This privacy policy explains how Canada Scope, operated by Northern Beacon Media Inc., handles your personal information when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, or interact with us. It outlines your rights under Canada’s federal privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and helps you make informed choices about your data. Use the sections below to find the answers you need.
What personal information does Canada Scope collect?
We collect only the personal information you voluntarily provide, such as your name and email address when you subscribe to our newsletter or contact us. We also automatically collect limited technical data like your IP address and browser type through cookies and similar technologies.
When you sign up for our newsletter at /about-us/newsletter/, we store your email address and, if you provide it, your name so we can personalise the emails. Contact form submissions (via /about-us/contact/) may include your name, email, and message, which we use only to respond. Our website uses cookies to analyse traffic and improve performance – for full details see our Cookie Policy. We do not intentionally collect sensitive information such as health or financial data.
Why do we collect your information and what is our legal basis?
We collect your information to deliver our journalism, send you requested newsletters, respond to your inquiries, and improve our website. Under PIPEDA, our lawful bases include your consent (for newsletters and cookies) and our legitimate interests in operating a news publication.
Specifically, we use your email to send you the Canada Scope newsletter if you subscribe, and we use analytics data (with your consent where required) to understand which stories resonate with readers. Responding to your messages helps us maintain accurate editorial standards, as described in our Editorial Policy. Your consent is obtained at the time of collection – for example, by checking a box on our sign‑up form – and you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the availability of our free content.
How long do we keep your data?
We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. For example, newsletter subscriber data is kept until you unsubscribe; cookie data is retained for up to 12 months.
If you unsubscribe from our newsletter we immediately remove your email from our active list. Backup copies may persist for a short period (usually 30 days) before deletion. We may retain certain data longer if we are legally required to do so – for instance, records related to a complaint or legal proceeding. When retention is no longer justified, we securely delete or anonymise the information.
Do we share or sell your personal information?
We never sell your personal information. We may share it with trusted service providers who help us operate our website and send emails, but only under strict contractual obligations to protect your data.
Our email delivery platform and website hosting provider are contractually bound to use your data only for the services we request. We do not share personal information with advertisers, third‑party marketers, or data brokers. In rare cases we may disclose information if required by law or to defend legal claims – for example, to comply with a court order. You can read more about our commitments in our Terms of Use.
What rights do you have over your data?
Under PIPEDA, you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, request corrections, and withdraw your consent at any time. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
To access your data, send an email to privacy@canadascope.org with “Access Request” in the subject line. We will provide a summary of the personal information we hold and explain how it has been used. If you believe something is inaccurate, you can ask us to correct it. Withdrawing consent – such as unsubscribing from the newsletter – means we will stop using your data for that purpose, though we may retain minimal records for legal reasons. Our Sources & Standards page explains how we apply similar rigour to reader privacy.
Who is the data controller?
Northern Beacon Media Inc., an Ontario corporation, is the data controller responsible for your personal information under PIPEDA. Our registered office is Unit 12, 95 King Street East, Toronto, ON M5C 1G4, Canada.
The company operates Canada Scope and is accountable for its data practices. The Editor‑in‑Chief, Catherine Roy, oversees editorial standards and can be reached at catherine.roy@canadascope.org, but privacy matters are handled by our dedicated privacy team. As the controller, we ensure that our processing complies with PIPEDA and that your rights are respected.
How can you exercise your rights or contact us?
To exercise your privacy rights or ask questions about this policy, email our privacy team at privacy@canadascope.org. You may also file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Please contact us first – we will work to resolve any concern promptly. If you are not satisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at https://www.priv.gc.ca/. For general inquiries, you can also use info@canadascope.org, but for privacy‑specific matters we recommend privacy@canadascope.org for fastest handling.
How this works in practice
Suppose you sign up for our daily newsletter with your email address. We store that email only for sending the newsletter and tracking open rates. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email, which immediately removes your data from our active lists. If you later ask us to delete all records, we will do so within 30 days, except for a minimal backup retention period.
In another example, if you send a tip via our Tip Us page and include identifying information, we will use that only to evaluate the tip and will not add it to any marketing list. You may later request that we delete the correspondence. These steps show how your consent is respected at every stage.
In short
Canada Scope takes your privacy seriously. We collect only what you give us, never sell your data, and respect your right to access, correct, or remove your information. If you have any concerns, reach out to privacy@canadascope.org.