The HPC Network is a secure, shared on-line environment and is designed to meet Canada's two federal privacy laws, the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Please see the Guide for Individuals and this site: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/ind/index_e.asp to help you understand the PIPEDA.
Membership is obtained by application through the "Join" link and approved by the HPC Network site administrator. If you want to join a particular member organization, approval will need to be obtained from a representative of that group and then communicated by email to the HPC Network System Administrator. In some cases you may be signed up as a member at the request of your member organization. Once membership is approved, an email is sent as notification of acceptance as a registered member.
Only registered members can post feedback and comments and make full use of the communication tools available within the HPC Network site. Anonymous users can view the public areas, blogs and discussion forums but are not allowed to post feedback or comments.
Registered members are expected to complete the profile information. The only profile setting that is required is your private email address. This is the email address that is used when you subscribe to the forums or when a forgotten username/password is emailed. The private email address is never shared or displayed publicly. If you wish to share an email address publicly, use the public email address field.
Although the remainder of the profile settings are optional, the HPC Network does hope that additional profile information will be completed with actual names and professional information. This helps the HPC Network community members get to know each other. It also helps the HPC Network community leverage the broad range and variety of expertise each member brings to the site.
If you are a member of a government organization or group, you will also be expected to follow the privacy policies and expectations set by your respective group or department. Please review the Nova Scotia Government Website Privacy Policy Statement and the Government Records Act Electronic Mail Policy.
We encourage all member organizations to develop their own specific HPC Network Usage and Admin Policies and monitor their members' activites with respect to these policies. See the HPC Network Usage and Admin Policies Template.
Although there are both public and private areas within the network, the system administrator has access and membership rights to all private areas within the network for monitoring purposes (even those that are made "private" by member groups). The HPC Network System Administrator reserves the right to ban any members whose conduct is inappropriate. This includes inappropriate language, personal attacks or bullying. The HPC Network System Administrator will also monitor and gather statistics on site usage.
The HPC Network provides private and public workplaces for individuals and organizations involved in the field of health promotion. As such, we are not prepared to answer general health related inquiries (e.g. What is SARS? Should I get a flu shot?). Please contact your family doctor or public health professionals. These types of questions will be referred elsewhere.
The HPC Network is designed to meet as many accessibility standards as possible but is not 100% accessible.
Resources:
Protecting Your Privacy on the Internet
Privacy Legislation in Canada