Introduction

Human Resources firms and other business throughout Canada are required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act(s) (PIPEDA), which took effect January 1, 2004. PIPEDA aims to protect the privacy of Canadians in the private sector by setting out ground rules for the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activities. The information below are meant to inform you about the privacy and practices at CITRN and your rights under the Act.

Your Privacy

As professionals, it has always been our professional and ethical duty to hold client information in the strictest confidence. The privacy practices of CITRN are compliant with PIPEDA.

Our staff and associates throughout Atlantic Canada understand the importance of maintaining complete confidentiality of all client information obtained in the course of serving you. We collect only the information required to ensure you receive the highest standards of services, and we safeguard and retain these information for as long as it is necessary. All information that are not retained are destroyed by shredding or deletion.

What is Personal Information?

Personal Information is information, recorded or not, about an identifiable individual and include that individual’s home, address, gender, age, marital status, financial information, nationality, health information, employment information, family status, opinions about the individual, and any other information that may be linked to that individual.

Personal information does not include an individual’s so-called “business card” details, which is an individual’s name, title, business address, and telephone number or other contact information in relation to his or her employment by an organization.

Your Consent

With some exceptions, we require your consent before we collect, use, or disclose your personal information. This consent may be provided in writing or verbally or may be implied through your request for us to represent you on a matter.

You may withdraw your consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information at any time subject to applicable legal restrictions. Withdrawing your consent may affect our ability to continue providing you with our services. If this situation occurs, we will advise you of the implications of your decision.

Our Policy – Collection, Use, Disclosure

CITRN only collects only personal information required to ensure you receive quality service. The type and amount of information collected depend on the nature of the advice and services we provide to you.

• Initially, when contacted by you for our services, we will require your name, contact information, and the name of any other party or parties involved. These information will let us determine if we may act on your behalf or if there would be a conflict of interest. If we are unable to represent you, no file is opened and your personal information are not retained.
• Once we determine that we are able to represent you, we will open a file and further information, including personal information, necessary to provide you with full representation will be collected and retained in your file.
• Upon the opening of your file, you will be asked for your consent to allow us to collect the necessary personal information and to use and/or disclose these information as needed to provide advice or to properly represent you.
• Upon completion of your services, all your information will be retained for a reasonable period of time for future reference. We may be required to access them if some additional follow-ups are required, or if some other issue arise or if a conflict of interest is suspected.
• PIPEDA identifies limited circumstances where an individual’s consent is not required.
   

Safeguarding Information

At CITRN, your information are protected by maintaining these information in confidential hard copy files and in our confidential computer system. Our staff are trained to maintain confidentiality. When services are completed and a file is closed, only essential information, which may include personal information, are placed in storage. We ensure, by contract, that anyone handling our files maintain confidentiality.

Access

You have the right, upon request, to be informed whether or not CITRN holds personal information about you.
Subject to some exceptions, you have a right to review the personal information the firm has about you and to be advised of any use or disclosure that has been made of the information. You may need to provide us with sufficient information to allow us to respond to your inquiry. A request for information should be made in writing to our Privacy Officer. A response will be made within 30 days. You will be advised if we require more than 30 days to respond to your request.

If, after review of your personal information, you believe it is inaccurate or incomplete, we will work with you to correct it. Documentation in support of your claim may be required.

Please note that your access to your personal information has exceptions and may not include information that would likely reveal personal information of a third party, information that for certain legal, security or propriety reasons cannot be disclosed, and information that are subject to Citrn-client privilege.

Privacy Officer

CITRN has appointed a Privacy Officer to assist the company staff and associates in complying with PIPEDA and to assist our clients in exercising their rights under the Act. Your question/s may be directed to the Privacy Officer at your nearest CITRN Canada Office.