Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Northgate Consulting Inc. ("Northgate," "we," "our," or "us") is the data controller responsible for the personal information collected through this website and in the course of delivering our IT consulting services. Our registered business address is Suite 1204, 200 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5J 2J3, Canada. Our Business Number is 741 289 053 RC0001.

We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information entrusted to us. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and safeguard it, and your rights under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable Canadian privacy legislation.

By using our website or submitting information to us, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the practices described herein, please refrain from using our website or providing personal information to us.

2. What We Collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you complete our quote request form or otherwise correspond with us, we collect the fields you submit, which may include:

• Full name
• Company or organisation name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Approximate employee count
• Services needed (selected from a predefined list)
• Estimated project budget range
• Desired project timeline
• Additional notes or project description

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, our servers and analytics services may automatically record:

• IP address (anonymised for analytics purposes)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Referring URL and exit pages
• Pages viewed and time spent on each page
• Date and time of access
• Device type and screen resolution

2.3 Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate essential website features, remember your preferences, and, with your consent, analyse website traffic and measure the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. Full details on the cookies we use are provided in Section 6 below.

3. Purpose of Collection

We collect and use personal information for the following purposes:

• Responding to quote requests: To evaluate your project requirements, prepare a proposal, and communicate with you about potential engagements.
• Service delivery: To manage ongoing consulting engagements, coordinate project activities, and deliver agreed-upon services.
• Analytics and website improvement: To understand how visitors interact with our website so that we can improve content, navigation, and overall user experience.
• Marketing measurement: To evaluate the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and understand which channels generate interest in our services.
• Legal and regulatory compliance: To meet our obligations under applicable laws and regulations, including tax and business record-keeping requirements.

4. Consent

Express consent: When you voluntarily complete and submit our quote request form, you provide express consent for us to collect, use, and store the information you have entered for the purposes described in this policy. Each form submission constitutes a clear, affirmative act of consent.

Implied consent: We rely on implied consent for the use of strictly essential cookies that are necessary for the proper functioning of our website (for example, storing your cookie consent preference). These cookies do not require your explicit approval because they are required for the site to operate as expected.

Explicit consent for non-essential cookies: Analytics and marketing cookies are placed on your device only after you have given explicit consent through our cookie consent banner. You may withdraw this consent at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting our site, at which point you will be prompted again.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may process limited personal information on our behalf:

• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect anonymised data about website traffic and user behaviour. IP anonymisation is enabled, meaning your full IP address is never stored by this service. Data collected includes pages visited, session duration, and general geographic region.
• Google Ads conversion tracking: When you arrive at our site through a paid advertisement, a conversion cookie may be placed (with your consent) to help us understand which advertisements led to quote requests. This information is aggregated and does not personally identify you.

These services are activated only after you have provided explicit consent through our cookie banner. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information with any third party for their own marketing purposes.

6. Cookies

The following table describes the cookies our website may set:

You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected:

• Quote request form submissions: Retained for 24 months from the date of submission, after which they are securely deleted unless an active engagement has been established.
• Analytics data: Retained for 26 months, in accordance with our analytics configuration.
• Server logs: Retained for 90 days to support security monitoring and troubleshooting, then automatically purged.

If a consulting engagement is established, project-related records may be retained for a longer period to satisfy contractual, legal, or regulatory obligations.

8. Your Rights Under PIPEDA

Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you and details about how it has been used.
• Correction: Request that we correct any personal information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date.
• Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw your consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. We will inform you of the implications of withdrawal.
• Complaint: If you believe that we have not handled your personal information appropriately, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.priv.gc.ca.

9. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights described above, or if you have questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact our Privacy Officer by email at privacy@northgateconsulting.ca.

We will acknowledge receipt of your request within five (5) business days and respond substantively within thirty (30) calendar days. If additional time is required, we will inform you of the reason for the delay and provide a revised timeline.

10. Data Security

We take the protection of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational safeguards, including:

• Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your browser and our website is protected using Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption.
• Access controls: Access to personal information is restricted to authorised personnel who require it to perform their duties. Staff with access to personal data are bound by confidentiality obligations.
• Annual security reviews: We conduct annual reviews of our information security policies and practices to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.
• Secure storage: Form submissions and client data are stored in access-controlled environments with regular backups.

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to maintaining safeguards that are reasonable and proportionate to the sensitivity of the information.

11. International Transfers

Our website and primary business operations are based in Canada. However, certain third-party services we use (specifically analytics and advertising measurement) may process data on servers located in the United States or other jurisdictions outside Canada.

Where personal information is transferred outside of Canada, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These include contractual obligations requiring the service provider to protect personal information to a standard comparable to Canadian privacy law. Please be aware that personal information processed in foreign jurisdictions may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, including lawful access requests by foreign governments or courts.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your personal information. Continued use of our website following the posting of changes constitutes your acknowledgement of those changes.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: