Privacy policy

Last update : February, 6 2026

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival (hereinafter the “FMG”) website.

Through this Privacy Policy (the “Policy”), the FMG undertakes to respect your privacy and to protect users’ personal information in accordance with applicable laws. In this Policy, the terms “the Festival,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The purpose of this Policy is to define and inform users of the manner in which data and personal information collected through our website (https://montgolfieresgatineau.com/en/) our ticketing platform (https://achat.montgolfieresgatineau.ca/tickets), and current and future subdomains are collected, used, shared, and protected. All of our websites and our ticketing system are collectively referred to as the “Services.”

The FMG undertakes to collect, process, and share information that makes it possible to identify an individual only where that individual has consented thereto, unless such collection, processing, or sharing is permitted or required by law, in which case consent will not be required. This Policy aims to establish responsible and transparent practices for the management of personal information and to meet the requirements of the rules established by Quebec’s Law 25, as well as applicable federal laws of Canada.

By browsing our website or using our Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy and consent, where applicable, to the processing of your data and personal information in accordance with this Policy.

WHEN DO WE OBTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM YOU?

In order to make this Policy as clear as possible, the following outlines the situations in which a website user may potentially share personal information with us.

1. Seeking information about the FMG (lineup, activities, partnerships, etc.)
2. Contacting our customer service
3. Purchasing tickets for the FMG and/or other products
4. Registering as a volunteer through our Information Management System (hereinafter the ‘’SIG’’)

1. Seeking information about the FMG

When browsing our website to learn more about what the Festival has to offer, various types of information may be collected through cookies or similar technologies, including:  

• Type and version of browser used
• IP address
• Page that led to the website
• Geographic location based on IP address
• Time spent on the website and on each page
• Identity of the Internet service provider

This information helps us measure the performance of our website and pages, enabling us to enhance and optimize their functionality to better meet users’ needs.

We also collect the following information during an initial contact, when communicating with us via the contact form on our website or when subscribing to our mailing list: 

• Last name
• First name
• Email address

This information allows us to provide quality service and to communicate with you in order to help you easily obtain the information you are seeking.

Such data and information are necessary for our legitimate interests (improving and personalizing our products and services) and yours (responding to your inquiries and enabling you to contact us or vice versa).

Information collected through cookies does not allow us to personally identify you. You may choose to refuse the collection of cookies through: 

• Your web browser (e.g.: Chrome, Edge, etc.)
• The cookie banner on our website

However, by refusing cookies, you may not be able to access certain sections or functionalities of our website, which may affect your user experience.

2. CONTACTING OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE

You may wish to contact us in the event of an issue with your tickets or for any other reason. In such cases, we may request the following information:  

1. First name
2. Last name
3. Email address
4. Mailing address, if required

We collect this information in order to properly identify you and respond to your inquiries or requests as effectively as possible.

3. PURCHASING TICKETS FOR THE FMG AND/OR OTHER PRODUCTS

When you purchase tickets through our website via the ticketing platform (https://achat.montgolfieresgatineau.ca/tickets), we collect certain information such as your first name, last name, gender, age group, email address, mailing address, phone number, and payment information.

This information is necessary to complete the transaction, enable you to obtain Festival tickets or other products, contact you regarding the event for which you purchased tickets, and for statistical purposes.

Accordingly, this information is required for the performance of the contract of sale between you and the FMG. It is also required for your legitimate interests as a customer, namely to obtain your purchased tickets, to allow us to ensure payment, and to better understand our customer base.

When you complete a transaction, you are included on our mailing list for a maximum period of 12 months. After this 12-month period, if you have not subscribed, we will cease sending you our newsletter. You may request at any time to stop receiving our newsletter by clicking the hyperlink provided at the bottom of the newsletter.

For the rental of a camping space at the FMG Campground, we also collect the license plate number of your recreational vehicle (RV) for site control purposes.

For the purchase of a hot air balloon ride, we will also request your weight (in lbs) and, where applicable, information regarding your health conditions. This information is necessary to ensure a safe experience in the hot air balloon basket, to avoid flying passengers who may be at risk, and to provide you with the best possible experience.

If you refuse to provide the requested personal information, we may be unable to process your request and/or complete your purchase.

4. REGISTERING AS A VOLUNTEER THROUGH OUR INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (‘’SIG’’)

As part of the registration and management of the FMG volunteers, we collect certain personal information necessary to organize our activities in a safe and efficient manner. This information may include your first name, last name, contact details (phone number, mailing address, email address), date of birth, the first and last name of an emergency contact person, health-related information (e.g.: allergies), as well as other information enabling us to better plan your schedule, tasks, and volunteer experience (e.g.: availability, position preferences, or specific skills).

This information is used solely to:

• Manage your volunteer file and communicate with you before, during, and after the event;
• Plan work shifts, tasks, and volunteer-related logistics;
• Ensure your health and safety and that of the public, particularly in the event of an incident or emergency;
• Recognize your involvement (for example, tracking hours, thank-you communications, or offers to return as a volunteer for future editions).

If you refuse to provide the requested personal information, we may be unable to proceed with your registration as a volunteer.

HOW AND WHY DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

The submission of your personal information through your use of our website is governed by this Policy. As a user of our website, you also undertake to respect and protect the personal information of third parties.

The FMG generally collects and uses your personal information for the following purposes:

• To provide you with products and services
• To develop new functionalities and improve your user experience
• To provide the best possible customer service
• To communicate for marketing, advertising, or account management purposes
• To generate statistics, evaluate the performance of our products and services, and guide our business decisions
• For human resources purposes, including recruitment, whether for volunteer or employment opportunities
• To track your purchases

BY WHAT MEANS DO WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION?

• USE OF COOKIES

The FMG uses cookie-based tracking and navigation technologies. When you visit our website, you may provide information through cookies or similar technologies.

Cookies are small text files placed on your hard drive when you visit a website, storing certain data on your computer. Such data may include information such as IP address, browser type, browser version, pages visited on our website, time and date of visit, time spent, and other statistics. These files allow us to process traffic statistics, enable certain functionalities, facilitate navigation, and improve your experience on our website.

The FMG also uses “session cookies,” which contain a unique identifier and enhance your user experience by storing certain information from your current visit in your browser. Session cookies are stored temporarily and allow us to recognize a user and maintain their state during an active browsing session (e.g.: shopping cart contents).

You may configure your browser settings to accept or refuse cookies or to delete them after they have been collected.

The online purchasing system uses certain cookies, none of which allow us to personally identify you. Please note that deleting or refusing these cookies may hinder your ability to purchase tickets through our ticketing platform, and the Festival shall not be held liable for any material or moral damages resulting from your inability to purchase tickets if you delete or refuse such cookies.

• USE OF WEB BEACONS

As part of our advertising campaigns, we use Pixel tags and the services of Google Analytics and Google Ads or others to collect certain personal information relating to visitors to our website, as well as recipients of our mailing list, invitations, and other communications. The FMG uses Pixel tags for advertising remarketing based on your interests derived from your browsing history on our website.

• SOCIAL MEDIA

If you connect to one of our Services using a social media account such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, LinkedIn, YouTube, or X, the FMG may collect certain information contained in your registration profile that is made available to us by social media platforms. The profile information we receive may vary depending on the social media provider but often includes name and email address. In compliance with applicable privacy laws, the FMG may also, with your consent, collect additional personal information through social media platforms, such as details of your friends/connections, likes, comments, groups, and location, in order to improve our Services, tailor our content, and provide you with promotional offers suited to your profile. This information may also be used to create custom audiences for marketing purposes.

