and we will try to solve the problem or provide you with the information in a different format.

Copyright

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada websites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers.

For more information, please refer to our Privacy Notice regarding third-party social media.

Official Languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your preferences. The Government of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information is available in both French and English and that both versions are of equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of general public interest, we may respond in both official languages.

We may share links that direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Act and available only in the language(s) in which they are written. When content is available in only one language, we make an effort to provide similar content in the other official language.

Questions and Media Requests

Reporters are asked to contact us at info@vrab-tacra.gc.ca or 1-800-450-8006.

Hyperlinking Notice

Links to Web sites not under the control of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. The Veterans Review and Appeal Board does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Official Languages

The Veterans Review and Appeal Board respects the Official Languages Act (Opens a New Window) and is committed to ensuring all information and services on this site is available in both English and French. However, users should be aware that some information from external sources that are not subject to the Official Languages Act is only provided as a convenience and is available only in the language in which it was provided.

Copyright/Permission to Reproduce

Materials on this Web site were produced and/or compiled by the Veterans Review and Appeal Board for the purpose of providing Canadians with direct access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada.

The material on this site is covered by the provisions of the Copyright Act, (Opens a New Window) by Canadian laws, policies, regulations and international agreements. Such provisions serve to identify the information source and, in specific instances, to prohibit reproduction of materials without written permission.

Non-commercial Reproduction

Information on this site has been posted with the intent that it be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use and may be reproduced, in part or in whole and by any means, without charge or further permission from the Veterans Review and Appeal Board. We ask only that:

• Users exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
• The Veterans Review and Appeal Board be identified as the source department; and,
• The reproduction is not represented as an official version of the materials reproduced, nor as having been made, in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board.

Commercial Reproduction

Reproduction of multiple copies of materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Government of Canada's copyright administrator, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Through the permission granting process, PWGSC) helps ensure individuals/organizations wishing to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes have access to the most accurate, up-to-date versions. To obtain permission to reproduce materials on this site for commercial purposes please contact:

Crown Copyright Officer
Crown Copyright and Licensing Section
Publishing and Depository Services
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Publishing and Depository Services
Constitution Square Building
350 Albert Street, 5th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0S5

or

Copyright.Droitauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca

Third-Party Material

Some of the materials and graphical elements found on Government of Canada Web sites are subject to copyrights held by other organizations. This is particularly true of sites that are jointly operated by a Government of Canada institution and an external organization as part of a collaborative arrangement. In such cases, some restrictions on the reproduction of materials or graphical elements may apply and it may be necessary to seek permission from the rights holder prior to reproducing the material.

To obtain information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions on reproduction on this site, please contact the Veterans Review and Appeal Board.