HelpShapeBC Terms of Use

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) set out the terms and conditions that apply to you when you use the engagement portal at https://HelpShapeBC.ca.engagementhq.com (the “Site”).  The Site is offered by Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia, represented by the Minister of Citizens’ Services (the “Province”) for the purpose of consultation on the topics presented on the Site, and is hosted on behalf of the Province by Granicus Holdings Canada ULC (Granicus)  These Terms are a legal agreement between you, the user of the Site (“You”, “you”, “Your” or “your”, as applicable), and the Province and Granicus.  By accessing, using and/or registering on the Site, you are deemed to have read and to have agreed unconditionally to these Terms.

  

1.        USE OF SITE

The Site allows you to engage and communicate with the Province and other users of the Site on topics presented on the Site, including by contributing your ideas, opinions and other information (collectively, “Your Content”) to the Site.   

 

You are required to register for an account on the Site before providing Your Content to the Site.  You must not register more than once.  To register, you must be, and you represent and warrant that you are, at least 19 years old.  You will:  (a) ensure that all information you provide during registration is accurate, current and complete; and  (b) maintain and regularly update all such information to ensure that it remains accurate, current and complete.  The Province, or Granicus  on its behalf, may suspend or terminate your account should you at any time provide any information that is inaccurate, not current or incomplete.  

 

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account name and for all activities that occur under your password and account name, regardless of who performed such activities.  You must immediately notify the Province if you are aware of or suspect any unauthorized use of your password and/or account name.   

  

2.        PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your registration information, including [insert information collected during registration – e.g., name, email address, etc.]  and your ideas and opinions as set out in Your Content (collectively, your “Personal Information”) are collected by the Province, or by Granicus on its behalf, under the authority of sections 26 (c) and (e) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (British Columbia), for the purposes of providing you with an account to use the Site, obtaining your feedback and facilitating discussion with the Province and other users of the Site on the topics presented on the Site.  If you have any questions about the collection of your Personal Information, please contact:  Senior Privacy Advisor at the Privacy, Compliance and Training Branch in the Ministry of Citizens’ Services, PO Box 9406 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria BC, V8W9V1, telephone (250) 356-1851. Privacy.Helpline@gov.bc.ca.

 

Your ideas and opinions will be used, publicly accessed and disclosed worldwide on the Site for the purposes set out in this section 2.  You hereby consent to the use, disclosure of, and provision of access to, your Personal Information, inside and outside of Canada, for these purposes.  Your consent will be effective from the date that you are deemed to accept these Terms until the date that you withdraw your consent in writing to the contact listed above in this section 2.

 

3.        OWNERSHIP OF CONTENT AND OPERATION OF SITE

All content on the Site, including information, data, sound files, photographs, graphics, images, videos, articles and other materials (collectively, “Content”) is owned by the Province or its licensors, except for Your Content and Content provided by other users of the Site.  You acknowledge that Granicus  is not responsible for any Content, including its accuracy, completeness or legality, and that Granicus disclaims all representations or warranties in connection with the Content.

 

The Site is operated by Granicus , and you acknowledge that:  (a) Granicus  is solely responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Site; and (b) the Province disclaims all representations and warranties in connection with the operation and maintenance of the Site.  

  

4.        YOUR CONTENT

You retain ownership of Your Content.  You represent and warrant that:  (a) Your Content is your original work or you have obtained from the rightful owner all necessary rights and permissions to provide Your Content to the Site and to grant the Province the license described in this section 4; and (b) Your Content does not and will not infringe upon the intellectual property or other rights of any other individual or entity.   

 

You are solely responsible for ensuring that:   (a) Your Content is lawful and appropriate for posting to the Site; and (b) it complies with the Moderation Policy posted on the Site.  Without limiting the general nature of the remainder of this section 4, you will ensure that Your Content does not:

 

  1. infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary right of any third party;
  2. contain any personal information about or otherwise violate the privacy or other rights of any third party;
  3. violate any applicable law;
  4. include content that advertises or offers to sell or buy any goods or services on the Site or that includes junk mail, spam, chain letters, surveys, contests or any other form of solicitation;
  5. transmit software viruses, trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or any other computer code, files or programs designed to or that may interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any software, hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  6. include or transmit information that harms or could harm minors in any way;
  7. impersonate any individual or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with an individual or entity;
  8. include information that would mislead others as to your identity or the origin of any of Your Content; or
  9. interfere with, disrupt, or take any other action that could compromise the integrity and security of the Site or the Content.

