Terms of Use

If you have any questions about linking to the Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario (APTO) web site or copying information contained in this web site, please contact us at info@211Ontario.ca.

1. Copyright and Licence

1.1 Reserved Rights and Grant of Limited Licence
1.2 Linking Policy
1.3 InformOntario copyright information
1.4 Trademarks
1.5 No Solicitation

2. Disclaimer

2.1 No Endorsement
2.2 No Advice or Warranties
2.3 No Liability

3. Inclusion Policy

3.1 General Policy
3.2 Inclusion Criteria
3.3 Exclusion
3.4 Referral to Other Services

4. Update Policy

5. Privacy Policy

5.1 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP)
5.2 Confidentiality Warning
5.3 Cookies
5.4 Submissions

6. Security

6.1 Computer Viruses

7. Legal Terms of Reference

1. Copyright and Licence

1.1 Reserved Rights and Grant of Limited Licence

Copyright © 2003 Findhelp Information Services, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.

Findhelp Information Services (Findhelp) owns the intellectual property rights, including copyright, in and to this Site, except where otherwise indicated. As a user of this Site, you are granted a limited licence to use (display or print) a reasonable number of search results for your own personal, non-commercial use only, provided the information is not modified. You shall be fully responsible for any consequences resulting from such use. Any other use of the information is prohibited. None of the information may be otherwise reproduced, republished or re-disseminated in any manner or form without the prior written consent of Findhelp or the rightful owner.

Findhelp retains the right to take appropriate legal action to enforce its rights.

Findhelp disclaims any liability for unauthorized use or reproduction of any portion of this Site.

1.2 Linking Policy

Findhelp encourages organizations to use this Site as a central collection of quality information. If you would like to link to this Site, we request that you:

1. Inform us that you are creating a link by sending an e-mail to info@211Ontario.ca. Please indicate the URL of the page where your link will be placed. We will add you to our e-mail list for automatic updates about this Site.

2. Link to the Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario home page instead of specific pages within the Site.

Please be aware that web sites that use frames can block important details about the context and information presented on this Site.

Send an e-mail to info@211Ontario.ca to find out how the information on this Site can be customized to your needs.

1.3 InformOntario copyright information

The structure of the Thesaurus used to index the services and definitions of the terms contained herein were originally published in the Information and Referral Thesaurus, First Edition, 1996. Findhelp has updated and changed many of the terms and is solely responsible for these changes. No part of this thesaurus of human services terms and definitions may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of InformOntario and Findhelp.

1.4 Trademarks

Certain words, phrases, names, designs or logos used on the Site may constitute trademarks, service marks or trade names of Findhelp or other entities. The display of any such marks or names on the Site does not imply that Findhelp or other entities have granted a licence or authorization of any kind.

1.5 No Solicitation

No part of the Site should be taken to constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or services.

2.1 No Endorsement

Inclusion of an organization and information about its programs and services on this Site does not imply endorsement by Findhelp, nor does exclusion indicate lack of endorsement.

The Site may contain links to other sites. These links are provided as references to help you identify and locate other Internet resources that may be of interest. Parties other than Findhelp independently developed these other sites and therefore Findhelp does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or appropriateness of the information contained on such sites. In providing links to other sites, Findhelp is not acting as a publisher or disseminator of the material contained on these other sites and does not seek to control the content of, or maintain any type of editorial control over, such sites. A link to another site should not be construed to mean that Findhelp is associated with or is legally authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the link or the description of the link to such other sites. In addition, the mention of another party or its products or services on the Site should not be construed as an endorsement of that party or its products or services.

2.2 No Advice or Warranties

The information on the Site is provided for educational or information purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical, legal or professional advice whatsoever and should not be relied upon in that respect.

Findhelp does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information. While every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate, the site may contain typographical or other errors and should not be assumed to be error-free.

Findhelp is not responsible for any content or information that you may find undesirable or objectionable.

2.3 No Liability

Findhelp is not responsible for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damage or any other damages whatsoever and howsoever caused, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Site or in reliance on the information available on the Site, including the loss of use, lost data, lost business profits, business interruption, personal injury, or any other personal or pecuniary loss, whether the action is in contract, tort (including negligence) or other tortious action.

3.1 General Policy

Findhelp collects, maintains and disseminates human service information that enables people to make informed choices to improve their quality of life.

Inclusion in the Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario (APTO) database is free, and is completely unrelated to whether an organization purchases separate advertising space in any of Findhelp's products or membership in the agency, or is a partner in any collaboration.

Subject to the priorities detailed in the next section, the APTO database includes organizations or programs primarily located in or serving the province of Ontario that:

• Provide a direct service to the public
• Are networks or coalitions of direct service providers
• Are involved in licensing, planning or coordinating direct services
• Are not-for-profit, community-based or government organizations
• Are commercial organizations that provide services not offered by the nonprofit sector

3.2 Inclusion Criteria

The Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario web site includes the following types of services:

• Comprehensive information and referral
• Settlement/immigrant and refugee serving agencies
• Language Instruction for Newcomers (LINC)
• Interpretation and translation
• Education and training
• Employment and employment assistance
• Regulatory and licencing bodies
• Professional and trade associations
• Credential assessment
• Volunteering

Some of the agencies included in the Site are local coordinating agencies that will be able to provide further information and referral to specific workshops, programs, and locations for some of these services.

