Policies

Network Policies

CANARIE Connection Policy

This policy covers those who may physically connect to the CANARIE network infrastructure subject to the guidelines in this document. This policy is not retroactive; connections which existed prior to its creation are unaffected (“legacy”).

Connection Guidelines

Organizations must connect to CANARIE via the National Research and Education Network (NREN) partner in their province or territory, with the following exceptions

  • Any federal organization in the Ottawa/Gatineau region has the option of connecting via Shared Services Canada.
  • Direct connections to CANARIE may be granted to organizations that require a service that is not provided by an NREN partner or Shared Services Canada.
  • International partners may connect directly to CANARIE or to an NREN partner based on the locality of the respective points of presence (PoP).

In all cases, connections are made to CANARIE network infrastructure in consultation with the local NREN partner or Shared Services Canada.

Connection Instructions

  • Organizations are encouraged to use the NREN partner in their province or territory to gain access to a CANARIE PoP.
  • The NREN partner may charge fees and may have their own Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for access to the PoP. These fees and AUPs are established by the NREN partner and reflect local costs, funding arrangements, and other factors.
  • If an organization cannot come to an agreement to connect to Shared Services Canada or an NREN partner, it can apply to CANARIE to create and operate a PoP directly connected to the CANARIE Network. Such PoPs must be approved by CANARIE in consultation with the NREN Governance Committee (made up of representatives of the NREN). The applicant must bear all costs of the PoP and any additional costs imposed upon CANARIE to connect such a PoP.

Acceptable Use Policy

Within the broader goal to advance the development of the digital economy in Canada, CANARIE network infrastructure and services are provided to support research, education, advanced application development and usage by Canadian research, education, government, and industry organizations.

The CANARIE network can be used for any legal purpose in support of this goal, so long as it does not interfere with or adversely affect the operation of the CANARIE network or any network user, as may be determined by CANARIE.

CANARIE reserves the right, through its governance processes, to modify this AUP from time to time and intends to provide advance notice of any such modifications.

Content Peer Policy

Within the broader goal to advance the development of the digital economy in Canada, CANARIE network infrastructure and services are provided to support research, education, advanced application development and usage by Canadian research, education, government, and industry organizations. This policy applies to the connection of Content Providers to the CANARIE network infrastructure.

Who We Peer With

Under this policy, CANARIE will peer with content providers who support the research and education community (see current list). Peering with content providers enables users of the CANARIE Network to not only have superior access for collaboration amongst their community, but also to have superior access to public domain information in support of their work.

CANARIE will accept requests to peer with specific content providers. These requests may be received from a number of sources, including the content provider itself, a specific user, or the user community en masse. However, to ensure consistency with its mandate, the final decision of whom to peer with rests solely with CANARIE.

Transit

Under this policy, the CANARIE infrastructure will only carry traffic from content providers to its user community and will not transit that traffic across its network for any other purposes.

Network Routing Policy

This document outlines the use of unicast routing protocols in the CANARIE IP backbone and the mechanisms used to influence network traffic flow in order to meet the routing policy objectives. The contents of this document equally apply to the IPv4 and IPv6 protocols, except where explicitly mentioned otherwise. Multicast routing protocols are covered in a separate document.

This document is written for operational and engineering personnel of the CANARIE Network, Shared Services Canada, NREN partners, international network peers, and international network exchange point operators.

This document will be updated as operational requirements evolve.

Other Policies

Accessibility Policy

CANARIE is committed to ensuring equal access for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence.

We believe in integration, and we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and by meeting our accessibility requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.

Cybersecurity Policy

Within the broader goal to advance the development of the digital economy in Canada, CANARIE network infrastructure and services are provided to support research, education, advanced application development and usage by Canadian research, education, government, and industry organizations.

CANARIE will implement security controls, as it may determine, that protect the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of its services and the digital infrastructures that support them.

CANARIE reserves the right, through its governance processes, to modify this Policy from time to time and intends to provide advance notice of any such modifications.

Privacy Policy

CANARIE promotes an open and transparent approach to communications with a focus on information sharing while respecting the privacy of its lead contractors and their participants. Although CANARIE is not subject to the federal Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, or the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act, it operates in a transparent manner while respecting the principles of freedom of information and protection of privacy.

Supplier Code of Conduct

Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out the principles and expectations as to how suppliers that provide goods and services to CANARIE are to conduct business and deal with CANARIE. We regularly review the Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure it remains relevant and up to date.

The Code is principles-based and sets out our expectations of suppliers to ensure their behaviour aligns with CANARIE standards in the following key areas:

  • Business Integrity
  • Responsible Business Practices
  • Responsible Treatment of Individuals
  • Information and Data Management

Our expectation is that our suppliers already comply with the Code, as our existing supplier arrangements contain most of the above principles. To ensure adherence to the Code, we will monitor compliance, which may require suppliers to periodically confirm in writing that they continue to meet the Code’s expectations.

If you:

  • Require more clarification or have additional questions about this process, please contact Procurement: procurement@canarie.ca
  • Have reason to believe that the spirit or principles of this Code are not being respected by a CANARIE supplier, report this to CANARIE Supplier Risk at .