The College’s Privacy Commitment
The Ontario College of Trades (the “College”) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, security, confidentiality and privacy of Personal Information and Confidential Information (as defined below) in accordance with Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 (OCTAA) and applicable Canadian privacy laws. This Policy (“Policy”) is a statement of principles and guidelines concerning the protection of Personal Information and Confidential Information related to our members (including individuals and member organizations), service providers and other individuals and organizations. This Privacy Policy applies to the College and its personnel, representatives and agents.
What is Confidential Information?
For the purposes of this Policy, confidential information means any confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets (“Confidential Information”) provided to us by any member organization which is not “Personal Information”.
What is Personal Information?
For the purposes of this Policy, personal information means information about an identifiable individual or which permits an individual to be identified (“Personal Information”). Generally speaking, Personal Information does not include what is considered to be business contact information (e.g., your name, title or position, business address, telephone number, facsimile number, or e-mail address).
Your Consent
YOU AGREE THAT THE COLLEGE MAY COLLECT, USE AND DISCLOSE SUCH PERSONAL INFORMATION AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION WHICH IS TRANSFERRED TO THE COLLEGE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2013 IN ACCORDANCE WITH OCTAA OR WHICH YOU SUBMIT TO THE COLLEGE OR ITS AGENTS AND SERVICES PROVIDERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS POLICY AND AS PERMITTED OR REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAWS. Subject to legal and contractual requirements, and reasonable notice, you may refuse or withdraw your consent to certain of the identified purposes at any time by contacting the College’s Chief Privacy Officer (as listed below). If you refuse or withdraw your consent, the College may not be able to provide you or continue to provide you with certain services or information which may be of value to you. If you provide us with the Personal Information or Confidential Information of another individual or organization, you represent that you have all necessary authority and/or have obtained all necessary consents from such individual or organization to enable us to collect, use and disclose such Personal Information and/or Confidential Information for the purposes set forth in this Policy.
Why does the College Collect Personal Information and Confidential Information?
The College limits the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information and Confidential Information, both in the amount and type of Personal Information and Confidential Information, to that which is necessary to fulfill the purposes identified within this Policy. The College will identify the purposes for which Personal Information or Confidential Information is collected at or before the time of collection. In general, the College collects uses and discloses Personal Information and Confidential Information in order to carry out its responsibilities under OCTAA. The College will make all reasonable efforts to fully inform such individuals about the planned use/disclosure. More specifically, the College may collect, use and disclose Personal Information and Confidential Information in accordance with section 79 of OCTAA or for any other purpose for which you consent or where such collection use and disclosure is required or permitted by applicable law.
To Whom does the College Disclose Personal Information and Confidential Information?
From time to time, the College may disclose Personal Information and/or Confidential Information to:
(a) service providers, including, but not limited to, an organization or individual retained by the College to perform functions on its behalf, such as marketing, data processing, document management and office services;
(b) a person who is providing or seeking the information as your agent, subject to verification by the College that the person is properly authorized to act as your agent.
(c) any other third party or parties, where you consent to such disclosure or where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
Where does the College Store Personal Information and Confidential Information?
Personal Information and Confidential Information is stored in secured locations and on servers controlled by the College, located either at the College’s offices or at the offices of the College’s service providers. The College retains Personal Information and Confidential Information only for as long as is necessary in order to fulfill the purposes identified within this Policy, or for as long as may be required to comply with applicable laws.
How does the College Protect Personal Information and Confidential Information ?
To help protect the confidentiality and security of Personal Information and Confidential Information, the College employs administrative and technological safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of this Information and in compliance with section 62(1) of OCTAA. If Personal Information or Confidential Information is sent to a third party for processing, the College will make sure, through the College’s contracts with such third parties, that all such information is kept secure. The College also operates secure data networks protected by industry standard firewall and password protection systems. Personal Information and Confidential Information is kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary to fulfill the purposes identified in this Policy. The College does not routinely update Personal Information or Confidential Information.
Privacy and the College’s Website
(a) Cookies – When an individual visitor accesses the College’s website, the College may use a browser feature called a ‘cookie’ to collect information such as the type of Internet browser and operating system the visitor uses, the domain name of the website from which the visitor came, date and duration of the visit, number of visits, average time spent on the College’s website, pages viewed and number of cookies accumulated. A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that identifies the visitor’s browser, but not necessarily the visitor, to the College’s computers each time the College’s website is visited. Unless a visitor specifically informs us (e.g. by registering for an event or sending us correspondence from the website), the College will not know who the individual visitors are. In addition to the identified purposes described in the College’s Privacy Policy, the College may use this website information and share it with other organizations with which the College have a commercial relationship to measure the use of the College’s website, to improve the functionality and content of the website and to facilitate usage by a visitor. Visitors can reset their browsers either to notify them when they have received a cookie or refuse to accept cookies. However, if a visitor refuses to accept cookies, he or she may not be able to use some of the features available on the College’s website.
(b) Online Communications – In order to provide the College’s website visitors with a service or information, visitors may voluntarily submit Personal Information to us for purposes such as asking a question, obtaining information, reviewing or downloading a publication, participating in a seminar or other event, and participating in research and surveys. If you are known to the College as a registered user of an online service, the College may combine and store Personal Information about your use of the College’s website and the online information you have provided with certain other online and offline information the College may have collected.
(c) E-Mail Communications – Occasionally, the College may send e-mail communications to you with information that may be useful, including information about the services of the College and other third parties with whom the College have a relationship. The College will include instructions on how to unsubscribe and inform us of preferences if you decide you do not want to receive any future marketing or promotional e-mails from the College.
(d) Links – The College’s website may contain links to other websites which are provided as a convenience only. Visitors are advised that other third party websites may have different privacy policies and practices than the College, and the College has no responsibility for such third party websites.
How can you Obtain Access to Personal Information and Confidential Information?
Upon your written request, by filling out our request for information form, and subject to certain exceptions, the College will inform you of the existence, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information, and for member organizations, of Confidential Information relevant to your organization, and will give you access to that Information. Access requests should be sent to the College’s Chief Privacy Officer using the contact information outlined below.
If access to your Personal Information or Confidential Information is denied, the College will notify you in writing, give reasons for the denial, and inform you of the recourses open to you. If access is granted, the College will give you a reasonable opportunity to review your Personal Information and Confidential Information, in an understandable form within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days. The College may extend such 30 day period by up to an additional 30 days if meeting the time limit would unreasonably interfere with the activities of the College or the time required to undertake any consultations necessary to respond to your request would make the time limit impracticable to meet. You will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your Personal Information and have it amended as appropriate.
Changes to the College’s Privacy Policy
The College may modify or supplement this Policy from time to time. If the College make a change to this Policy, the College will post such changes on the College’s website at www.collegeoftrades.ca/privacy will and make such revised policy and changes available upon request to the College’s Chief Privacy Officer. However, the College will obtain the necessary consents required under applicable privacy laws if it seeks to collect, use or disclose your Personal Information for purposes other than those for which your consent is obtained unless otherwise required or permitted by law.
How Can You Obtain Further Information Regarding the College’s Privacy Policy?
The College has appointed a Chief Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Policy and applicable privacy laws. For more information on the College’s privacy practices, please visit the College’s website or contact the College’s Chief Privacy Officer at:
Chief Privacy Officer – Ontario the College of Trades
Ontario the College of Trades
655 Bay St., Suite 600
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2K4
Phone: (647) 847-3000
E-Mail: privacy@collegeoftrades.ca
Web: www.collegeoftrades.ca/privacy
Changes to this Policy will be noted here so that you can be fully informed about the College’s privacy policies and practices.
Date last revised: September 21, 2012
Description of Revision:
Appendix A – OCTAA Sections Pertaining to Privacy
Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 Part X, S. 62(1)
Confidentiality
62. (1) An individual engaged by the College in the administration of this Act, including an individual authorized by the Registrar to act as an investigator or as an inspector for the purposes of Part VIII, shall preserve secrecy with respect to all information that comes to his or her knowledge in the course of his or her duties and shall not communicate any of those matters to anyone except,
(a) as may be required in connection with the administration of this Act and the regulations and by-laws or any proceeding under this Act or the regulations or bylaws;
(b) to his or her counsel;
(c) with the consent of the person to whom the information relates;
(d) to a peace officer to aid an investigation undertaken with a view to a law enforcement proceeding or from which a law enforcement proceeding is likely to result;
(e) to the extent that the information is available to the public under this Act; or
(f) as otherwise required by law. 2009, c. 22, s. 62 (1).
Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 Part XIV, S.79
79. (1) The Minister may collect personal information, directly or indirectly, related to the following matters, and may use it for those purposes:
Administering this Act and the regulations and implementing the policies and guidelines made under this Act.
Ensuring compliance with this Act, the regulations, and the policies and guidelines made under this Act.
Planning or delivering programs or services in relation to trades and apprenticeship that the ministry of the Minister provides or funds, in whole or in part, allocating resources to any of them, evaluating or monitoring any of them or detecting, monitoring and preventing fraud or any unauthorized receipt of services or benefits related to any of them.
Risk management, error management or activities to improve or maintain the quality of the programs or services in relation to trades and apprenticeship that the ministry of the Minister provides or funds, in whole or in part.
Research and statistical activities that relate to trades, whether or not they are designated under this Act, and that are conducted by or on behalf of the ministry of the Minister.
Such other matters related to trades, whether or not they are designated as trades under this Act, as the Lieutenant Governor in Council may determine. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (1).
Limits on collection and use
(2) The Minister shall not collect or use personal information if other information will serve the purpose of the collection or use. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (2).
Same
(3) The Minister shall not collect or use more personal information than is reasonably necessary to meet the purpose of the collection or use. 2009, c. 22, s. 79
(3).
(3).
Collection and use of personal information for research
(4) The collection or use of personal information for purposes related to the research as mentioned in paragraph 5 of subsection (1) is subject to any requirements and restrictions that may be prescribed in a Lieutenant Governor’s regulation. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (4).
Disclosure
(5) The Minister may require any of the following to disclose to him or her such personal information as is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in subsection (1):
The College and the persons who will provide training for apprenticeship programs established by the College.
Sponsors of apprentices.
Employers of apprentices and journeypersons. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (5).
Same
(6) The Minister may specify the time at which, and the form in which, the information must be provided. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (6).
Notice required by s. 39 (2) of FIPPA
(7) If the Minister collects personal information indirectly under subsection (1), without limiting the Minister’s ability to give notice in other ways, the notice required by subsection 39 (2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act may be given by a public notice posted on the Ministry’s website. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (7).
Disclosure
The Minister may disclose personal information collected for the purposes of this Act or a predecessor of this Act and that is under the control of the Minister’s ministry,
(a) to any person employed in the administration of similar legislation in another province or territory of Canada; or
(b) to any person if, in the opinion of the Minister, the disclosure or communication would clearly benefit the individual who is the subject of the information. 2009, c. 22, s. 79 (8).
Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2009 Part XIV, S.80
Records
80. Despite any other Act, the Minister may give to the College copies of records, including copies of records that contain personal information, or may otherwise disclose such information to the College, if in the Minister’s opinion the records or information are necessary for the College to carry out its responsibilities. 2009, c. 22, s. 80.