Last Updated: August 19, 2026

Who We Are

This website, https://foliot4change.ca, is operated by the campaign of John Foliot, candidate for Ward 4 Councillor, Township of Lanark Highlands, in the 2026 Ontario municipal election (“the Campaign,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and what choices you have.

If you have questions about this policy or how your information is handled, contact us at john@foliot4change.ca.

Personal Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

• Contact forms. If you use a contact or feedback form on this site, we collect the information you provide — typically your name, email address, and the content of your message.
• Campaign contributions. If you make a financial contribution to the Campaign, we collect your name, mailing address, email address, contribution amount, and payment details necessary to process your donation. See “Campaign Contributions and the Municipal Elections Act” below — this category of information is subject to rules that don’t apply to the rest of the site.
• Comments. To leave a comment on an article, you must first register for an account and log in. See “Comments and User Accounts” below for what this involves.

Information collected automatically

• Cookies. This site uses cookies grouped into three categories: Necessary, Functional, and Analytical. Only Necessary cookies are active by default; you choose whether to allow the others through the cookie banner shown on your first visit, and can change your choice at any time. See “Cookies” below.
• Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use this site — pages visited, time on site, general location at the city/region level, and device or browser type. This data is aggregated and does not identify you personally to us.

Comments and User Accounts

Comments on this site require you to register for an account and log in first — anonymous commenting is not available.

• Registration. When you register, we collect a username, email address, and password. Your username is public and cannot be changed later; other account information can be edited or deleted by you at any time from your account settings.
• Comment content. When you post a comment, we store the comment text, the date and time, and your IP address, which helps us detect spam.
• Profile images. Comment avatars are generated using Gravatar, a service that matches a hashed (anonymized) version of your email address to a profile picture, if you have one set up with Gravatar. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.
• Retention. Comments and associated account information are retained indefinitely unless you request deletion, so that we can recognize returning commenters. Administrators can view and edit account information; you can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your account data at any time by contacting us (see “Your Privacy Rights” below).

Campaign Contributions and the Municipal Elections Act

Political contributions in Ontario are governed by the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, which sets rules that are separate from — and take priority over — how we handle other personal information on this site:

• We issue a receipt for every contribution we receive, recording your name and address, the date, and the value of the contribution.
• If your total contributions to this Campaign exceed $100, your name and address will be included in the Campaign’s financial statement, which is filed with the Township Clerk and becomes a public document.
• Contribution receipts are not tax receipts. Contributions to municipal candidates are not deductible for income tax purposes.
• We are required to retain all financial records, including contributor information, until November 15, 2030, when the next council takes office.
• Contributions that don’t comply with the Act’s eligibility rules (for example, from an ineligible source, or exceeding the legal contribution limit) must be returned to the contributor or forwarded to the Township Clerk.

How contributions are processed: Donations are accepted via PayPal, or by mailing a cheque directly to the Campaign. If you donate through PayPal, PayPal processes your payment details directly — we do not receive or store your full card or bank information; PayPal’s own privacy policy applies to that transaction (https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full). If you contribute by cheque, we handle your information manually and store only what’s needed for receipting and compliance with the Act.

Because these obligations come from provincial election law, they apply regardless of any other preference you express about your data, and contribution records cannot be deleted at your request while these statutory retention requirements are in effect.

How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect to:

• Respond to messages and inquiries you send us
• Process and receipt campaign contributions, and meet our obligations under the Municipal Elections Act
• Manage comment accounts and moderate discussion on the site
• Understand how visitors use the site, so we can improve it
• Comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for any purpose unrelated to the Campaign.

Cookies

This site’s cookie banner lets you control which categories of cookies are active:

• Necessary — required for the site to function (e.g., remembering your cookie preferences, keeping you logged in). These cannot be turned off and do not store personal data.
• Functional — support features like content sharing and third-party tools you interact with directly.
• Analytical — help us understand visitor traffic and site performance (Google Analytics).

We do not use advertising or ad-tracking cookies, and have no plans to.

Third-Party Services We Use

This site relies on a small number of third-party services, each with its own privacy practices:

• PayPal (for donations). PayPal’s own privacy policy governs how they handle your payment details; we do not store full card or bank account numbers. PayPal’s privacy policy is available at https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/paypal/privacy-full
• Google Analytics. Collects aggregated, anonymized usage data. Google’s privacy policy is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy.
• Facebook. If you follow our Facebook page link or use the social share buttons on this site, Facebook’s own privacy policy applies to that interaction. Facebook’s privacy policy is available at https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/
• Gravatar. Used to display comment profile pictures, as described above. Gravatar’s policy is available at https://support.gravatar.com/privacy-and-security/profile-access/

How Long We Keep Your Information

• Campaign contributions: retained until November 15, 2030, as required by the Municipal Elections Act (see above).
• Contact form submissions: retained for up to 4 years.
• Comments and account information: retained indefinitely, unless you request deletion (see “Comments and User Accounts” above).
• Analytics data: retained according to Google Analytics’ standard retention settings.

How We Protect Your Information

We use industry-standard security measures, including SSL/TLS encryption across this site, and we do not store full payment card or bank account numbers — that information is handled directly by PayPal where used.

Sharing Your Information

We share your personal information only:

• As required under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 — with the Township Clerk, and in our public financial statement, for contributions.
• With third-party service providers who help us operate the site (listed above), solely for the purpose of that service.
• Where required by law.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Political Communications and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)

CASL contains a specific exemption for messages from a political candidate where the primary purpose is soliciting a contribution — those messages aren’t treated as commercial electronic messages requiring CASL-style consent. If we ever send email updates that go beyond fundraising asks, we’ll still include a clear way to unsubscribe, as a matter of respect for your inbox even where the law doesn’t strictly require it.

Your Privacy Rights

Canadian federal privacy law (PIPEDA) generally applies to commercial activity, and political campaigns are treated differently from businesses under it. Even so, this Campaign follows privacy practices consistent with PIPEDA’s principles voluntarily. You may:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Ask us to delete information we hold about you, except where we’re legally required to retain it (see “Campaign Contributions” above)
• Withdraw consent for non-essential cookies at any time via the cookie settings on this site

To exercise any of these, contact john@foliot4change.ca.

Children’s Privacy

This website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law — for example, if we add volunteer or event sign-up features in the future. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal information should be directed to:

John Foliot john@foliot4change.ca

Authorized by the Chief Financial Officer for the campaign of John Foliot.