Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 18, 2026
Who Is Responsible for Your Information
SCENE 49 is an independent Canadian entertainment and culture publication owned and operated by Shara Cooper under the Birchbound Media publishing name.
Shara Cooper is responsible for personal information collected through scene49.ca and the publication's administrative communications.
Privacy Officer:
Shara Cooper, Editor and Publisher
Questions, privacy requests and complaints may be submitted through the SCENE 49 Contact page. Please identify your message as a Privacy Request or Privacy Complaint.
Information You Provide
SCENE 49 collects personal information when you voluntarily submit it through the website's contact form, by email or through other forms of communication with the publication.
This may include:
your name;
email address;
phone number;
subject line and message;
your organization or professional affiliation;
photographs, documents or other files you provide; and
any other information you choose to provide.
We use this information to respond to inquiries, review story tips and submissions, communicate with sources and contributors, respond to correction requests, handle advertising inquiries and administer the publication.
SCENE 49 does not sell or rent personal information.
We do not add contact information to a newsletter or marketing list without the consent required by applicable law.
Newsletter Subscriptions
SCENE 49 uses Cakemail, a Canadian email marketing service, to manage newsletter subscriptions and deliver email newsletters.
When you subscribe, we collect your email address for the purpose of sending the newsletter and managing your subscription. Cakemail processes subscriber information on our behalf and may collect information about email delivery, opens and link clicks to support distribution and newsletter reporting.
Subscribers may unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link included in each newsletter.
We do not add people to our newsletter mailing list simply because they have submitted a story tip, press release, interview request or other inquiry.
For more information, see Cakemail's Privacy Policy.
News Tips and Editorial Submissions
Information submitted as a news tip, press release, opinion piece, letter, photograph, document or other editorial material may be reviewed, fact-checked, edited and retained for journalistic purposes.
When material is accepted for publication, a contributor's name, professional affiliation, organization, community or other identifying information may be published when appropriate.
Submitting material does not guarantee publication.
Information sent as a private administrative inquiry will not normally be published without permission. However, contacting SCENE 49 does not automatically create a confidential-source, off-the-record or legally privileged relationship.
The general contact form and ordinary email are not secure channels for highly sensitive information. Anyone wishing to discuss confidential material should contact the editor before sending sensitive documents or details.
Information collected, used or disclosed solely for journalistic purposes may be retained as part of SCENE 49's reporting records and historical archive and may be subject to different privacy rules than administrative personal information.
Privacy Law and Journalistic Material
SCENE 49 handles administrative and other personal information in accordance with applicable privacy law.
Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act applies to private-sector organizations in Alberta. The Act does not regulate the collection, use or disclosure of personal information solely for journalistic, literary or artistic purposes.
The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act may also apply in circumstances involving commercial activities and personal information that crosses provincial or national borders.
Where privacy law applies, SCENE 49 collects, uses and discloses personal information only for reasonable purposes and only to the extent reasonably necessary for those purposes.
Website and Analytics Information
SCENE 49 is hosted by Squarespace.
When you visit the website, Squarespace and other services used by the site may process information such as:
IP address;
browser, operating system, network and device information;
pages viewed;
referring website or page;
dates and times of visits;
interactions with the website; and
other technical information needed to operate, secure and measure the site.
SCENE 49 uses Google Analytics 4 to understand overall readership and how visitors use the website.
Google Analytics may collect information such as users, sessions, approximate geographic location, browser and device information and interactions with the site. Google Analytics may use first-party cookies to distinguish users and sessions.
This information helps SCENE 49 understand readership, identify technical problems, improve the website and measure the performance of published content.
SCENE 49 does not use Google Analytics to intentionally collect names, email addresses or other direct personal identifiers as analytics data.
Contact Form
Information entered into the SCENE 49 contact form is processed through Squarespace so that the submission can be delivered to the publication.
Contact-form messages may also be stored in the email account used to receive submissions.
Contact information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond to the inquiry, maintain appropriate records, address legal or editorial needs or otherwise administer the publication.
Cookies
Squarespace uses necessary cookies and may use analytics and performance cookies to operate the website, maintain security and understand how visitors interact with the site.
