Terms and Conditions of Access to and Use of the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online Service

Access to the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online Service (the "Service") and information contained on it, is only permitted for the purpose of valid historical and genealogical research. Further use and disclosure of any information gained from the Service is also only permitted for the purpose of valid historical and genealogical research. By accessing the Service you also acknowledge and accept the uses and disclosure of your personal information as described in the Service's Privacy Statement.

Carefully read all of these Terms and Conditions of Access to and Use of the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online Service ("Terms and Conditions") and the Privacy Statement which follows before proceeding. Clicking the "I agree" button below is the equivalent of your signature and indicates your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions and that you intend to be legally bound by them. It also indicates your acceptance of the use and disclosure of your personal information as described in the Service's Privacy Statement.

If you do not agree with any of the Terms and Conditions, you cannot access information or initiate electronic transactions using the Service.

1. Definitions

• "Fees" means the payment(s), if any, for a specific electronic transaction request described during each applicable transaction process, payable by you at the time of transaction using a credit card or similar means as may be offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage ("Department")
• "Province" means Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of Nova Scotia, as represented by the Department.
• "Service" means the content, information and electronic transactions contained on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site or accessible as options within the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site, and includes any electronic or paper copies of documents obtained or purchased by you through the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site.

2. Limited Right to Use

• You agree that you will use the Service and any content, information or documents you obtain from the Service only for the purpose of valid historical or genealogical research.
• You agree that you will not use the Service or any content, information or documents you obtain from the Service for any other purpose.
• The use of the Service and viewing, downloading or purchasing of any content, information or document grants you only a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence for use solely by you for your own personal use for the purpose of valid historical and genealogical research, and not for republication, distribution, assignment, sublicense, sale, preparation of derivative works or other use. No part of the Service or any content, form or document may be reproduced in any form or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, other than for your personal use (but not for resale or redistribution) for the purpose of valid historical and genealogical research.
• Bulk downloads of the content, information or documents contained on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site are prohibited.
• The rights granted to you by the Province for the use of the Service do not include the right to use the name, logo, or trademarks of the Province.

3. Ownership and Copyright

• The Service and all content, information and documents, including without limitation, designs, graphics, data, databases, web pages, text, files, logos, and trademarks and other matters related to the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site and the Service are owned or licensed by the Province and are protected under applicable copyright, trade-mark and other intellectual property laws. The copying, redistribution, use or publication by you of any such content, information or documents or any part of the Service, except as allowed by the Terms and Conditions, is strictly prohibited. You do not acquire ownership rights or copyright in the Service, or in any content, information or documents obtained through the Service.

4. Fees and Payment

• As required to complete a service transaction, you will agree to pay the applicable fee as instructed in the payment description screens which are presented to you for verification and authorization.
• All Fees shall be payable to the Province, at the time of transaction, by means of a credit card, or other means as may be described within the Service. You agree to provide all credit card or similar payment information which the Province may require to verify payment for requests submitted using the Service. The payment will appear under the name of "NS Archives" on your credit card statement.
• Personal information collected during the course of any credit card transaction conducted through the Service may be stored, accessed from or disclosed outside Canada. Clicking the "I agree" button at the end of the Terms and Conditions is the equivalent of your signature and indicates your consent to your personal information being stored, accessed from or disclosed outside Canada.
• Transaction Refunds
• A refund of the Fees collected from you for a transaction will be provided if the Province determines that one of the following events has occurred:
  (a) incorrect linkage and/or matching of database entry to source image file; or (b) electronic malfunction of the transaction service.
• You agree that the following procedure shall apply to a refund of the Fees collected from you:
• All Fees collected will be credited back to the original credit card account used for the payment.
• The credit card refund will be processed within three (3) working days of the refund being authorized.
• The reversal will appear under the name of "NS Archives" on your credit card statement.

5. Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

• The Service is provided on an 'as is' basis, without any warranties or representations, express, statutory or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, merchantable quality or fitness for a particular purpose of the Service or any content, information or documents obtained by you as a result of your use of the Service. The entire risk as to the results of the use of the Service and any content, information or documents you obtain from the Service shall reside solely with you.
• Without limiting the foregoing, the Province does not warrant that the Service shall function without failure, error or interruption.
• In no event shall the Province be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages howsoever caused (including but not limited to damages for loss of business or loss of profits), even if the Province has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claim.
• In no event will the Province be liable for damages or losses resulting from viruses, data corruption, failed messages, transmission errors or problems; telecommunications service providers; the internet backbone; personal injury; damages or losses caused by you or your respective employees, agents or subcontractors; loss of use or lack of availability of facilities including computer resources, routers and stored data; the use or inability to use the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics web site or the Services; or events beyond the reasonable control of the Province, even if the Province has been advised of the possibility of such damages or claim.
• In no case will the Province's cumulative total liability arising under any cause whatsoever (including without limitation breach of contract, tort, negligence, gross negligence or otherwise) be for more than the Fees, if any, paid to the Province by you.

6. Indemnification

• You agree at all times to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Province and its employees against all actions, proceedings, costs, claims, damages, demands, liabilities and expenses whatsoever (including legal and other fees and disbursements) sustained, incurred or paid by the Province directly or indirectly related to your violation of these Terms and Conditions or your use of the Services or any content, information or documents you obtain from the Service, including without limitation infringement claims.

7. Amendment

• The Province reserves the right, in its discretion, to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by posting amendments on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site. You are responsible for periodically reviewing the amendments on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site and you are deemed to be aware of such amendments. If you do not agree to the amended Terms and Conditions, you shall immediately stop using the Service. Access to the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site or use of the Service after any amendments have been posted shall constitute your acknowledgement and acceptance of the amended Terms and Conditions.

8. Governing Law

• These Terms and Conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Nova Scotia. In the event of a dispute, you agree to submit to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Province of Nova Scotia.

9. General Provisions

• These Terms and Conditions, as they may be amended from time to time, and any and all other policies on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site, including the Privacy Statement, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Province with respect to your use of the Service.
• No provision of these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed waived and no breach excused unless such waiver or consent has been executed by the Province in writing.
• If any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall be found to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, these Terms and Conditions shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and such provision shall be deemed removed from the Terms and Conditions.

Privacy Statement

1. What is this Privacy Statement?

The Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage ("Department") has created this statement to inform you of the standards and provisions designed into the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online Service ("Service") to protect your personal information and ensure a safe Internet experience.

This statement reflects the same principles and obligations that are contained in the provisions of the Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (click here for further details) and the Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act (click here for further details). This statement supports and conforms to the Nova Scotia Government Website Privacy Policy. In addition, it outlines the guidelines the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site follows to collect personal information and how that information is used to transact the electronic business you do with Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online.

2. What is Considered Personal Information?

• Personal information is defined in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• 3 (1)(i) "personal information" means recorded information about an identifiable individual including
  (i) the individual's name, address or telephone number,
  (ii) the individual's race, national or ethnic origin, colour, or religious or political beliefs or associations,
  (iii) the individual's age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or family status,
  (iv) an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual,
  (v) the individual's fingerprints, blood type or inheritable characteristics,
  (vi) information about the individual's health-care history, including a physical or mental disability,
  (vii) information about the individual's educational, financial, criminal or employment history,
  (viii) anyone else's opinions about the individual,
  (ix) the individual's personal views or opinions, except if they are about someone else.
  
• For the purposes of this Privacy Statement and the Service, Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online may collect personal information such as your name, postal address, e-mail address and credit card information.
• For the purposes of this Privacy Statement and the Service, Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online does collect general information such as Internet Protocol address and domain name, web browser version, or statistical information regarding which areas of the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site you visit, and they are deemed to be explicitly provided by you in accessing the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site.

