Beyond Housing Privacy Policy
Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (PIPEDA)
Beyond Housing will comply with the following 10 principles as outlined in the PIPEDA:
- Accountability: an organization is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate an individual or individuals who are accountable for the organization’s compliance with the following principles.
- Identifying purposes: the purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by Beyond Housing at or before the time the information is collected.
- Consent: the knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate.
- Limiting Collection: the collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by Beyond Housing. Information shall be collected in a fair and lawful manner.
- Limiting use, disclosure, and retention: personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
- 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.
- Safeguards: personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
- Openness: Beyond Housing shall make readily available to individuals’ specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
- Individual access: upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
- Challenging compliance: an individual shall be able to address and challenge concerns related to compliance with the above principles with the Executive Director.
Our Commitment
Beyond Housing is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information of its donors, tenants, volunteers (including board members), employees, and other stakeholders. Beyond Housing values the trust of everyone we deal with and recognizes that maintaining this trust requires transparency and accountability in how we manage the information that is provided to us.
During the course of its various activities, Beyond Housing frequently gathers and uses personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected and used in a responsible manner, with respect for the individual and a strong sense of appropriateness. The privacy practices of Beyond Housing are designed to fulfill this commitment.
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. Business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, information available on personal and corporate websites, promotional material relating to one’s business, advertising in public forums, etc. are not considered personal information.
Privacy Practices
Personal information gathered by Beyond Housing is kept in confidence. Our staff members are authorized to access personal information based only upon their need to use that information for the reason it was obtained. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which it was gathered. Once the information is no longer required, the information is destroyed or made anonymous.
We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable individual would consider appropriate. Every time we collect personal information, we clearly state the purpose for its use. We do not lend, exchange, rent or sell personal information in our files, including donor lists, to other organizations. If we wish to use the information for a different purpose than that for which it was originally collected, we will obtain the consent of the person. Opportunity is given to withdraw consent for the use of personal information at any time by contacting the Privacy Officer via email to privacyofficer@beyondhousing.ca or calling 226-476-2535.
