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Intellectual Property

This website has been produced for the purpose of providing Canadians and visitors (“you”) with direct access to information about the Senate of Canada (“Senate”, “we” or “us”).

Parliamentary privilege

As provided by the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Parliament of Canada Act, the general and public law of Canada includes parliamentary privilege, which consists of the privileges, immunities and powers held, enjoyed and exercised by the Senate and senators.  Parliamentary privilege enables the Senate and senators to perform their constitutional functions free from external interference. Parliamentary privilege is one of the safeguards of the constitutional separation of powers. (The same parliamentary privilege is held, enjoyed and exercised by the House of Commons and its members.)

Our website contains parliamentary proceedings, papers and reports, all of which are protected by parliamentary privilege. Their publication on this website has been authorized by the Senate. You should be aware that if you reproduce or republish privileged materials, you are not protected by parliamentary privilege.

Ownership and usage of content provided on the Senate of Canada website

Materials on the Senate website are produced and/or compiled by the Senate for the purpose of providing you with direct access to the latest news, information and activities of the Senate and senators on Parliament Hill and in various communities. These materials are protected under the Copyright Act and international agreements. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:

Permission Regarding the Reproduction of the Proceedings of the Senate and its Committees

General

The Senate of Canada is committed to being an open and accessible parliamentary institution. In order to provide greater public access and to promote public understanding of the work of the Senate and senators, the proceedings of the Senate and its committees are made available. The parliamentary privilege of the Senate to control the publication and broadcast of its proceedings is nonetheless reserved. All copyrights of the proceedings of the Senate and its committees are also reserved.

Copyright

Reproduction of the proceedings of the Senate and its committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is not presented as official and is accurate, that is, the proceedings of the Senate and its committees are not used in such a way that would compromise the accuracy and integrity of the contents or undermine the dignity of the Senate, its committees or senators. This permission does not extend to any use for purposes of financial gain.

Authorization for use outside this permission may be requested by filling out the intellectual property request form. Any use outside this permission or without specific authorization from the Senate may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act.

Parliamentary Privilege

Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the Senate. The absolute privilege that applies to the proceedings of the Senate and its committees does not extend to the reproductions permitted under this permission. Where a reproduction includes material submitted or provided to the Senate or one of its committees, including joint committees of the Senate and House of Commons, authorization for reproduction may be required from the authors in accordance with the Copyright Act.

Nothing in this permission abrogates or derogates from the privileges, powers, immunities and rights of the Senate and its committees. For greater certainty, this permission does not affect the prohibition against impeaching or questioning the proceedings of the Senate in courts or otherwise. The Senate retains the right and privilege to find users in contempt of Parliament if a reproduction or use is not in accordance with this permission.

Non-commercial reproduction of other content

Unless otherwise specified, non-parliamentary documents are made available with the intent that they be readily available for personal and public non-commercial use. You may reproduce these documents, either in whole or in part and by any means, without charge or further permission from us, provided that

  • due diligence is exercised in ensuring the accuracy of the material reproduced;
  • the Senate of Canada is identified as the author and the complete title (when available) is included;
  • it is indicated that the reproduction is a copy of the version available on the Senate of Canada Website and the URL where the original document is available is provided;
  • the reproduction is not represented as an official version of the material reproduced, nor as having been made in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Senate of Canada or the senator(s) concerned, if applicable; and
  • the material is not used in a way that would compromise its accuracy and integrity or undermine the dignity of the Senate of Canada, Senate Committees or senators.

Commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, reproduction of materials on the Senate website, either in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution is prohibited except with written permission from us. 

Third-party materials

The Senate website may include material subject to copyright held by third parties, such as audio recordings. You should therefore be aware that you may need to seek permission from the third party to reproduce or otherwise use such material.

Social media materials

Images and videos available through the Senate social media accounts are protected under the Copyright Act and international agreements, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise specified.

Senate Emblem

The Senate Emblem—the official symbol of the Senate of Canada—cannot be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

 

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