3. How is Your Personal Information Collected, Used, and Disclosed?

The Department follows these guidelines regarding the collection and use of personal information within the Service:

• Any personal information collected during the course of accessing or using this Service is used only for the purposes of completing the intended transaction and in a manner consistent with this statement, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and the Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act.
• Information collected by the Service is not retained once the purpose(s) of the transaction has been completed and verified.
• Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online does not disclose your personal information to third parties except as required to fulfill the purpose(s) of the transaction or as permitted by law.
• Personal information collected during the course of any credit card transaction conducted through the Service may be stored, accessed from or disclosed outside Canada. Clicking the "I accept" button at the end of the Terms and Conditions is the equivalent of your signature and indicates your consent to your personal information being stored, accessed from or disclosed outside Canada.

Should any situation arise which would cause the use of personal information which would be inconsistent with the above guidelines, your prior consent for such use will be required.

4. What Statistical Information Is Collected?

So that the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site may improve the content of the Service and to understand how people are using it, the following information about your use of the Service is automatically collected and stored by Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online's Web server:

• Your Internet Protocol address and domain name (not e-mail address);
• The type of browser and operating system you use;
• The date and time of your visit to this Site;
• The Web pages or services accessed at this Site; and
• The Web site referring you to this Site.

The above information is used solely for gathering summary statistics and for maintaining the security of the Site. Information stored in Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online's logs about your visit helps Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online to analyze its site and Service and to continually improve the value of the materials available. The information will not be used to personally identify you, except as authorized by law, to maintain the security of the site, or with your further consent in writing.

5. About Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online's Business Partners

Some functions within the Service are provided by service providers external to the Department. All external service providers must meet the applicable security, privacy and terms of use provisions required for the Department, and also be in compliance with applicable laws.

The Department uses the services of Atlantic Canada Online (ACOL), a service created by the four Atlantic Canada provinces and Unisys Canada Inc. to provide electronic access to government information and services.

6. How Secure is the Online Service ?

The Department has taken steps to safeguard your personal information, as well as the integrity of its telecommunications and computing infrastructure. These steps include various forms of authentication, monitoring, auditing, and encryption.

Specific security measures have been integrated into the design, implementation and operating practices of the entire electronic operating environment for the Service. For example, to ensure the security and integrity of information contained within electronic transactions accessed from the Service, Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online employs standard web-browser certificate and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology which permits the secure encryption of information sent on the Internet.

Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online uses the "Cookies" feature to allow proper navigation of the various screens and functions throughout the Service. Although these Cookies are stored on the computer you are using, no personal information which would identify you is included in the information stored as part of the Cookie. If you choose not to enable (or to disable) the Cookies function within your browser, you will not be able to use the service. Depending on choices you have made in setting up your browser the Cookies may be deleted when you leave the site.

Government Web servers automatically collect some information about a visitor's computer or other access device, such as its Internet protocol address or browser version, in their logs. This information is used in aggregate form for statistical purposes only.

7. What is Done With Survey Requests and Information?

During the process of conducting business using the Service, you may be offered the opportunity to provide feedback to Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online regarding the quality and features of Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online's service offerings. Any information you may provide during survey activities is maintained for the sole purpose of improving service quality and offerings. Survey information is collected, stored and analysed in aggregate form only. Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online does not disclose any personal information provided by you in the course of an electronic survey to third parties except as required to complete survey analysis or as permitted by law.

8. Statement Changes

The Province reserves the right, in its discretion, to amend this Privacy Statement at any time by posting amendments on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics web site. You are responsible for periodically reviewing the amendments on the Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics Online web site and you are deemed to be aware of such amendments. When using the Service, the privacy and security of your personal information will be bound by the terms and conditions of this Privacy Statement and applicable legislation in effect at the time of your transaction.

9. Contact for Further Information

For more information regarding this Privacy Statement or to comment on its content, please contact:

	Director, Public Services
	Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management
	6016 University Avenue
	Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1W4
	e-mail: nsarm@gov.ns.ca