Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 29, 2026

PRIVACY POLICY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION

At Surdek Solutions Inc., we place great importance on protecting the personal information of our clients, employees, and representatives. In accordance with the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, we are committed to preserving the confidentiality of personal information collected in the course of our activities. Our privacy policy aims to inform you about our practices regarding the collection, use, disclosure, retention, and protection of your personal information. By providing us with your personal information, you accept the terms of this policy and authorize us to process your information in accordance with it.

1. Consent

1.1 Privacy Protection Commitment

We are committed to protecting our users' privacy. We collect and use personal information only with their explicit consent and in compliance with applicable laws.

1.2 Acceptance of Policy Terms

By accessing our websites (www.surdek.com and www.steffansurdek.com) or providing us with personal information, you accept the terms of our privacy policy. This includes your consent to the collection and use of your personal information in accordance with this policy.

1.3 Right to Withdraw Consent

You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, this is subject to certain legal or contractual restrictions. We will inform you of the possible consequences of this withdrawal, such as the inability to provide certain products or process certain requests. Your withdrawal decision will be recorded in our files.

1.4 Exceptions to Consent Requirements

In certain exceptional circumstances, we may collect, use, or disclose personal information without obtaining your prior consent. This may occur in situations where legal, medical, or security imperatives make obtaining your consent impossible or impractical. These situations include, but are not limited to, cases of suspected contract breach, fraud prevention or detection, or law enforcement needs.

2. Collection of Personal Information

2.1 We collect personal information through various means, such as:

• Emails and communications with our customer service
• Online forms, including contact and appointment requests, event registrations, newsletter sign-up and resource downloads
• Cookies and similar technologies on our websites, only once you have accepted them (see section 6)

2.2 We may also collect information through third parties, such as:

• A technology service provider like an ordering platform or newsletter service
• An online payment service provider to process financial transactions
• A cloud computing company storing customer data
• A customer relationship management (CRM) company that helps organize and analyze customer interactions
• YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud, when you play a video or podcast on our sites after accepting cookies

3. Types of Personal Information Collected

3.1 We collect various types of data, including but not limited to:

• Personal identifiers (name, postal address, email, phone number)
• Technical or digital information (IP address, online activities)
• Financial information (payment details)

3.2 Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children under 13 years of age. By using our website, you declare that you are at least 13 years old. If you are under 13, please do not attempt to send us personal information. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a user under 13, we will attempt to immediately delete this information from our files and records. We also encourage minor website users aged 13 or older to seek permission from their parents or guardians before sending any information about themselves over the Internet.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us using the contact information provided in section 12.

4. Use of Personal Information

4.1 We use your personal information for a range of essential activities:

• Respond to requests: To effectively respond to your requests and inquiries
• Transaction management: Processing payments and issuing receipts for transactions
• Registrations and participations: Managing your registrations for events, training, newsletters, website downloads, or webinar participation
• Human resources management: For internal management and administration of human resources, recruitment, employment contracts, and service agreements
• Marketing communications: Sending relevant information, special offers, and news updates, with the option to unsubscribe at any time
• Website improvement: Understanding, in aggregate, how our website is used, only if you accept analytics cookies

These uses aim to enhance your experience with our services and facilitate effective interaction with our organization.

4.2 We offer various options to allow you to control and limit the collection of your personal information. These options include:

• Communication choices: You can choose to receive our communications through different means (phone, SMS, email), or refuse them completely
• Cookie management: On your first visit, our site asks whether you accept cookies. Nothing that tracks your visit is used until you accept, and you can change your choice at any time with the "Cookie preferences" link at the bottom of every page (see section 6)
• Granular consent: In most situations, when we collect information for specific purposes, you have the option to consent only to certain uses of your data

It's important to note that some of these options may limit your access to all features of our service. For example, if you decline cookies, embedded videos and podcasts will not play on our site.

4.3 Newsletter

You only receive our newsletter if you ask for it: the sign-up form requires you to tick a box confirming that you want to receive it and that you accept this policy. Every newsletter includes a link to unsubscribe in one click, and you can also ask us to unsubscribe you at the address in section 12.

5. Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Information

5.1 Personal information collected by our organization is accessible to specific categories of our staff and certain partner organizations, to effectively provide our products and services. For example:

• Customer service: Accesses contact information to respond to requests
• Training partners: Receive names and addresses for registration in joint training sessions
• Payment service providers: Access financial information for transaction processing
• Personal information and data security officers: Access information to ensure security and protection of data against unauthorized access or cyberattacks
• Cloud service providers: Host data on secure servers, enabling information storage and retrieval

We ensure that this information is used exclusively for the stated purposes and with respect for confidentiality.

5.2 Our main service providers

To operate our websites and services, we use the following providers. Some of them process information outside Quebec, including in the United States. Before communicating personal information outside Quebec, we make sure it will receive adequate protection, in accordance with applicable laws.