Google Analytics may also use first-party cookies and similar technologies to measure website usage.
Visitors can manage or delete cookies through their browser settings. Blocking necessary cookies may affect the operation of some website features.
Where cookie-management options are provided on the website, visitors may use those controls to manage non-essential cookies.
Service Providers and Processing Outside Canada
SCENE 49 relies on service providers to operate the website, process contact-form submissions, provide analytics and deliver communications.
Personal information may be processed outside Canada. Service providers currently used by SCENE 49 include Squarespace, whose relevant entities and processing arrangements include Ireland and the United States, and Google Analytics, provided by Google LLC in the United States.
These services are used for purposes such as website hosting and operation, processing contact-form submissions, security, analytics and related communications.
Information processed outside Canada may be subject to the laws of the country in which it is processed.
SCENE 49 uses service providers for the purposes described in this policy. Those providers may also process information in accordance with their own applicable privacy policies, terms and legal obligations.
Questions about SCENE 49's use of service providers outside Canada may be directed to the Privacy Officer through the Contact page.
SCENE 49 uses Cakemail to collect and manage newsletter subscriptions and distribute email communications. Cakemail is based in Canada and may use additional service providers to support its operations. Subscriber information is processed according to the services provided to SCENE 49 and the applicable privacy arrangements.
When Information May Be Shared
SCENE 49 may disclose personal information:
to service providers that operate the website, process submissions, provide analytics or deliver communications;
with the individual's consent;
when disclosure is reasonably connected to reviewing, verifying, editing or publishing editorial material, or otherwise forms part of SCENE 49's journalistic activities;
when disclosure is required or permitted by law; or
when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, misuse, security threats or other unlawful activity.
SCENE 49 does not sell or rent personal information.
Retention
Administrative inquiries and contact-form messages are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to respond, maintain appropriate business records, address legal requirements or administer the publication.
Editorial correspondence, source material and records associated with reporting may be retained for longer periods for journalistic, legal and archival purposes.
Published articles and associated records may be preserved as part of SCENE 49's publication archive.
When personal information is no longer required for an administrative, legal, business, journalistic or archival purpose, it may be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymized.
Security
SCENE 49 uses reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards, as appropriate, to protect personal information against unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or destruction.
No website, contact form, email service or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Please avoid sending highly sensitive personal information through ordinary email or the general contact form.
Where required by law, SCENE 49 will report privacy breaches to the appropriate privacy regulator. Where notification of affected individuals is required by the regulator or applicable law, SCENE 49 will provide that notification as required.
Access and Correction Requests
Where applicable privacy law provides a right of access or correction, an individual may request access to or correction of personal information held by SCENE 49 for administrative purposes.
Requests should identify the information concerned and provide enough detail for it to be located.
Identity verification may be required before information is released or changed.
Requests concerning the accuracy of published journalism are handled through SCENE 49's editorial corrections process rather than as ordinary administrative privacy requests.
Information collected, used or disclosed solely for journalistic purposes may not be subject to the same access and correction requirements as administrative personal information.
Privacy Complaints
Privacy complaints may be submitted through the SCENE 49 Contact page.
Please identify the message as a Privacy Complaint and explain:
what information or privacy practice is at issue;
the date or approximate date of the incident;
the steps you have already taken, if any; and
the resolution you are requesting.
The Privacy Officer will review the complaint, may request additional information and will respond within a reasonable period.
A person who is dissatisfied with SCENE 49's response may contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta.
External Websites and Embedded Content
SCENE 49 may contain links to external websites or embedded content provided by third parties.
Those services operate under their own privacy policies and may collect information when embedded content loads or when visitors interact with it.
SCENE 49 is not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites or third-party services.
Changes to This Policy
This policy may be updated when SCENE 49's website, services or information-handling practices change.
The most recent revision date will appear at the top of this page.
Contact
Privacy questions, requests and complaints may be submitted through the SCENE 49 Contact page.
Please identify the message as a Privacy Request or Privacy Complaint so it can be directed to the appropriate person.