OUR COMMITMENT

The YW of Kitchener-Waterloo is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its employees, volunteers, members, clients, donors and other stakeholders. We value the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires us to be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you choose to share with us.

During the course of our various programs and activities, we gather and use personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information can expect that it will be carefully protected. Our privacy practices are designed to achieve this and to meet all legislative requirements with respect to privacy. Towards this end, our privacy practices are based on the 10 Privacy Principles in the Federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, (PIPEDA), as follows:

1. Accountability: We are accountable for your personal information
2. Identifying Purposes: We collect, use and disclose personal information only for certain purposes that we identify to you
3. Consent: We will obtain your consent
4. Limiting Collection: We limit collection of personal information to that which is necessary for the identified purposes
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention: We will not use or disclose personal information for other than identified purposes, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law; the information shall be retained only as long as necessary for fulfillment of those purposes
6. Accuracy: Personal information shall be as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used
7. Safeguards: Personal information shall be protected by safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of that information
8. Openness: We shall make readily available to you information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information
9. Individual access: You may ask whether we hold any personal information about you, ensure that it’s accurate; your requests to see that information shall be made in writing and responded to within 30 days
10. Challenging Compliance: You may register a complaint by contacting the YW-KW’s Privacy Officer

Defining personal information

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual’s opinions or beliefs, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual.

Within Privacy legislation, the following is not considered personal information: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories. Where an individual uses his or her home contact information as business contact information as well, we consider that the contact information provided is business contact information, and is not therefore subject to protection as personal information.

Privacy practices

As stated, our practices are based on the 10 Privacy Principles outlined above. Personal information gathered by our association is kept in confidence. Our staff are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was gathered. We also take measures to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed.

We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in light of the circumstances. We routinely offer individuals we deal with the opportunity to opt not to have their information shared for purposes beyond those for which it was explicitly collected. Our Electronic Systems are set up using password protocols and encryption software to protect personal and other information which is retained and/or used online.

Contact Information

Question, concerns or complaints relating to the YW-KW’s privacy policy on the treatment of personal information should be e-mailed to the Program Director or the Privacy Officer at 153 Frederick Street, Main Floor, Kitchener, Ontario, N2H 2M2.

Further information on privacy and your rights in regard to your personal information may be found on the website of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.privcom.gc.ca.