• TICKETING

The FMG collects personal information through its ticketing platform. When you use the ticketing platform to purchase admission rights, the FMG collects the following personal information: first and last name, email address, age group, gender, credit card information, and billing information, including address and phone number. This information is used solely for the following purposes: credit card processing, delivery of admission rights, contact in the event of cancellation, postponement, or any other significant change relating to an event, as well as for statistical, advertising, or marketing purposes.

*In certain other cases, we may collect personal information from third parties with prior consent and/or as permitted by law.

WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION AND WHY?

The Festival does not sell any information relating to its users. Your information is shared only in accordance with this Policy. By consenting to this Policy, it is nevertheless possible that, in the course of our activities, we may be required to share certain of your data with third parties or third-party service providers. For example, we may share certain data with our IT service providers for the performance of their mandate or the execution of a service agreement.

The Festival also uses certain integrated third-party services (e.g.: embedded forms on our website) to enhance the Services. Your personal information is transferred from our website to the operators of these integrated third-party services only to the extent necessary for their proper operation and only after you have submitted such information.

Finally, the Festival may transfer your email address to Meta solely for the purpose of creating custom audiences in order to display Facebook advertisements that may be of interest to you.

In general, the suppliers we use will collect, use, and disclose your information only to the extent necessary to perform the services they provide to us.

However, our third-party service providers have their own privacy policies regarding the information we are required to provide to them when using their services. With regard to these providers, we recommend that you carefully review their privacy policies to understand how they will process the personal information collected. The FMG and/or its officers, directors, agents, partners, managers, employees, affiliates, and other related entities shall not be held liable for any damage resulting from the misuse of any information collected by third-party services or by any third party.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third party’s website or application, you are no longer governed by this Policy.

List of our IT service providers

• Meta (advertising analytics – United States): https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/ 
• Google (data analytics – United States): https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=fr&gl=fr
  • To prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en  
  • To customize ads appearing on Google platforms: http://www.google.com/settings/ads  
• Monday.com (Project management/CRM – United States and others): https://monday.com/l/fr/confidentialite/politique-de-confidentialite/
• Intuit Mailchimp (Mailing list – United States): https://www.intuit.com/privacy/statement/
• Rafflebox – (50/50 draw – Canada and United States): https://rafflebox-docs.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/Rafflebox+Privacy+Policy.pdf
• Adnetis (Ticketing and SIG – Province of Quebec): https://www.adnetis.com/politique-de-confidentialite/  

We may also disclose your information if required by law or if such disclosure is necessary to:  

1. Comply with the law or any judicial process;
2. Protect the rights or property of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival;
3. Protect the security of our Services, our users, and their data.

Your data may be transferred following a change of control, merger, liquidation, or other transaction involving the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival. Information required for such a process will be used solely for the purpose of completing the transaction, and we will not disclose such information without your consent unless permitted by law. We will take the necessary measures to protect the confidentiality of such information and will destroy it if the transaction is not completed or if its use is no longer necessary for the purposes of completing the transaction.

YOUR RIGHTS

At any time, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information concerning you contained in the FMG’s database. For any verification, comment, or complaint in this regard, or in the event of an error in the information appearing on the website, you must contact in**@*********mg.ca. To the extent of our capabilities, we will provide timely access to such personal information. However, for security purposes, you may be required to provide additional information to verify your identity.

There may be circumstances in which we are unable to grant access to personal information, for example where access could lead to the disclosure of another person’s personal information and that person refuses to consent, or where legal restrictions apply. If such a situation arises, we will clearly inform you of the reason.

If the request concerns data appearing on third-party websites or platforms, you must contact those third parties directly. The FMG and/or its officers, directors, agents, partners, managers, employees, affiliates, and other related entities shall not be held liable for any damage resulting from the misuse of information collected by third-party services or by any third party.

ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You may review, modify, or delete your personal information by sending us an email at in**@*********mg.ca, through the “Contact Us” section of our website, or using the contact details provided at the end of this Policy. We will respond to your request as promptly as possible. Please provide sufficient details to allow us to identify you and respond to your request.

