Personal information and privacy rules
The Government of Nova Scotia respects citizens’ rights to privacy. Your personal information is kept secure through training, administrative, physical and technical safeguards, as well as the implementation of privacy best practices in the workplace.
The Government of Nova Scotia collects only the personal information that’s necessary to provide you with the government services you’re looking for. The government respects people’s rights to privacy and follows very specific rules when collecting, using or disclosing people’s personal information.
Personal information
Personal information is any information that the Government of Nova Scotia records about you. It can include:
- your name, address, telephone number, email address and IP address
- your race, ethnic origin, religious beliefs and marital status
- a number or symbol the government assigns to you, like a case number
- your health, educational, financial or employment history
- someone’s opinion about you, like an employment or housing reference
Security
The Government of Nova Scotia keeps your personal information safe and secure by:
- training staff to keep your personal information private and confidential
- providing access to your personal information to only those staff members who need the information to do their jobs
- protecting information with passwords and putting several levels of security in place based on the roles and responsibilities of staff
- using physical security procedures in our offices
Privacy breaches and complaints
The Government of Nova Scotia addresses privacy breaches and complaints by:
- having comprehensive protocols that provide guidance and consistency in the event of a breach or complaint
- having a centralized privacy office to coordinate breach and complaint response
- notifying citizens if their information has been breached and providing help to protect their information from further breaches
- investigating breaches and complaints and improving on any issues discovered