privacy policy
Project Canoe is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of our donors, participants, employees, volunteers, board members, partners, and other stakeholders. Project Canoe values the trust of the individuals in our community, and we wish to maintain that trust.
Defining Personal Information:
As defined by the Personal Information, Protection, and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), personal information includes: any factual or subjective information, recorded or not, about an identifiable individual. This includes information in any form, such as:
Age, name, income, or ethnic origin
Opinions, evaluations, comments, or disciplinary actions
Employee files, financial records, or medical records
Accountability:
Project Canoe is responsible for personal information under its control.
We have designated individuals within the organization who are accountable for Project Canoe's compliance with these privacy principles.
All third-party service providers used by Project Canoe must be in compliance with PIPEDA and have an established and published privacy policy.
Project Canoe’s staff and volunteers are trained to understand and adhere to our privacy policy and practices, and are required to maintain confidentiality in all aspects of their work.
During the course of running Project Canoe’s programs and operations, we gather personal information from our donors, partners, volunteers, employees, participants, and other stakeholders. Information may be collected in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, through donation forms, participant application forms, sign-up forms, event registration, and applications for employment or volunteer positions.
Identifying Purposes:
We collect information only by fair and lawful means as necessary to fulfill the following identified purposes:
Maintaining an accurate database;
Processing donations and issuing tax receipts;
Organizing fundraising activities;
Communicating with community members about our work;
Promoting our programs to participants;
Enrolling participants in our programs;
Gathering participant background information and managing medical requirements for safe program delivery; and
Tracking and improving program design and delivery.
The specific purposes for which information is collected will be identified at or before the time the information is collected.
Consent:
Project Canoe collects information from individuals with their knowledge and consent. Anyone from whom we collect information should expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use of this information will be subject to consent obtained at the time of collection.
Express Consent: When individuals fill out a form or check a box to provide consent, they expressly give Project Canoe consent to contact them.
Implied Consent: When individuals provide information for a clear purpose (e.g., providing an address to receive a mailed receipt).
Media Release: Project Canoe may ask participants, volunteers, employees, event attendees, or community members to sign media release forms. These forms grant Project Canoe permission to use photos or videos of them for marketing and promotional purposes.
Withdrawing Consent: Individuals may withdraw their consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting Project Canoe at info@canoe.org.
Limiting Collection:
Project Canoe limits the collection of personal information to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. We collect personal information only by fair and lawful means.
Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention:
Personal information gathered by Project Canoe is kept in confidence. We commit to using information only for the purpose for which it was obtained. To the extent that Project Canoe seeks to use or disclose such information for any other purpose, consent must again be obtained, unless otherwise required or permitted by law.
Access Restrictions: Authorized staff and volunteers access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained.
Retention and Destruction: Personal information is retained only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected or as required by law. After the applicable retention period has expired, information is securely destroyed or anonymized in accordance with our records management practices:
All personal information contained in paper format is destroyed by shredding.
Electronic information is destroyed by deletion and, if hardware is discarded, the hard drive is physically destroyed.
Accuracy:
Project Canoe takes measures to ensure that personal information is maintained as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used, minimizing the possibility that inappropriate information may be used to make a decision about an individual.
Safeguards:
Personal information gathered by Project Canoe is protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
Project Canoe uses password-protected systems and encryption to safeguard personal information.
Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purposes for which it was gathered.
Openness:
Project Canoe makes specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information readily available to individuals. Project Canoe regularly reviews its privacy practices. Any revisions to the policy will be made available on our website (canoe.org). Project Canoe reserves the right to update this privacy policy without notice to stakeholders.
Individual Access:
Upon request, donors, volunteers, participants, employees, and other stakeholders shall be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of their personal information and shall be given access to that information. Individuals may challenge the accuracy and completeness of their stored personal information and have it amended as appropriate, or receive information regarding its potential use.
Challenging Compliance:
Maintaining privacy is important to us. Questions, concerns, or complaints relating to Project Canoe’s privacy policy, the treatment of personal information, or compliance with PIPEDA principles should be sent to: info@canoe.org
Project Canoe will acknowledge receipt of any complaint and ensure that it is investigated promptly. The person making the complaint will be provided with a formal decision including reasons in writing.