Have a travel picture worth $3,000?

VIA Rail Canada Inc. is the Contest Holder for the "Vivian's photo contest on Facebook".

Conditions

The contest is open to all Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their home province at the time they entered this contest.

By entering this contest, each entrant agrees to, and is deemed to have accepted, all terms, conditions, rules and regulations set forth herein.

VIA Rail Canada agrees to abide by these terms, conditions, rules and regulations. All decisions by the contest managers are final.

Contestants must have an updated Facebook profile, including first and last name, as well as city of residence and a valid e-mail address.
 
Contest period

The contest begins at midnight (ET) on Thursday, October 8, 2009, and ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday, November 13, 2009.

How to enter

Contestants must submit their entries online before 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday, November 13, 2009. PRINTED PHOTOS CANNOT BE SUBMITTED.

All photos must be relevant to the general theme of "train travel in Canada". Individual photos must be tagged into one of four categories: What you see from your train window; Urban landscapes; Steel, glass and iron; and, What train travel means to you.

Scanned submissions must meet the following specifications: TIFF or JPEG format, 5"x7", 300 dpi, CMYK or RGB, maximum 8.5 MB (a high-speed Internet connection is recommended).

If a digital camera is the source device, files must be in JPEG format, 800 x 600 pixels minimum, RGB, 8.5 MB maximum (a high-speed Internet connection is recommended).

Any photo that has been faked or manipulated will be automatically refused. It is also forbidden to submit content that violates third-party rights or is defamatory, libellous, obscene, offensive, violent or that incites violence, racism, xenophobia, or that in any way violates the conditions of this contest. Consequently, the Contest Holder reserves the right to refuse any content, at its sole discretion, if that content violates the conditions of use, current laws and regulations, and/or good taste.

Rights

By participating, contestants vouch that they are the author and sole copyright holder of the submitted photograph, that they have obtained permission from everyone appearing in the photograph and that the photo has never been entered into or have won another contest. The photo may not include any minors. Contestants will hold VIA Rail Canada safe from any lawsuit that might be instituted upon publication of the photo.

Contestants surrender publication rights to winning submissions, which may be used for promotional purposes by VIA Rail Canada, which may publish the material for advertising purposes, including the Internet and various magazines. Once the prize has been accepted, no rights to publish, print or advertise and no compensation of any kind whatsoever (other than the awarded prize) may be claimed by the winners for the above-mentioned information.

Photographs that are deemed unpublishable, or that do not conform with contest regulations will be automatically disqualified.

Determination of winner

A jury will be convened at VIA Rail's headquarters, located at 3 Place Ville-Marie, 5th floor, Montréal, QC, on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 to determine the prize winners.

Jury members will take the following criteria into consideration when selecting the grand prize winner: originality, creativity, general aesthetic vision (framing, etc.) and image quality.

Notification of winner

The first selected contestant will be contacted via an e-mail sent to the address provided by the entrant on his/her Facebook profile.

The contestant must contact the Contest Holder within 48 hours of receiving the e-mail to claim their prize and be declared a winner. If the first selected contestant fails to contact the Contest Holder within that timeframe, they will be automatically disqualified. Then, the second selected contestant will be contacted and must meet the same conditions to be declared a winner.

This process will be applied to the list of selected contestants until a first winner has been selected, then a second, etc., and all the winners have been determined and awarded their prize.

Prize descriptions

Three (3) major prizes will be awarded, as follows.

One (1) grand prize of: 

• A $3,000 VIA Rail travel credit (valid for one year).

One (1) second prize of:

• Two (2) Canrailpasses (approximate value: $1,850).

One (1) third prize of:

• A digital camera (approximate value: $500).

Also, some select entries may win the special jury prize of:

• A $100 VIA Rail travel credit (valid for one year).

These prizes must be accepted as is, and cannot be transferred, exchanged, cashed or returned for refund.

The travel prizes do NOT include:

• expenses exceeding nominal value of credits;
• cost of travel to or from the origin or destination train stations;
• parking at train stations;
• personal expenses;
• meals (except when included with your train ticket);
• alcoholic beverages (except when included with your train ticket); or,
• any other expense not outlined specifically in prize description.

Delivery of prize

A representative appointed by VIA Rail will confirm the winner's address and the prize will be sent either by registered mail or by courier. The delivery method used will be decided upon by the representative appointed by VIA Rail and may depend on the prize itself.

The prize will be sent within seven (7) days after receipt of the release form signed by the winner (see next section.)

Rights of use and limitation of liability

Contest winners must consent to the use, if necessary, of their name and photograph for contest-related advertising purposes with no compensation.

A refusal to accept the prize releases the Contest Holder of all obligations related to the prize.

The Contest Holder assumes no liability in all instances in which its incapacity to act is the result of a situation or fact beyond its control, particularly a strike, lockout or any other labour conflict on its premises or those of its partners supplying part of the prize, if such situation or fact affects the services required for this contest.

The Contest Holder will not be held responsible in the event of failure or malfunction of any communications or computer system, including damages or loss incurred by any Web page or form during the transmission of information required for participation in the Contest. To this end, no guarantee can be made as to the accessibility or uninterrupted functioning of information systems or that all information will be transmitted without error.

The Contest Holder assumes no liability for lost or late entries, or mistakes on contestants' forms, misprints or any other errors.

Contest winners must sign a release form confirming their eligibility for the contest (as specified under "Eligibility" below) and relieving the Contest Holder of any liability for damages or losses resulting from entering this contest or related to award and use of the prizes.

Eligibility

The contest is open to all Canadian residents who have reached the age of majority in their province of residence at the time they entered this contest.

Employees, suppliers and agents of VIA Rail Canada, as well as persons residing with the above mentioned, are not entitled to enter the contest.

Privacy policy

Entering this contest requires the disclosure of certain personal contact information by the entrant. VIA Rail is committed to ensuring the safe management of this information and will take all precautions to make certain that its use is explicitly and, wherever possible, solely and securely used for the express intention of contacting the selected entrants. For more information, please consult our privacy policy.

Other mentions

This contest is subject to all applicable federal, provincial and municipal laws. All entries received become the property of VIA Rail Canada.