CSA GROUP PRIVACY STATEMENT

Your Privacy and CSA

CSA Group is committed to upholding the confidentiality and security of your personal information. We respect your right to privacy and have instituted practices that will help ensure that your personal information is handled responsibly. Our commitment to fair information-handling principles is demonstrated by our development of the Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information (CAN/CSA-Q830-96), the first national voluntary Standard on protection of personal information. This Standard is the basis for the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

In this privacy statement, we describe how we protect the personal information of our members, our customers, and other third parties, such as contractors. Our on-line privacy practices regarding personal information collected at CSA Group web-sites are described in our CSA Group Web-site Privacy Statement. Our commitment regarding the personal information of our employees is found in the CSA Group Employee Privacy Statement.

Personal Information

We use the term “personal information” to describe most types of information that can be linked to an identifiable individual. Examples include your name, home address and telephone number, and social insurance number. Information on your business card (such as your job title, business address, business telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address) is not typically considered personal information. However, in cases where our records include both personal and business contact information and we are unable to separate them, we will handle such records as personal information.

The Ten Privacy Principles

CSA needs to collect, use, retain, and disclose personal information to provide services to our members and customers. We will request from you only the personal information necessary to provide our services, and will tell you how we intend to use this information. To ensure that your privacy is protected, CSA is committed to honouring the following ten principles:

1. Accountability

CSA has given certain of its employees the responsibility for addressing your privacy concerns and ensuring CSA’s compliance with the ten privacy principles. Should you have concerns about how your information is handled, or any questions about our privacy policy, feel free to contact us at privacy@csagroup.org

2. Identifying Purposes

If we intend to use or disclose your information in ways other than those described to you at the time of collection, we will ensure that you are informed.

3. Consent

CSA understands that your consent is required for collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information (unless the law provides otherwise). To enable you to make an informed decision about the information you provide, we will clearly explain to you the reasons for collecting your personal information.

4. Limiting Collection

To protect your privacy, CSA will only collect personal information about you that is relevant to the purposes you are informed of at the time of collection. By collecting information limited to these purposes, CSA helps protect you from unnecessary or accidental uses of your information.

5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention

Just as CSA takes steps to limit the types of information we collect from you, we carefully regulate how we handle your personal information. We do not use your information for purposes other than those to which you have consented, or as required by law (for example in a legal investigation).

Should CSA require the services of third parties to handle your information, we will require them to adhere to privacy procedures that will keep your information confidential. These third parties will be given only the information necessary for performing their information-handling services.

CSA does not sell or trade personal information for commercial purposes. CSA occasionally shares personal information about members, such as mailing lists, with other organizations for Standards purposes that are consistent with CSA’s Standards goals and objectives and will be clearly explained to you.

CSA is committed to retaining your personal information only as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. CSA is also committed to deleting or destroying the records containing that information when they are no longer required; this will be done in ways that will ensure your continued privacy. In order to maintain complete archives of Standards activities, member records will be retained indefinitely.

6. Accuracy

We are committed to ensuring that our records of your personal information are accurate, complete, and up-to-date. Although it is your responsibility to inform CSA of any relevant changes in your personal information, we will take steps to ensure that you are able from time to time to verify the information in your file.

7. Safeguards

CSA uses appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of your personal information. These safeguards are designed to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification. Your records are accessible only to staff who have been given the authority to access them and only as is necessary to provide services to you.

8. Openness

So that you can be confident that CSA is handling your personal information appropriately, CSA will make information about its policies and practices concerning management of personal information readily available.


9. Individual Access

If at any time you have a question about our records containing your personal information, we will do our best to answer it. You have the right to be told about the kind of personal information CSA maintains, how it is used, and with whom it is shared. You are entitled to challenge the factual accuracy as well as the completeness and relevance of our records. Incorrect information will be promptly corrected or, if necessary, deleted.

In special circumstances, CSA may need to refuse or limit an access request, for example when disclosure of the information will reveal personal information about another person or interfere with a legal investigation.

Most inquiries about our records containing your personal information will be answered at no cost to you. In special circumstances, however, it may be necessary to charge a fee, for example when a lot of staff time is required to gather requested information. If a fee is necessary, you will be told in advance.

10. Addressing Comments and Concerns

An important measure of CSA’s compliance with the ten privacy principles is your perception of our practices and procedures. We welcome your comments and suggestions concerning this privacy statement and will respond to any concerns you may have about its application. Please visit our Web site at www.csa.ca for contact information and additional privacy materials.