Our commitment to you
The Canada Apprentice Loan online service is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information.
Our security practices are continually evolving to ensure that the integrity and confidentiality of our secure online services are maintained. Our website uses up-to-date security safeguards and encryptions to protect your information from misuse, alteration, copying, monitoring or unauthorized sharing.
Collection of your information
Your personal information will be collected by our service provider who is administering your loan on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The collection of your personal information by the service provider must be in accordance with the Privacy Act (opens in a new window). This means that you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.
Cookies
A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your computer by a website and used by your browser. The Canada Apprentice Loan online service uses session cookies to help you use our services which are deleted when you close your browser. A session cookie cannot be retrieved from your hard drive and cannot be used by a third party to perform information changes on our website.
It is important to check that cookies are enabled in your browser’s settings. All browsers are configured differently, so you should check the Internet options of your browser for ways to enable cookies.
At this time, we have no other session management method for users who prefer not to accept cookies. If you do not accept cookies, you will not be able to use our online services.
Web Analytics
Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement, and reporting of data about Web traffic and visits for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. Information contained in cookies may be used for the purpose of Web analytics to remember your online interactions with our website. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider's servers in order to help safeguard your privacy. The information collected is de-personalized by truncating your IP address.
The Canada Apprentice Loan online service uses Web analytics tools to improve its website. When your computer requests a Canada Apprentice Loan online service webpage, the service provider collects the following types of information for Web analytics:
- the originating IP address;
- the date and time of the request;
- the type of browser used;
- the page(s) visited.
Steps you can take to protect your personal information online
You can contribute to the security of your personal information online by:
- Keeping your personal information confidential. Do not share your Social Insurance Number (SIN), username, password or security questions and answers with anyone.
- Using a strong password and changing it often. Choose a unique password that does not contain your username, first name or last name and avoid previously used passwords. To protect your Canada Apprentice Loan online service account, your password must comply with our password policy.
- Clearing your browser’s cache. When you visit a website, your browser will store information and data to speed up access to frequently used websites and data. Clearing your cache will ensure that personal information about your transactions will not be saved on your computer’s hard drive. Check your browser’s help section for instructions on clearing your cache.
- Signing out and closing your browser before leaving your computer unattended. This will prevent unauthorized access to your account.
- Contacting us immediately if you suspect that an unauthorized user has, or may be able, to gain access to your Canada Apprentice Loan online service account.
Phishing and email fraud
Phishing is a type of fraud that is designed to trick individuals into disclosing confidential and financial information for the purpose of identity theft. Perpetrators send out emails, falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise, in an attempt to obtain personal information from the email recipient. The email usually directs the user to visit a website or click on links that will take them to a website where they are asked to update personal information, such as usernames, passwords and account numbers. The website, however, is a scam and is designed only to steal the user's information.
As a general rule, you should not provide your confidential or financial information over the Internet in response to unsolicited requests you receive.
Note: The Canada Apprentice Loan online service will send you email notifications directing you to sign in to your online account to retrieve important application and loan related communications. All emails will be sent from one of the following email addresses: info@pca-cal.ca or from info@e.pca-cal.ca.