 

You hereby grant to the Province:  (a) a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, publish and distribute Your Content for the purpose of including Your Content on the Site (the “Purpose”); and (b) the right to sub-license all such rights to Granicus for the Purpose.  You further agree to waive in favour of the Province and Granicus any moral rights that you may have in Your Content.

 

You acknowledge and agree that:  (a) Your Content may be reviewed by the Province or Granicus before it is posted to the Site; and (b) the Province and Granicus have no obligation to post Your Content to the Site, and may not post or may remove Your Content if it is unlawful, inappropriate or otherwise contrary to these Terms or if your account has been suspended or terminated pursuant to section 9.

 

5.        LINKED CONTENT

The Site may contain links to websites and/or materials (collectively, “Linked Content”) that are not owned or controlled by the Province or Granicus and that may be subject to terms of use and/or privacy policies of third parties.  The inclusion of Linked Content on the Site does not imply any association with, or endorsement of, the Linked Content by the Province or Granicus .  Neither the Province nor Granicus is responsible for the Linked Content or for the terms of use and/or privacy policies to which the Linked Content may be subject.  

 

6.        DISCLAIMER

You acknowledge and agree that:  (a)  the Site and the Content are provided to you “as is” and your use of the Site, the Content and any Linked Content is entirely at your own risk; and (b) to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Province and Granicus disclaim all representations, warranties, conditions, obligations and liabilities of any kind, whether express or implied, in relation to the Content and the Site, respectively, including without limitation implied warranties with respect to merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.  

 

7.        NO LIABILITY

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, under no circumstances will the Province or Granicus be liable to you or to any other individual or entity for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential or other loss, claim, injury or damage, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable (including claims for damages for loss of profits or business opportunities, use or misuse of, or inability to use, the Site or any Content, interruptions, deletion or corruption of files, loss of programs or information, errors, defects or delays) arising out of or in any way connected with your or any other individual’s or entity’s use of the Site or any Content and whether based on contract, tort, strict liability or any other legal theory.  The previous sentence will apply even if the Province or Granicus has been specifically advised of the possibility of any such loss, claim, injury or damage.

 

8.        INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Province, Granicus , and their respective employees and agents from and against any and all claims, actions, causes of action, liabilities, damages, demands, losses, costs or expenses (including any claim of infringement of intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or publicity, or any claim with respect to libel, slander or other defamation) arising directly or indirectly out of or in connection with:  (a) Your Content; (b) your use of the Site or any Content; or (c) your breach of any provision of these Terms.

 

9.        SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION

The Province, or Granicus on its behalf, may at any time, in its sole discretion and with or without notice to you, suspend or terminate your account:  (a) if you fail to comply with any provision of these Terms; or (b) for security or administrative purposes.  If your account is suspended, the Province, or Granicus on its behalf, may (but is not obliged to) restore your account where the Province is satisfied that the reason for the suspension has been resolved.  

10.      CHANGES TO SITE AND/OR TERMS

The Province may at any time, in its sole discretion and without direct notice to you: (a) discontinue the Site, temporarily or permanently, and without liability to you or any other individual or entity; or (b) make changes to the Site and/or these Terms.  By continuing to access and/or use the Site, you will be conclusively deemed to have accepted any changes to these Terms.  

 

11.      GENERAL 

These Terms, and any additional terms hyper-linked or otherwise referenced in these Terms, are the entire agreement between you, the Province and Granicus with respect to your access to and use of the Site. The headings in these Terms are inserted for convenience only and will not be used in interpreting or construing any provision of these Terms.  In these Terms: (a) “including” is not intended to be limiting, regardless of whether it is expressly stated not to be so; and (b) terms defined in the singular include the plural and vice versa, as the context requires. If any provision of these Terms is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be severed from these Terms and all other provisions will remain in full force and effect.  These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of British Columbia and the applicable laws of Canada.  By using the Site, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the province of British Columbia, sitting in Victoria, for the hearing of any dispute arising from or related to these Terms and their subject matter.