Privacy Statement

Last updated: September 15, 2026

gusstories.ca is run by Gus Doiron of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. This page explains, in plain language, what information the site collects, why, and what you can do about it. The short version: we collect as little as we can, we never sell it, and anyone can read the stories without giving us anything at all.

Reading the stories

You don't need an account or an email address to read or print a story.

On gusstories.ca we use Google Analytics to count visits, for example which stories are read most. Google Analytics uses cookies and receives information such as the pages you visit, the type of device and browser you use, and your general location. It does not give us your name or email address. You can block it with your browser's privacy settings or Google's opt-out add-on.

If you become a member

When you pay the $15, we keep:

• your email address,
• the date you paid and the amount,
• Stripe's reference numbers for the payment, so the payment can be looked up if there's a question.

Payments are handled by Stripe. Your card details go straight to Stripe and never reach this website, so we never see or store your card number. Stripe also handles your payment information under its own privacy policy.

Signing in

When you ask to sign in, we email you a one-time link. We keep a scrambled copy of that link (not the link itself) until it's used or expires, and the date you last signed in.

Once you're signed in, the site puts one cookie on your device so it remembers you. It holds a member number and a security code, nothing else, and it lasts about a year unless you sign out.

Emails about new stories

If you subscribe with the form on the site, we keep your email address, whether you've confirmed it, when you signed up and confirmed, and the internet (IP) address you signed up from, to stop people signing up addresses that aren't theirs.

If you're a member, you're on the members' email list from the day you pay, and we keep a note of whether you've turned the emails on or off and when. Under Canada's anti-spam law, a purchase lets us email you for two years; after that we only keep emailing members who have told us they want the emails.

We keep a copy of the emails Gus writes and how many people each went to, and a record of which stories were announced, but not which email went to whom. You can stop the emails any time with the link at the bottom of each one, or on the membership page. If you unsubscribe, we keep your address marked as unsubscribed so you don't get emails by mistake; ask us if you'd rather it was deleted.

The contact form

When you send Gus a message, we collect your name, email address, your message, and the internet (IP) address it was sent from, to deal with spam. The message is delivered to Gus by email through Media Ladder, the local company that builds and looks after this website, and Media Ladder keeps a copy in its email system so no message gets lost.

Who else handles your information

A few service providers handle information for the site, only to run it:

• IONOS hosts the website and its database.
• Stripe processes payments.
• Media Ladder builds and maintains the site and delivers its emails.
• Google provides the visit counts described above, and hosts the YouTube video on the About page.
• CBC hosts the CBC video on the About page.

Some of these companies store information on servers outside Canada, including in the United States, where it may be subject to the laws of that country. We don't sell, rent or trade your information, and we don't use it for advertising.

How long we keep it

We keep a member's email address and payment record for as long as the membership exists, since that's how the site knows you've paid. Sign-in links are useless after they expire. If you'd like your membership record deleted, ask us; we may need to keep basic payment records for tax purposes for as long as the law requires.

Your choices and rights

You can ask to see the information we have about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. You can also withdraw your consent to new story emails at any time. To do any of these, send Gus a message.

If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, please tell us first. You can also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Keeping it safe

The site uses an encrypted (https) connection, keeps member information in a database that isn't reachable from the web, and stores sign-in codes in scrambled form. No website is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable care.

Children

The kids' bedtime stories are meant to be read aloud by a parent or other adult. Memberships are for adults; we don't knowingly collect information from children.

Changes

We may update this statement when the site changes. The date at the top shows when it last changed.