Privacy
Friends for life society handles information in accordance with the personal information and protection of electronic documents act (Canada) and the personal information protection act (BC).
The Vancouver Friends For Life Society (the Society) is committed to providing our clients, members, volunteers, donors, financial supporters and other stakeholders (our Stakeholders) with exceptional service. Since providing this service involves the collection, use and disclosure of some personal information, protecting this personal information...
The Vancouver Friends For Life Society (the Society) is committed to providing our clients, members, volunteers, donors, financial supporters and other stakeholders (our Stakeholders) with exceptional service. Since providing this service involves the collection, use and disclosure of some personal information, protecting this personal information is one of our highest priorities. We value the trust of our stakeholders, and we commit to being clear, transparent and accountable when dealing with the information shared with us. We undertake to utilize personal information only for the reason that it was intended.
While we have always respected our Stakeholders’ privacy and safeguarded their personal information, we have strengthened our commitment to protecting personal information as a result of British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, sets out the ground rules for how B.C. businesses and not-for-profit organizations may collect, use and disclose personal information.
We will inform our Stakeholders of why and how we collect, use and disclose their personal information, obtain their consent where required, and only handle their personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.
This Personal Information Protection Policy, in compliance with PIPA, outlines the principles and practices we will follow in protecting our Stakeholders’ personal information. Our privacy commitment includes ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of our Stakeholders’ personal information and allowing our Stakeholders to request access to, and correction of, their personal information.
Personal Information
Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual including name, age, home address and phone number, social insurance number, health status, medical information or socio-economic status. Personal information does not include contact...
Personal Information
Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual including name, age, home address and phone number, social insurance number, health status, medical information or socio-economic status. Personal information does not include contact information (described below).
Contact Information
Contact Information means information that would enable an individual to be contacted at a place of business and includes name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number. Contact information is not covered by this policy or PIPA.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder is a client, member, volunteer, donor and/or financial supporter of the Vancouver Friends For Life
Society.
Privacy Officer
Privacy Officer means the individual designated responsible for ensuring that the Vancouver Friends For Life
Society complies with this policy and PIPA.
1.1
Unless the purposes for collecting personal information are obvious and the Stakeholder voluntarily provides his or her personal information for those purposes, we will communicate the purposes for which personal information is being collected, either orally or in writing, before or at the time of collection.
1.2
We will only collect Stakeholder information that is necessary to fulfill the following purposes:
- To verify identity;
- To verify medical status;
- To deliver requested medical, counseling, health and wellness programming and services;
- To enroll the member in a program;
- To send out Society membership information;
- To contact our Stakeholders for fundraising;
- To ensure a high standard of service to our clients and members;
- To meet regulatory requirements.
2.1
We will obtain Stakeholder consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted below, we are authorized to do so without consent).
2.2
Consent can be provided orally, in writing, electronically, and/or through an authorized representative or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting, using or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious and the Stakeholder voluntarily provides personal information for that purpose.
2.3
Consent may also be implied where a Stakeholder is given notice and a reasonable opportunity to optout of his or her personal information being used for mail-outs, other communications or fundraising and the Stakeholder does not opt-out.
2.4
Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide the service, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), Stakeholders can withhold or withdraw their consent for the Vancouver Friends For Life Society to use their personal information in certain ways. A Stakeholder’s decision to withhold or withdraw their consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service or product. If so, we will explain the situation to assist the Stakeholder in making the decision.
2.5
We may collect, use or disclose personal information without the Stakeholder’s knowledge or consent in the following limited circumstances:
- When the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is permitted or required by law;
- In an emergency that threatens an individual's life, health, or personal security;
- When the personal information is available from a public source (e.g., a telephone directory);
- When we require legal advice from a lawyer;
- To protect ourselves from fraud;
- To investigate an anticipated breach of an agreement or a contravention of law.
3.1
We will only use or disclose Stakeholder personal information where necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection or for a purpose reasonably related to those purposes such as: Effective August 10, 2004
- To conduct Stakeholder surveys in order to enhance the provision of our services;
- To contact our Stakeholders directly about programming, services and donor opportunities that may be of interest.
3.2
We will not use or disclose Stakeholder personal information for any additional purpose unless we obtain consent to do so.
3.3
We will not sell Stakeholder lists or personal information to other parties.
4.1
If we use Stakeholder personal information to make a decision that directly affects the Stakeholder we will retain that personal information for at least one year so that the Stakeholder has a reasonable opportunity to request access to it.
4.2
Subject to policy 4.1, we will retain Stakeholder personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or a legal or business purpose.
5.1
We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that Stakeholder personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about the Stakeholder or disclosed to another organization.
5.2
Stakeholders may request correction to their personal information in order to ensure its accuracy and completeness. A request to correct personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information and the correction being sought. A request to correct personal information should be forwarded to the Privacy Officer.
5.3
If the personal information is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will note the Stakeholder’s correction request in the file.
6.1
We are committed to ensuring the security of Stakeholder personal information in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks.
6.2
The following security measures will be followed to ensure that client and member personal information is appropriately protected:The use of locked filing cabinets;
- Physically securing offices where personal information is held;
- The use of user IDs, passwords, protocols, encryption and firewalls when conducting website and electronic communication;
- Restricting employee access to personal information as appropriate (e.g., only those that need to know will have access;
- Contractually requiring any service providers to provide comparable security measures.
6.3
We will use appropriate security measures when destroying Stakeholders’ personal information such as shredding documents and deleting electronically stored information.
6.4
We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.
7.1
Stakeholders have a right to access their personal information, subject to limited exceptions that include: solicitor-client privilege, disclosure would reveal personal information about another individual, health and safety concerns.
7.2
A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought. A request to access personal information should be forwarded to the Privacy Officer.
7.3
Upon request, we will also tell Stakeholders how we use their personal information and to whom it has been disclosed if applicable.
7.4
We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request.
7.5
A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information. Where a fee may apply, we will inform the Stakeholder of the cost and request further direction from the Stakeholder on whether or not we should proceed with the request.
7.6
If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify the Stakeholder in writing, providing the reasons for refusal and the recourse available to the Stakeholder.
8.1
The Privacy Officer is responsible for ensuring the Vancouver Friends For Life Society’s compliance with this policy and the Personal Information Protection Act.
8.2
Stakeholders should direct any complaints, concerns or questions regarding the Vancouver Friends For Life Society’s compliance in writing to the Privacy Officer. If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve the concern, the Stakeholder may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.
Contact information for the Vancouver Friends For Life Society’s Privacy Officer:
Austin Neaves
Client Services & Operations Manager
The Vancouver Friends For Life Society
1459 Barclay Street
Vancouver, BC
V6G 1J6
[email protected]
604.682.5992 ext. 4
The Vancouver Friends For Life Society is a non-profit organization providing holistic health services to individuals living with serious and life-threatening illnesses...
The Vancouver Friends For Life Society is a non-profit organization providing holistic health services to individuals living with serious and life-threatening illnesses.
Unless otherwise noted, the information on this website is written by staff of the Vancouver Friends For Life Society. Medical information is reviewed by qualified medical reviewers as necessary, however, users of this site should note that the information here cannot replace the advice of a medical professional.
All users of this site are encouraged to seek medical advice applicable to their circumstances, as the information contained in this site cannot be relied on to replace, modify or limit information from a medical, legal or counselling professional. The user acknowledges these limitations and accepts full responsibility for her use of the information on this site as well as for any costs, loss, damage or other negative consequences she should suffer from her use of that information.