Québec 511 > Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Québec 511 is an information service of the ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable (hereinafter, “the Ministère”). This service makes it possible for road users to find all the information needed to plan their trips and travel safely on the Québec road network. The information provided by Québec 511 deals with various topics, including roadwork, driving conditions, travel warnings, services available in rest areas, ferry services and wait times at border crossings.

The privacy policy applies to the telephone service, website, mobile website, mobile app for smartphones (iOS and Android), and the Québec 511 Twitter accounts (hereinafter, “the platforms”) offered to the public.

Scope of the policy

The policy abides by the requirements of the Act respecting Access to documents held by public bodies and the Protection of personal information and any other applicable law.

It explains the type of information collected by the Ministère, the reasons for the collection, and the manner in which you can update, manage or delete your information. Your use of the platforms is subject to the rules governing copyright and to this policy, and indicates that you agree with them.

External links

Québec 511 platforms propose links to other governmental and non-governmental sites. You can access third party websites, including social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or other similar sites, from links available on the platforms. Your use of third-party sites will be governed by the privacy policies of those sites, not this policy. Hence, the Ministère invites you to carefully review the privacy policies of the websites you visit. The links proposed to facilitate your search do not incur the Ministère’s liability or mean that the Ministère approves the content of the sites to which it refers.

Information transmitted automatically

You must realize that, when you access the Ministère’s platforms, information is exchanged automatically and without your intervention between your device and the Ministère’s server. Most of the data transmitted between computers do not make it possible to identify you. The data are collected due to technological requirements. The information exchanged includes:

  1. The Internet domain name (e.g. “xcompagnie.com”, if you use a private Internet access account, or “university.edu”, if you access the Internet through a university), and the IP address (an IP address is a number automatically assigned to your device by your Internet service provider every time you browse the Web) with which you access one of the platforms.
  2. The type of browser and operating system used to access the platform.
  3. The date and time you access the platform.
  4. The pages you visit.
  5. The address of the referring site, if you access the platform from another site.

This exchange of information is necessary for the server to send you a file that is compatible with the computer equipment you are using. The Ministère keeps the information needed to record the number of visitors, the most frequently visited pages, the technology used by visitors, the referring sites and the visitors’ countries of origin. The information can then be used, for example, to personalize your experience and improve the platforms.

Use of cookies

A cookie is a piece of information transmitted by the server to the browser when a user visits a website, which can be recovered by the server during subsequent visits. Cookies are used to facilitate your browsing experience, not to collect personal information. You can set your browser at any time to block cookies. However, doing so may prevent you from using certain functions offered on the platforms.

If you use a device in a public place or share a device with other users, make sure you delete all traces of your browsing stored in the history before closing each session.

Information transmitted with your authorization

In the case of the mobile app, the following information is exchanged with your authorization:

  1. When using the app for the first time, a window enables you to authorize or refuse the sending of notifications. Subsequently, you may at any time activate or deactivate the sending of notifications using the settings of the app or your device.
  2. After configuring your notifications in accordance with the desired themes, regions, roads and reception period, a unique ID token is transmitted to the Ministère to constitute a notification profile that will enable the sending of notifications. The profile includes the following information: the operating system and its version, as well as the desired language, themes, regions, roads and reception period. These parameters can be modified at any time using the settings of the app.
  3. The app recovers your location data to open the interactive map in the zone where you are located and, thus, allow you to quickly access the information related to your position. When using the app for the first time, a window enables you to authorize or refuse access to your location data; that authorization may be modified at any time using the settings of your device. The app may be consulted even if the location has been deactivated. The interactive map then opens on the zone you last consulted.

Information disclosed to third parties

The Ministère employs the services of third parties to design the platforms and understand how users use them. The Ministère requires that service providers ensure that your personal information remains confidential. Providers are not authorized to use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those provided for in the licence agreement.

A licence enables the Ministère to use mapping services (e.g. Google Maps, TomTom) in its design of the interactive map. When you authorize your location data to be shared, the data are transmitted to those third parties for the purpose of opening the interactive map at your location. The Ministère also works with Web Analyzer NX, AT Internet’s statistical data collection tool, making it possible to keep a record of usage statistics for the platforms from markers (HTML and JavaScript tags) added in Web application pages. Information about your browsing on the Québec 511 site is kept in servers located in Europe. AT Internet does not transfer data to the United States and ensures that data is kept exclusively in Europe. It undertakes to comply with the following conditions:

  • The cookie installed must be used only for the production of anonymous statistics.
  • The cookie must not make it possible to follow the user’s browsing on other sites.
  • The IP address making it possible to geolocate the user must not be more precise than the city level. Concretely, the last two octets of the IP address must be deleted.
  • The cookies making it possible to track users and IP addresses must not be kept for more than 13 months following the first visit.

The Web Analyzer NX tool makes it possible to collect the following information:

  • The type of browser used.
  • The number of pages viewed.
  • The exact browsing path used by a visitor on the site.
  • The time spent on a page or the entire site.
  • The IP address (processed so as to make personal identification impossible).

The following information is not collected during visits:

  • Personal and nominative information, such as the names of users.
  • Users’ contact information, such as telephone numbers or email addresses.

Rules of confidentiality for emails

Electronic correspondence is subject to the same rules of confidentiality as regular mail.

Never provide your personal contact information, in particular your social insurance number, in an email. The Ministère does not answer by email questions requiring the transmission of personal and confidential information. Instead, the Ministère’s personnel will try to reach you by phone to respond to your message or follow up on your request.

If you choose to transmit personal information to the Ministère by email or by means of a form on Québec 511 platforms, only the information required to respond to the message and to follow up on it is used.

For any question or comment about the services provided, feel free to contact the Ministère by email at quebec511@quebec511.info.

Access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information

The Ministère protects the personal information it obtains from the public, departments and public bodies.

The Ministère collects only the information necessary for the operation of its platforms and the correspondence following a request for information, a report, a comment or a complaint. The form available on its platforms is secure, and only authorized members of its personnel and authorized third parties can access it. The Ministère may release certain personal information to another government body or a third party under strict conditions provided for by law.