Provider	What it does for us	Information involved	Location
Kartra	Newsletter, resource downloads, event registrations	Name, email address, consent choices	United States
Google (Analytics)	Website statistics, only if you accept cookies	Pages visited, approximate location, device and browser (IP address shortened)	United States
Google (reCAPTCHA)	Protects our contact forms from spam	Technical information about your visit	United States
Google (Fonts)	Displays the fonts on our site	IP address	United States
YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud	Play embedded videos and podcasts, only if you accept cookies and press play	Technical information and viewing activity	United States / Europe
Amazon Web Services	Stores the images and files on our website	Technical information (IP address)	Canada / United States
SparkPost	Sends the emails from our contact forms	Name, email address, your message	United States

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

6.1 What we use

Cookies are small files that a website saves in your browser. On www.surdek.com, cookies and similar technologies that track your visit are off by default: they are only used once you click "Accept" in the cookie banner.

Cookie	Provider	Purpose	Duration	When
CraftSessionId, CRAFT_CSRF_TOKEN	Our website	Make our forms work and protect them against abuse (strictly necessary)	Until you close your browser	Only on pages with a form
_ga, ga[ID]	Google Analytics	Count visits and understand, in aggregate, how the site is used	Up to 13 months	Only after you accept
YSC, VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE and similar	YouTube	Play embedded videos	Up to 6 months	Only after you accept and press play
Vimeo and SoundCloud cookies	Vimeo, SoundCloud	Play embedded videos and podcasts	Varies	Only after you accept and press play

Your choice in the cookie banner is saved in your browser (local storage), so we don't ask you on every page.

6.2 Changing your choice

You can change your choice at any time with the "Cookie preferences" link at the bottom of every page. If you withdraw your consent, the Google Analytics cookies are deleted from your browser. You can also delete cookies or block them in your browser settings.

7. Links to Other Websites

7.1 Our website may contain links to third-party websites

When you follow these links, you leave our website. Information exchanged at that point is no longer subject to our privacy policy. We recommend reviewing the privacy statements of other websites you visit before providing any information.

8. Security of Personal Information

8.1 Security Measures for Personal Information Protection

To ensure the security and confidentiality of personal information, Surdek Solutions Inc. adopts rigorous security measures, including both physical and technological aspects. Here are some concrete examples:

• Access controls: Limiting access to personal data to authorized employees only
• Staff training: Regular staff awareness training on data security best practices
• Data encryption: Protection of sensitive data using advanced encryption techniques
• Intrusion monitoring and detection: Implementation of systems to monitor suspicious activity and detect potential intrusions

These measures aim to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, and to maximize their integrity and confidentiality. Although we do our best to protect your personal data, it's important to keep in mind that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee their absolute security.

8.2 Staff and Board of Directors Commitment

Each employee, administrator, volunteer, independent contractor, or ad hoc advisor working within our board of directors' committees commits to respecting the personal information we collect. Additionally, these individuals commit to maintaining the confidentiality of information specific to our activities and not to disclose it or use it for personal benefit or the benefit of others. This commitment exists from the moment the employee, director, volunteer, independent contractor, or ad hoc advisor takes office and continues indefinitely.

9. Retention and Destruction of Personal Information

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary for the purposes stated in this privacy policy. We will retain and use it to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our legal policies.

We will also retain usage data for internal analysis purposes. This data is generally retained for a shorter period unless it is used to strengthen security or improve website functionality, or we are legally obligated to retain it for longer periods. Website statistics in Google Analytics are kept for a limited time. If you unsubscribe from our newsletter, we keep a record of your unsubscription so that we don't email you again.

10. Your Rights

10.1 Recognition and Respect of Your Rights

As part of our privacy policy, we recognize and respect the fundamental rights of individuals concerning the personal information we hold. These rights include:

• Right of access: Individuals have the right to view personal information we hold about them. For example, a client can request to see data collected during their service registration
• Right of rectification: If information is inaccurate or incomplete, concerned individuals can request updates. For example, an employee can request correction of their incorrect postal address in our records
• Right to data portability: You can ask us to send you, or an organization you designate, the computerized personal information you gave us, in a structured, commonly used technological format
• Right to de-indexing: Individuals can request that their personal information be removed from circulation or that any hyperlinks associated with their name be de-indexed if this circulation causes them harm or violates the law or a court order. This right to erasure or to be forgotten allows individuals to control the availability of their personal information on the internet
• Right to file a complaint: If concerned about the processing of their data, individuals can file a complaint with us using the contact information in section 12. You can also file a complaint with the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec (www.cai.gouv.qc.ca)

Subject to applicable laws, upon receipt of a written request from an individual and after verifying their identity, we will inform the person if we hold personal information about them and communicate this information to them. We may refuse a person access to their information in accordance with applicable laws, in which case we will provide reasons for the refusal.

To facilitate these rights, our personal information protection officer's contact information is clearly indicated in section 12 for any questions or concerns. These measures ensure that individuals can exercise their rights with confidence and transparency.

11. Policy Modifications

This policy may be updated to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Changes will be posted on our website. We encourage you to regularly review this privacy policy to stay informed of any changes.

12. Contact

Any requests or questions about this privacy policy can be sent to the person responsible for the protection of personal information:

Steffan Surdek, President, Surdek Solutions Inc.
By email: steffan@surdek.com
By postal mail: Surdek Solutions Inc., 418 Avenue St-Charles, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec J7V 2N1

Policy effective date: September 14, 2023. Last updated: October 29, 2026.