Baxter creek watershed alliance Privacy Policy

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Personal information protection policy:

Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us. We manage personal information in accordance with Ontario’s Personal Information Protection Act and other applicable laws. This policy outlines the principles and practices we follow in protecting personal information.

This policy applies to the Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance and to any person providing services on our behalf. A copy of this policy is provided to any one on request.

1. What is Personal Information?

Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. This includes an individual’s name, home address and phone number, age, sex, marital or family status, an identifying number, financial information, educational history, etc.

2. What Personal Information Do We Collect?

We collect only the personal information that we need for the purposes of providing services to our staff, volunteers and supporters, including personal information needed to:

• Deliver services as required by law

• Enroll them in a program

• Send out membership information

We normally collect personal information directly from individuals, but we may collect information from other persons with consent or as authorized by law.

We inform all individuals, before or at the time of collecting personal information, of the purposes for which we are collecting the information. The only time we don’t provide this notification is when information is volunteered for an obvious purpose (for example, producing a credit card to pay a membership fee when the information will be used only to process the payment).

3. Consent

We ask for consent to collect, use or disclose client personal information, except in specific circumstances where collection, use or disclosure without consent is authorized or required by law. 

We may assume consent in cases where information is volunteered for an obvious purpose.

We assume consent to continue to use and, where applicable, disclose personal information that we have already collected, for the purpose for which the information was collected.

We ask for express consent for some purposes and may not be able to provide certain services if an individual is unwilling to provide consent to the collection, use or disclosure of certain personal information. Where express consent is needed, we will normally ask the individual to provide their consent orally (in person, by telephone), or in writing (by signing a consent form).

An individual may withdraw consent to the use and disclosure of personal information at any time, unless the personal information is necessary for us to fulfil our legal obligations. We will respect this decision, but we may not be able to provide certain services if we do not have the necessary personal information.

We may collect, use or disclose client personal information without consent only as authorized by law. For example, we may not request consent when the collection, use or disclosure is to determine suitability for an honour or award, or in an emergency that threatens life, health or safety.

4. Use and Disclosure of Personal Information?

We use and disclose personal information only for the purpose for which the information was collected, except as authorized by law. For example, we may use contact information provided by individuals to inform them of our programs and projects and fundraising efforts.

If we wish to use or disclose personal information for any new business purpose, we will ask for consent.

5. Personal Employee Information

Personal employee information is personal information about an employee or volunteer which is collected, used or disclosed solely for the purposes of establishing, managing or terminating an employment relationship or a volunteer work relationship. Personal employee information may, in some circumstances, include a Social Insurance Number, a performance review, etc.

We can collect, use and disclose personal employee information without consent only for the purposes of establishing, managing or ending the employment or volunteer relationship. We will provide current employees and volunteers with prior notice about what information we collect, use or disclose and our purpose for doing so.

6. Collection, Use and Disclose of Personal Information

We collect, use and disclose personal employee and volunteer information to meet the following purposes:

• Determining eligibility for employment or volunteer work, including verifying qualifications and references

• Establishing training and development requirements

• Assessing performance and managing performance issues if they arise

• Administering pay and benefits (paid employees only)

• Processing employee work-related claims (e.g. benefits, workers’ compensation, insurance claims) (paid employees only)

• Complying with requirements of funding bodies (e.g. lottery grants)

• Complying with applicable laws (e.g. Canada Income Tax Act, Ontario Employment Standards Code)

We only collect, use and disclose the amount and type of personal employee information that is reasonable to meet the above purposes. The following is a list of personal employee information that we may collect, use and disclose to meet those purposes.

• Contact information such as name, home address, telephone number

• Criminal background checks

• Employment or volunteer information such as resume (including educational background, work history and references), reference information and interview notes, letters of offer and acceptance of employment, policy acknowledgement forms, background verification information, workplace performance evaluations, emergency contacts, etc.

• Benefit information such as forms relating to applications or changes to health and insurance benefits including medical and dental care, life insurance, short and long term disability, etc. (paid employees only)

• Financial information, such as pay cheque deposit information and tax-related information, including Social Insurance Numbers (paid employees only)

• Other personal information required for the purposes of our employment or volunteer relationship

We will inform employees and volunteers of any new purpose for which we will collect, use, or disclose personal employee information and we will obtain consent, before, or at the time the information is collected.

We will obtain consent to collect, use and disclose personal information for any purposes unrelated to the employment or volunteer relationship.

7. Information Provided for Employment/Volunteer References

In some cases, after employment or volunteer relationship with us ends, we may be contacted by other organizations and asked to provide a reference. It is our policy not to disclose personal information about our employees and volunteers to other organizations who request references without consent. The personal information we normally provide in a reference includes:

• Confirmation that an individual was an employee or volunteer, including the position, and date range of the employment or volunteering

• General information about an individual’s job duties and information about the employee or volunteer’s ability to perform job duties and success in the employment or volunteer relationship

8. Safeguarding Personal Information

We make every reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. We rely on individuals to notify us if there is a change to their personal information that may affect their relationship with our organization. If there is an error in our information about an individual may request in writing for correction.

We protect personal information in a manner appropriate for the sensitivity of the information and make every reasonable effort to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information.

We use appropriate security measures when destroying personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records as permitted by law.

We retain personal information only as long as is reasonable to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected or for legal or business purposes.

9. Access to Records Containing Personal Information

Individuals have a right to access their own personal information in a record that is in the custody or under the control of Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance, subject to some exceptions. For example, organizations are required under the Personal Information Protection Act to refuse to provide access to information that would reveal personal information about another individual.

If we refuse a request in whole or in part, we will provide the reasons for the refusal. In some cases where exceptions to access apply, we may withhold that information and provide an individual with the remainder of the record.

Requests for access to personal information are made by writing to the Chair of the Board of Directors. The individual must provide sufficient information in request to allow us to identify the information being sought and the purpose.

Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance will respond to a request within forty-five (45) calendar days, unless an extension is granted.

10. Questions and Complaints

Questions or concerns about any collection, use or disclosure of personal information by Baxter Creek Watershed Alliance, or about a request for access to personal information should be directed to the Chair of the Board of Directors.

If the individual or body requesting information is not satisfied with the response you receive, they would be directed to contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario:

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400

Toronto, Ontario  M4W 1A8

Telephone: (416) 326-3333

Toll Free: 1 (800) 387-0073

Email: info@ipc.on.ca

Website: www.ipc.on.ca