Location and Area Served

• Located in and/or serving Ontario or a region of Ontario

Eligibility

• Services must be available to the target groups and/or to the community at large

Stability

• Services that can demonstrate the ability to provide services over time will be given more serious consideration than those that cannot do so.

Accessibility

• A service may be accessible in person, by Internet, mail (including e-mail) or telephone
• A service should respond to requests for information within a reasonable time, have specific office hours, and be open at least two days a week.

Fees

• Services that are at no cost to the participant, nominal, or on a sliding scale based on ability to pay will be given priority. There may be a specific fee for some services such as credential assessment

Government, not-for-profit or commercial status

• First priority is given to services provided by the government and not-for-profit sectors.
• In cases where first-priority services are only provided by the commercial sector, they may be included subject to meeting the general guidelines of other criteria as outlined here, and as staff resources permit

Uniqueness of Service

• A unique service for a very specialized need may be given priority consideration

3.3 Exclusion

Services that focus on the immigration process, refugee status or citizenship will not be included.

Services that may provide support to the job search and employment process but are peripheral, such as child care and legal services, will not be included.

Services that target particular population groups (e.g., women) will not be included unless they also provide services related to improving access to trades and professions.

Findhelp reserves the right to exclude from its database any organization that it has adequate reason to believe may spread hatred or have a philosophy that could be hurtful to the well-being of individuals, groups or the community as a whole.

Potential grounds for exclusion or removal from the database may include, but is not limited to, service non-delivery, fraud, misrepresentation, discrimination, or criminal activities.

Findhelp reserves the right to refuse to list or to discontinue listings for organizations that have had serious complaints lodged against them with any regulatory body, with other organizations in the database providing similar services, or with Findhelp itself.

Decisions to include, exclude, or remove a service listing may be appealed by writing to the President of the Board of Directors in care of Findhelp after a reasonable attempt has been made to resolve the issue with staff.

3.4 Referral to Other Services

Users should contact their local Community Information Centre for services that are not included in the Access to Professions and Trades in Ontario (APTO) database. Find the nearest Community Information Centre.

Most organizations listed are asked annually to complete a written questionnaire or to update their information by telephone, fax or e-mail. In addition, the editorial team monitors service changes, and major changes are made as soon as the information is known and verified with the service provider. Nevertheless, community services change so rapidly that some omissions and changes are inevitable.

Findhelp encourages organizations to use this Site to notify the editorial team of service changes throughout the year. Please see Help - Updating Information for instructions.

Findhelp reserves the right to verify each change with the service provider. The amount of detail, the language used and the presentation of information in describing a service or organization is at the discretion of Findhelp or local Community Information Centre.

Changes submitted will not appear immediately on the Site. Information for Toronto records is currently updated once a week. Information for Ontario-wide records from partner Community Information Centres is updated on a quarterly basis.

5.1 Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP)

This material is intended for general information purposes only and should not be distributed, copied or disclosed to anyone else. Its contents are protected by privilege, and all rights to privilege are expressly claimed and not waived. Further, any information that is confidential or personal will be subject to the FOIPP Act and other relevant legislation.

5.2 Confidentiality Warning

Findhelp's telephone-based 211 service is confidential and Findhelp strives to ensure similar confidentiality in e-mail communication concerning community services. Nevertheless, without the use of encryption, the Internet is not a secure medium and privacy cannot be ensured. Internet e-mail is vulnerable to interception and forging. Findhelp will not be responsible for any damages you or any third party may suffer as a result of the transmission of confidential information that you make to Findhelp, or that you expressly or implicitly authorize Findhelp to make, or for any errors or any changes made to any transmitted information.

5.3 Cookies

Findhelp does not use "cookies" or other tracking devices to gather data on Internet users. It does measure site visits but does not collect or maintain information on the identity of such users.

5.4 Submissions

All information submitted by organizations about their services to Findhelp via the Site shall be deemed and remain the property of Findhelp. Findhelp shall be free to use, for any purpose, any ideas, concepts, know-how or other techniques contained in information provided to Findhelp through the Site or sent through e-mail. Findhelp shall not be subject to any obligations of confidentiality regarding any such information submitted to it unless specifically agreed to by Findhelp, or required by law.

Findhelp may use comments submitted by users about the Site for promotional purposes. Findhelp will seek written permission of the user before publishing his or her personal name, organization or program name or direct comment. Findhelp may combine comments and attribute them to pseudonyms without seeking permission of the users.

6.1 Computer Viruses

While every effort is made to ensure that all information provided on the Site does not contain computer viruses, you should take reasonable and appropriate precautions to scan for computer viruses and should ensure that you have a complete and current backup of the applicable items or information contained on your computer system. You should pay specific attention to some of the newer viruses that have been written to automatically execute when an infected word processing document is loaded into certain word processing programs.

The laws of the province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein shall govern as to the interpretations, validity and effect of this agreement notwithstanding any conflict of laws of your domicile, residence or physical location. You hereby consent and submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the province of Ontario in any action or proceeding instituted under or related to this agreement.