Cookie Policy
Last updated: 17 August 2026
This page lists everything lwdhospitalfoundation.ca stores in your browser, why it is stored and how long it lasts — and how to change your mind at any time.
Change your choices
Use the Cookie settings button at the bottom of every page, or here:
1. What cookies are
A cookie is a small text file that a website asks your browser to keep, so that something can be remembered between pages or between visits. Similar technologies — local storage, session storage and pixels — do much the same job, and this policy covers them all.
This site relies mainly on local storage rather than cookies. Local storage keeps a value in your browser on your device; unlike a cookie it is not sent to a server with every request.
2. How consent works here
When you first arrive you are asked to choose. Until you do, nothing beyond the strictly necessary category runs: no analytics script is loaded and no analytics or marketing request is sent. Your choice is recorded and applied on every later visit until you change it.
We use Google Consent Mode v2 with every optional category set to denied by default, so that any tag which is later added respects the choice you made.
3. Categories of cookies and storage
| Category | What it does | Examples | Retention | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Makes the site work and remembers the choice you made about cookies. Cannot be switched off. | lwdhf_consent_v1, lwdhf_session |
Consent record: until you change it. Sign-in session: 12 hours, or 30 days if you asked to stay signed in. | Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation |
| Preferences | Remembers settings you chose: language, low-bandwidth mode, and the filters you last used on the Winners page. | lwdhf_lang, lwdhf_lite, lwdhf_winners_view, lwdhf_account_v1 |
Until you clear your browser data or delete the account | Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation |
| Analytics | Counts page views and measures how the site is used, so we can improve it. Loads only after you allow it. | Google Analytics 4 (_ga, _ga_<id>) |
Up to 24 months for the identifier; up to 14 months for the reports | Google LLC, on our instructions |
| Marketing | Would measure how well campaigns bring people to the raffle. Nothing in this category is currently used on the site; the control exists so that your choice is already recorded if that changes. | None in use | Not applicable | Not applicable |
4. Every browser storage key this site uses
All of these are stored in your browser under the lwdhf_ prefix. They stay on your device. Deleting them at any time is safe: the site keeps working and simply forgets your settings.
| Key | Purpose | Category |
|---|---|---|
lwdhf_consent_v1 |
Your cookie consent choices, the version of this policy they relate to, and the date you made them. | Strictly necessary |
lwdhf_session |
Keeps you signed in to the browser-based site account on this device until the session expires. | Strictly necessary |
lwdhf_lang |
The language you last used, English or French. | Preferences |
lwdhf_lite |
Whether low-bandwidth mode is switched on. | Preferences |
lwdhf_winners_view |
The prize-type filter, year filter and page number you last used on the Winners page. | Preferences |
lwdhf_account_v1 |
Your site account: display name, email address, the salt and hash of your password, your language and low-bandwidth preferences, the draw reminders you selected, and the date you agreed to the terms and confirmed you are 18 or older. No payment data, identification data, health information or date of birth is ever stored. | Preferences |
lwdhf_admin_overrides |
Content edits that Foundation staff preview in their own browser before publishing. This key is never set for ordinary visitors. | Preferences |
5. Location technologies used by the raffle platform
Ontario law allows raffle tickets to be sold only to people who are in Ontario at the time of purchase. To enforce that, the raffle platform operated by Raffle Nexus Canada Inc. uses location technologies on its own checkout: your device’s location services if you allow them, together with IP-based geolocation and checks intended to detect a VPN or proxy.
Those technologies run on the vendor’s site, not on this one, and are governed by its policies. Nothing on lwdhospitalfoundation.ca asks for or records your location.
6. Managing cookies in your browser
You can also control cookies and storage in your browser settings — usually under Privacy, Cookies, or Site data. There you can block cookies, delete what is already stored, or clear the data for a single site. Browsers also offer a private or incognito window that discards everything when you close it.
Clearing site data for this site removes every lwdhf_ key, including your consent record and your site account. You will be asked about cookies again on your next visit.
7. What happens if you refuse
- Strictly necessary: cannot be switched off. Without them the consent banner would reappear on every page and you could not stay signed in to the site account.
- Preferences off: the site works normally, but it will not remember your language, low-bandwidth mode or Winners filters between visits.
- Analytics off: nothing changes for you. We simply see less about how the site is used.
- Marketing off: nothing changes; nothing in this category is currently in use.
Refusing optional categories never affects your ability to read any page, to buy a ticket or to claim a prize.
8. More information
How we handle personal information generally is set out in the Privacy Policy. Questions about this policy go to privacy@lwdhospitalfoundation.ca.