Privacy Policy

Effective date: November 10, 2026

This policy describes how The Charger ("we", "us", "our") handles personal information when you visit thecanadiancharger.com (the "Site"), contact us, or interact with us as a reader, contributor or advertiser.

We comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and its ten fair information principles. As we are based in British Columbia, we also comply with BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) where applicable. For readers in Quebec, we comply with the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, as amended by Law 25. Our email practices comply with Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

1. Who is responsible

The Charger is accountable for the personal information it controls. We have appointed a privacy officer responsible for ensuring our compliance with this policy and Canadian privacy law.

Privacy officer: [email protected] Mail: Privacy Officer, The Charger, 12530 90 Ave, Surrey, BC V3V 1B8, Canada

2. What we collect

We collect only the information we need. Since the Site has no reader accounts, comment system or paywall, most visitors provide no personal information.

Information collected automatically. When you visit a page, our hosting and content delivery providers log technical details that all web servers receive: your IP address, browser type, device type, the page requested, the referring page, and the date and time. These logs help deliver the Site, maintain its security, and resolve faults.

Information you give us. When you email us, we receive your name, email address, and any details you choose to provide, such as a story tip, correction request, or advertising enquiry. Contributors and advertisers also provide business contact details and, when payment is involved, the billing information required to complete the transaction.

Newsletter. If we offer a newsletter and you sign up, we collect your email address and a record of your consent.

Cookies. See section 7.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive information from readers, including health, financial, or biometric data.

3. Why we use it

We use personal information to:

• provide the Site and maintain its security, including by detecting abuse and attacks;
• respond to your messages, review story tips, and process correction requests;
• manage our relationships with independent journalists, contributors, and advertisers, including contracts and invoicing;
• send newsletters you asked for;
• understand, in aggregate, which pages readers visit so we can improve our coverage; and
• meet our legal obligations.

We state the purpose at or before collecting the information. Before using it for a new purpose, we will seek your consent again unless the law permits or requires otherwise.

4. Consent

We rely on your consent, which may be express or implied based on the information's sensitivity and your reasonable expectations. By emailing us, you imply consent to our use of your contact details to respond. We obtain express consent before sending you commercial electronic messages and before placing any cookie that is not strictly necessary.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits, by writing to [email protected]. We will explain what withdrawing consent means for you, such as no longer being able to send you the newsletter.

5. Sharing and service providers

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information.

We share personal information only with service providers that help us operate the Site and our business, including web hosting, content delivery and security, email, and accounting services. We share only what they need to provide their service. They are contractually required to protect the information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

We may also disclose personal information when the law requires or permits it, such as in response to a valid court order or to protect someone’s safety.

Sources and confidential tips. We carefully protect the identities of confidential sources and disclose them only if compelled by a court, after taking all reasonable legal steps to protect them.

6. Storage outside Canada

Some service providers store or process information outside Canada, including in the European Union and the United States. In those cases, the information is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessed by its courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. We use contracts and other measures to provide a level of protection comparable to what is required in Canada. For Quebec residents, we assess the privacy impact of a transfer outside Quebec before it occurs, as required by Law 25.

7. Cookies and similar technology

The Site uses as few cookies as possible.

• Strictly necessary: our content delivery and security provider may set a short-lived cookie to distinguish people from automated attacks. It contains no information that identifies you by name and cannot be turned off without compromising the Site's protection.
• Analytics: if we measure readership, we do so in aggregate. Analytics or advertising cookies are off by default and are set only after you agree. You can change your choice at any time.

You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings.

When advertising appears on the Site, we place it or it is placed by partners identified in the advertisement. We do not permit advertising partners to create profiles of readers on the Site without consent.

8. Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as needed for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law:

• server and security logs: usually no more than 90 days;
• reader correspondence: for up to two years after the matter is closed;
• contributor and advertiser records, including invoices: seven years to meet tax requirements;
• newsletter records: until you unsubscribe, along with the proof of consent CASL requires us to retain.

Once information is no longer needed, we securely destroy it or make it anonymous.

9. Security

We safeguard personal information according to its sensitivity, using encrypted connections (HTTPS) across the Site, restricting access to those who need it, requiring strong authentication on our systems and imposing contractual obligations on our service providers. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Breaches. If a breach of security safeguards involving personal information poses a real risk of significant harm, we will notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the affected individuals and, where required, the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia. We keep a record of every breach, as required by law.

10. Your rights

You have the right to:

• ask whether we hold personal information about you and obtain a copy of it;
• ask us to fix information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• withdraw your consent, as set out in section 4;
• for Quebec residents, where the law allows, ask us to stop disseminating your information or de-index a link to it, and request the computerised information you provided in a structured, commonly used format; and
• raise a complaint about how we handle your information.

Send your requests to [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We will reply within 30 days, or let you know within that period if we need more time and explain why. Access is free; if a request would result in a significant cost, we will notify you beforehand.

Journalism. Personal information collected, used or disclosed for journalistic purposes is largely exempt from PIPEDA and BC PIPA. Requests that concern our reporting are handled under our Editorial Standards and Corrections policy.

11. Children

The Site publishes general news and is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect their personal information. For readers in Quebec, we do not collect personal information from anyone under 14 without a parent or guardian's consent. If you think a child has sent us personal information, contact [email protected], and we will delete it.

12. Complaints

If you are unhappy with our response, please contact our privacy officer first. You may also complain to:

• the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, priv.gc.ca;
• the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia, oipc.bc.ca; or
• for Quebec residents, the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec, cai.gouv.qc.ca.

13. Changes to this policy

We may revise this policy. The effective date at the top indicates when it was last updated. If a change affects how we use information you have already provided, we will notify you and, where necessary, seek your consent.