You may also unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time by following the link at the bottom of all FMG newsletters. Please note that unsubscribing from the mailing list will not necessarily result in the deletion of all your personal information from our databases.

In accordance with Quebec’s Law 25, any person may request to receive the computerized personal information concerning them that the Festival holds, in a structured and commonly used technological format, where applicable.

This right is subject to the exceptions provided by law and applies only to information collected directly from the individual concerned and processed by technological means.

Any portability request must be addressed to the person responsible for the protection of personal information, in accordance with the terms set out in this Policy.

SECURITY OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The FMG places the highest importance on the security of your personal information and undertakes to process it in accordance with the highest industry standards, solely for the purposes for which it was collected as described in this Policy or in a specific notice to that effect, unless otherwise permitted by law. We use industry best practices to keep your data secure in a protected and robust environment. In addition, the Festival uses third-party providers and hosting partners to supply the hardware, software, networking, storage, and related technology required to operate the Services, and such providers have been selected based on their high security standards.

Despite the measures taken by the Festival to ensure that no third party or external party accesses or obtains your personal information through your use of the Services, no data transmission over the Internet can guarantee absolute confidentiality and complete security. Internet communications are subject to interception, loss, or alteration. You acknowledge and agree that the Festival cannot be held liable for damages resulting from the transmission of confidential information or personal information over the Internet and that the sharing of such information is at your own risk.

MANAGEMENT OF PRIVACY INCIDENTS

A privacy incident refers to any access, use, disclosure, loss, or other breach of the protection of personal information not authorized by law.

The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival has implemented measures to prevent privacy incidents and to ensure diligent management when such an incident occurs.

In the event of a privacy incident presenting a serious risk of harm, the Festival undertakes to:

• Take reasonable measures to reduce the risk of harm;
• Notify the individuals concerned as soon as possible;
• Notify the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec, where required by law;
• Record the incident in a privacy incident register, in accordance with legal requirements.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The FMG retains collected data for varying periods depending on its nature and usefulness in providing our products and services.

The primary locations where personal information is stored are the city in which the FMG has offices or facilities and the cities in which its third-party providers maintain servers containing the collected data.

Personal information may be stored outside the country in which the user resides if a third-party provider or other entity to whom we disclose personal information in accordance with this Policy is located outside that country. In such cases, personal information may be subject to the local laws of the countries or territories in which it is collected, used, disclosed, or stored, and governmental authorities and law enforcement authorities in those countries or territories may have access to it.

Once the retention period has expired, personal information is destroyed. Only statistics or reports containing de-identified and anonymized data may be retained for extended periods.

EFFECTIVE DATE AND UPDATES TO THE POLICY

This Policy applies as of September 1, 2023. The most recent modification to the Policy was made on February 6, 2026.

Any change to this Policy will take effect upon publication of the revised Policy on the website. We amend this Policy from time to time. Any reduction of your rights under this Privacy Policy will not be applied without your explicit consent. We always indicate the date on which the latest changes were made. If the changes are significant, we will post a notice at the top of this Policy on our website (including, for certain Services, by email notification). By continuing to use the Services following such changes, you will be deemed to have consented to them.

PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

The FMG has designated a person responsible for the protection of personal information within the organization. This person ensures compliance with this Policy and with applicable personal information protection laws.

If you wish to access, correct, modify, or delete any personal information we have about you, file a complaint, or simply obtain more information, you may contact the person responsible using the following contact details:

FMG – Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival 
To the attention of: Mr. Bernard Gervais
Person Responsible for the Protection of Personal Information
165 Saint-Antoine Street
Gatineau (Quebec) J8T 3M6
Phone number: 819 243-2330
Email: in**@*********mg.ca

The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival website, published from Quebec, Canada, is governed by the laws of the Province of Quebec and the applicable laws of Canada.

© Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival