ACLS’S Privacy Code
The Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS) is committed to safeguarding people’s right to privacy. ACLS’s Privacy Code complies fully with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, which came into effect on January 1, 2001.
Definitions
Act: Act respecting Canada Lands Surveyors (46-47 Elizabeth II, Chapter 14).
Association or ACLS: Association of Canada Lands Surveyors.
Collection: the act of gathering, acquiring, recording or obtaining personal information from any source, including third parties, by any means.
Commission: commission granted to any person who has met the requirements of the ACLS Board of Examiners (section 49 of the Act).
Committee: committee established by Council (section 19 of the Act).
Complainant: individual or entity who submitted a complaint in accordance with section 24 of the Act.
Consent: voluntary agreement with what is being done or proposed. Consent can be either express or implied. Express consent is given explicitly, either orally or in writing. Express consent is unequivocal and does not require any inference on the part of the organisation seeking consent. Implied consent arises where consent may reasonably be inferred from the action or inaction of the individual.
Council: governing body of the Association (section 13 of the Act).
Customer: an individual who:
a) Uses, or applies to use, the product or services of the ACLS; or
b) Corresponds with the ACLS.
Disclosure: making personal information available to others outside the organisation.
Member: an individual who is a member of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (any category).
Personal information: is information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organisation. Such information includes a customer's credit information, billing records, any recorded complaints, evidence in a discipline case, etc. In the case of employees, it included information found in personal employment files, performance appraisals, medical and benefits information.
Regulations: Canada Lands Surveyors Regulations (section 62 of the Act).
Third party: an individual other than the customer or his agent or an organisation other than the ACLS.
Use: refers to the treatment and handling of personal information within an organisation.
The ACLS Code in detail
1. Accountability
1.1 ACLS will comply with all 10 privacy principles.
1.2 The ACLS Executive Director is the person who will be accountable for compliance with the privacy policies. The Executive Director can be contacted at:
Association of Canada Lands Surveyors
900 Dynes Road, Suite 100E
Ottawa ON K2C 3L6
admin@(SPAM BLOCK)acls-aatc.ca
Telephone: 613-723-9200
Fax: 613-723-5558
1.3 ACLS will protect all personal information in its possession or control, including information that has been transferred to a third party for processing.
1.4 ACLS has implemented policies and procedures to give effect to the ACLS Code, including:
1.4.1 Implementing procedures to protect personal information and to oversee the association’s compliance with the Code;
1.4.2 Establishing procedures to receive and respond to inquiries or complaints; and
1.4.3 Training and communicating to staff about the company’s policies and practices.
2. Identifying purpose for collecting of personal information
2.1 The association collects information only for the following purposes:
2.1.1 To establish and maintain responsible commercial relations with the member and customer and to provide ongoing services;
2.1.2 To identify member and customer preferences;
2.1.3 To develop and enhance products and services;
2.1.4 To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
2.1.5 To carry out its regulatory functions under the Act and the Regulations.
2.2 Before any personal information is collected, the ACLS will specify why the information is needed and how it will be used.
2.3 Unless required by law, ACLS shall not use or disclose, for any new purpose, personal information that has been collected without identifying and documenting the new purpose and obtaining the consent of the member, customer or employee.
3. Obtaining Consent for Collection, Use or Disclosure of Personal Information
3.1 The ACLS may collect, use or disclose personal information without knowledge or consent if seeking the consent of the individual might defeat the purpose of collecting the information such as in the investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law.
3.2 The ACLS may also use or disclose personal information without knowledge or consent in the case of an emergency where the life, health or security of an individual is threatened.
3.3 The ACLS may disclose personal information without knowledge or consent to a lawyer representing the Association, to collect a debt, to comply with a subpoena, warrants or other court order, or as may be otherwise required by law.
3.4 The ACLS shall maintain a Register of Canada Lands Surveyors and a Register of members and shall make them available to the members and costumers, without needing consent, in accordance with section 34 of the Act and section 10 of the Regulations.
3.5 The ACLS may disclose personal information for the purpose of its complaints and discipline processes that are in accordance with sections 24 to 32 of the Act, and for the purpose of practice review in accordance with section 39 of the Regulations.
3.6 In obtaining consent, the ACLS shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that a member, customer or employee is advised of the identified purposes for which personal information will be used or disclosed. Purposes shall be stated in a manner that can be reasonably understood by the member, customer or employee.
3.7 Generally, the ACLS shall seek consent to use and disclose personal information at the same time it collects the information. However, the association may seek consent to use and disclose personal information after it has been collected.
3.8 The ACLS will require members and customers to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information as a condition of the supply of a product or service only if such collection, use or disclosure is required to fulfill the identified purposes.
3.9 In determining the form of consent, the ACLS shall take into account the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of its members, customers and employees.
3.10 In general, the use of products and services by a member or customer, or the acceptance of employment or benefits by an employee, constitutes implied consent for the ACLS to collect, use and disclose personal information for all identified purposes.
3.11 Except for information contained in the Canada Lands Surveyors and ACLS members’ Registers, Complaints and Discipline case files and practice review files, a member, customer or employee may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Members, customers and employees may contact the ACLS for more information regarding the implications of withdrawing consent.
3.12 The ACLS shall publish the names of committee members within the annual report, posted on the ACLS Web site, and wherever else it is deemed by the Association to be appropriate. In addition, Committee Chairperson’s e-mail addresses will be posted on the ACLS Web site. The Association shall also publish Council members’ names within the annual report and wherever else it is deemed by the Association to be appropriate. Council members’ phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses will be posted on the ACLS Web site.
