The programs and services we offer focus on:
• Promote healthy lifestyles including nutrition, active living, sexual and dental health and child development
• Prevent tobacco use, substance and alcohol misuse and injuries
• Protect our communities from infectious diseases and environmental hazards in food, water, air and soil.
• Prepare for, respond to and recover from major emergency situations. Read below for full details! Overview
These Terms of Use describe how we will communicate with social media account users through our social media accounts. We have an obligation to communicate accurate, clear, objective, inclusive, and timely public health information. Social media is a primary mechanism for us to carry out this obligation and ensure we can reach as many audiences as possible. The information and resources provided on our social media accounts are provided as general information and not intended as a substitute for health care advice. If you need emergency medical care or are in crisis, please call 911 immediately. If you need health care on a non-urgent basis, please consult with your doctor or, if you live in Ontario, call Health Care Connect at 1-800-445-1822. Active Accounts
We are actively engaged on the following social media platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthBayParrySoundDistrictHealthUnit/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/NBPSHealthUnit
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nbpsd_hu
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/north-bay-parry-sound-district-health-unit
Content
The purpose of our social media channels is to inform and educate users on matters related to public health and to influence healthy lifestyle choices in our community. Posts will cover various topics related to public health, including, but not limited to, Health Unit campaigns, relevant health information for our district, health promotion, protection and disease prevention messaging, approved third-party web content of interest, advisories and warnings, public service announcements and news releases. We may share events hosted by community partners that meet our mandate and priorities, events sponsored, hosted or co-sponsored/co-hosted by us, or if a Health Unit staff member was on the event’s planning committee. Feedback and Messages
Feedback and interaction are encouraged as long as users are abiding by the guidelines. All comments, questions and emails sent through social media channels will be read and any emerging themes or helpful suggestions will be passed to our relevant people or programs. Although we may not be able to reply individually to all messages, they will be handled on a case-by-case basis and responded to when deemed appropriate. If we feel a comment or a question posed by a member of the public requires a response and/or a greater level of detail, we may develop a formal response and distribute the information through other channels such as email, our website, or other social media channels. Monitoring and Response Time
We recognize that the web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcomed at any time. However, monitoring and responding to comments will only occur during regular business office hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. EST, excluding holidays. Exceptions to this may include Health Unit events taking place outside of regular hours or during an emergency situation. The Health Unit strives to respond to comments within one business day but cannot guarantee it will respond to all comments. The Health Unit will respond in English or French. Comments
We welcome comments on our social media channels from valid social media accounts. Disagreements and constructive arguments are acceptable as part of a discussion. However, abusive or insulting comments are not acceptable. We expect the content of posts to be respectful of others. The views of participants commenting on our social media channels do not necessarily represent the views of the Health Unit and we do not claim to endorse any of the views shared by users. General Guidelines
The Health Unit:
will moderate and review posted comments and may participate or intervene, as appropriate,
expects posted comments to be relevant to overall topic of the post,
disclaims all liability for posted comments, and,
reserves the right to hide or remove comments that are deemed:
racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting or life-threatening;
serious, not proven, not supported or not accurate accusations against individuals or organizations;
abusive, aggressive, coarse, vulgar, violent, obscene or pornographic;
encouraging or suggesting illegal activities;
to provide or claim to provide medical or other health care advice;
inconsistent with the purpose of the Health Unit social media channel;
to undermine or contradict public health information in a way that may endanger the health of the general public;
infringing on copyright or other intellectual property rights;
to solicit, sell, advertise or endorse any financial, private, commercial or non-governmental agency, business, or service. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency;
announcements from labour or political organizations;
not sent by the author and/or posted by anonymous or robot accounts;
repetitive, copied and pasted by multiple users;
unintelligible or irrelevant;
unconstructive and not in alignment with Health Unit policies or values;
off-topic and that forum moderators feel does not add to the flow of debate; and
infringing upon an individual's privacy. Anyone acting contrary to these terms may be permanently blocked from the social media channel. Repeated violators will be banned from the account in question. Privacy
Information shared with us on our social media channels is subject to the provisions of the Access to Information Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), which means that the information may be accessed and disclosed in response to a request under either of these acts. Users are advised not to share personal information on any of our social media channels. Personal information includes names, home addresses, telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals (staff or other members of the public), and any other information consisting of personal information as defined in section 3 of the Privacy Act. Should you have any questions about your privacy rights, please contact our Privacy Officer directly. Social media comments may also be used and disclosed by the Health Unit as required or permitted by applicable law, including the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004. Accessibility
As a third-party service provider, the social media accounts we engage in as an organization are not bound by the policies for web accessibility as set out by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Intellectual Property
All content we post, including images, videos, and text, is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not use our content without prior permission. Links to other websites
Links to websites not under our control are provided for the convenience of users. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content of other sites. We do not offer any guarantee in that regard. We are not responsible for the information found through these links nor do we endorse the sites or their content. Additional Information
If you are looking for information about our Health Unit, please consult our website at www.myhealthunit.ca. Thank you for taking the time to read our Terms of Use. We encourage your respectful participation on our social media platforms and look forward to an active exchange of ideas. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using any of the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit's social media accounts, you agree to comply with these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please refrain from using our accounts. Terms of Use Last Updated: June 5, 2025
