freecourse.ca is committed to ensuring that all required physical, electronic, and managerial measures are taken to protect your privacy. The following privacy policy sets out for you what information freecourse.ca collects, how the collected information is stored and safeguarded, and for what purposes it is used. Any information provided by you to us will be used and stored strictly in accordance with this privacy policy and the Protection of Privacy Act of Canada.
What information we collect from you and how it is used
Registration Data – Visitors to our web site must register in order to take advantage of our free Online Study Guide. The information collected during registration serves two purposes:
- It allows us to assign log-in information to you so that you will be able to take breaks from studying our Online Study Guide; you will be able to log into the free Online Study Guide for up to 12 months after registering. Each time that you return, our system will remember you and be able to take you to where you left off studying the OSG. Your registration data will be purged from our system if you fail to pass the PCOC Test within 12 months of registering and you will have to re-register.
- It provides us with the information that will appear on your Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) and it provides us with the mailing address to which your PCOC will be forwarded. If you pass the PCOC Test, then your information will be stored securely and used by us to help us:
- Issue your temporary certificate
- Issue and forward to you your permanent PCOC
- Issue and forward to you your replacement PCOCs to replace PCOCs that are lost or damaged.
Cookies – In operating this site, the web-based system we employ automatically obtains non-personal information, called cookies, from visitors to track the total number of visitors to the site. In doing this we track data that describe the total population visiting the site, never individual visitors.
Information retained in the long term
We retain only that information about you that allows us to verify your identify and to issue PCOCs to you. Should you wish to make corrections or updates to your record, please write to us at:
freecourse.ca
422 Halldon Place
Ottawa, Ontario
K2B 7B8
E-mail: support@freecourse.ca
Besides a description of the required changes, you will need to include the following information in your message to us: your name, mailing address, and date of birth as well as information on how we may contact you by telephone.
Protection of personal information
All personal information collected by us is kept in strict accordance with the Protection of Privacy Act of Canada and the personal information collected from you is kept for the sole use of freecourse.ca and Transport Canada and will not be sold to or shared with any third party.
Sharing of information
We will not provide any personal information to any third party unless we receive your written permission or unless it is required by law. Users of this web site should note that when they pass the PCOC Test, we are required to forward personal information to Transport Canada for inclusion in the Department's Pleasure Craft Operator Card Database System (PCOCDS).
Potential for future changes in our privacy policy
It may be necessary for freecourse.ca to amend this policy from time to time in the future to reflect operational and regulatory changes. In such an event, any changes made to freecourse.ca's privacy policy will be put into effect by the act of updating the contents of this web page. Thus, returning visitors to this web site are encouraged to review this page whenever returning to this web site. This is the latest update of the freecourse.ca privacy policy. This update came into effect at midnight on Friday, October 30, 2015.
How to contact us
If you would like additional information on our privacy policy, please contact us at support@freecourse.ca or address your correspondence to:
Jim Steeves, P.Eng.
Manager – Training and testing
c/o freecourse.ca
422 Halldon Place
Ottawa, Ontario
K2B 7B8
Phone: 1-613-791-4521
E-mail: support@freecourse.ca
Web site: www.freecourse.ca
freecourse.ca is authorized by the Government of Canada to:
- Deliver the Transport-Canada-accredited online PCOC course;
- Administer the official online PCOC exam; and
- Issue official Pleasure Craft Operator Cards (PCOCs).
To verify our accreditation, please click here.
Failure to wear a flotation device is the leading
contributing factor in boating fatalities. When on
the water, the single-most important thing that you
can do to prevent drowning is to always wear a
properly adjusted PFD or lifejacket of appropriate
type, size, and fit.