4. Limiting collection of Personal Information
4.1 The ACLS collects personal information primarily from members, customers or employees.
4.2 The association may also collect personal information from other sources including credit bureaus or other third parties that represent that they have the right to disclose the information.
5. Limiting use, Disclosure and Retention of Personal Information
5.1 In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual. (See Section 3)
5.2 The ACLS may disclose personal information about its employees:
5.2.1 for normal personnel and benefits administration;
5.2.2 in the context of providing references regarding current or former employees in response to requests from prospective employers; or
5.2.3 where disclosure is required by law.
5.3 Only those employees, Council and Committee members of the ACLS who require access for business reasons, or whose duties reasonably so require, are granted access to personal information about members, customers and employees.
5.4 Only the person retained as the Practice Review Manager and those employees who require access for duties related to the Act and Regulations have access to personal information collected for the purpose of practice review.
5.5 Personal information collected for Complaints and Discipline cases may be disclosed to third parties for the purposes of investigations and discipline hearings. Those third parties will not disclose information to others.
5.6 Discipline decisions may be disclosed to the membership in accordance with section 31of the Act.
5.7 The ACLS shall disclose personal information contained in the Canada Lands Surveyors and ACLS members’ Registers to a members and customer upon request.
5.8 The ACLS shall keep personal information only as long as it remains necessary or relevant for the identified purposes or as required by law. Depending on the circumstances, where personal information has been used to make a decision about a member, customer or employee, the ACLS shall retain, for a period of time that is reasonably sufficient to allow for access by the member, customer or employee, either the actual information or the rationale for making the decision.
5.9 The ACLS shall maintain reasonable and systematic controls, schedules and practices for information and records retention and destruction, which applies to personal information, that is no longer necessary or relevant for the identified purposes or required by law to be retained. Such information shall be destroyed, erased or made anonymous.
6. Accuracy or Personal Information
6.1 ACLS shall insure that personal information that it uses is sufficiently accurate, complete and up-to-date to minimize the possibility that inappropriate information may be used to make a decision about a member, customer or employee.
6.2 The ACLS shall update personal information about members, customers and employees as and when necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or upon notification by the individual.
7. Use appropriate safeguards
7.1 The ACLS shall protect personal information against such risks as loss and theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, modification or destruction, through appropriate security measures. The ACLS shall protect the information regardless of the format in which it is held.
7.2 The ACLS shall protect personal information disclosed to third parties by contractual agreements stipulating the confidentiality of the information and the purposes for which it is to be used.
7.3 All ACLS employees, Council members, and Committee members, with access to personal information shall be required to respect the confidentiality of personal information.
8. Openness Concerning Policies and Practices
8.1 The ACLS shall make information about its policies and practices easy to understand, including:
8.1.1 The title and address of the person or persons accountable for the association’s compliance with the Code and to whom inquiries or complaints can be forwarded;
8.1.2 The means of gaining access to personal information held by the ACLS; and
8.1.3 A description of the type of personal information held by the ACLS, including a general account of its use.
8.2 The ACLS shall make available information to help members, customers, and employees exercise choices regarding the use of their personal information.
9. Member, Customer and Employee Access to Personal Information
9.1 Upon request the ACLS shall afford to a member, a customer or an employee a reasonable opportunity to review the personal information in the individual’s file. Personal information shall be provided in understandable form within a reasonable time and at minimal or no cost to the individual.
9.2 In certain situations, the ACLS may not be able to provide access to all of the personal information that they hold about a member, a customer or employee. For example, the ACLS may not provide access to information if doing so would likely reveal personal information about a third party or could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual, or impede the complaints, discipline and practice review processes. Also, the ACLS may not provide access to information if disclosure would reveal confidential commercial information, if the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege, if the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process, or if the information was collected in relation to the investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of a federal or provincial law. If access to personal information cannot be provided, the ACLS shall provide the reasons for denying access upon request.
9.3 Upon request, the ACLS shall provide an account of the use and disclosure of personal information and, where reasonably possible, shall state the source of the information.
9.4 In order to safeguard personal information, a member, a customer or employee may he required to provide sufficient identification information to permit the ACLS to account for the existence, use and disclosure of personal information and to authorize access to the individual’s file. Any such information shall be used only for this purpose.
9.5 The ACLS shall promptly correct or complete any personal information found to be inaccurate or incomplete. Any unresolved differences as to accuracy or completeness shall be noted in the individual’s file. Where appropriate, the ACLS shall transmit to third parties having access to the personal information in question any amended information or the existence of any unresolved differences.
9.6 A member or customer can obtain information or seek access to his or her individual file by contacting a designated ACLS representative at the business offices.
9.7 An employee can obtain information or seek access to his or her individual file by contacting his or her immediate supervisor.
10. Challenging compliance
10.1 The ACLS shall maintain procedures for addressing and responding to all inquiries or complaints from its members, customers and employees about the Associations's handling of personal information.
10.2 The ACLS shall inform their members, customers and employees about the existence of these procedures as well as the availability of complaint procedures.
10.3 The person or persons accountable for compliance with the ACLS Code may seek external advice where appropriate before providing a final response to individual complaints.
10.4 The ACLS shall investigate all complaints concerning compliance with the Code. If a complaint is found to be justified, the Association shall take appropriate measures to resolve the complaint including, if necessary, amending its policies and procedures. A member, customer or employee shall be informed of the outcome of the investigation regarding his or her complaint.