December 2022
Policy Statement
The Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (the Association) is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its members, employees, volunteers, partners, and stakeholders. We value the trust of those we deal with and we recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you choose to share with us.
During the course of our work, the Association frequently gathers and uses personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use of, or other dealing with, this information is subject to consent. The Association’s privacy practices are designed to achieve this.
Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify, or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual’s opinions or beliefs, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual. Exceptions: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, are not considered personal information.
Information in the public domain is not subject to privacy legislation and as such is not included in this policy.
Privacy Principles
The Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors observes the following ten (10) privacy principles when collecting, maintaining, and using personal information:
1 – Accountability
The Association is responsible for all personal information under its control and for maintaining compliance with these principles.
2 – Identifying the Purposes for Collecting Personal Information
The purposes for which personal information is collected will be identified and documented by the Association at or before the time the information is collected. Should this use change from that indicated at the time the information was collected, you will be notified.
3 – Consent
An individual’s knowledge and consent (express or implied) are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information by the Association, except as otherwise required or permitted by law. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.
4 – Limits to the Collection of Personal Information
The Association will limit the amount and type of personal information collected to that which is necessary for its purposes. Personal information will be collected by fair and lawful means.
5 – Limits to the Use, Disclosure and Retention of Personal Information
The Association will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required or permitted by law. Personal information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes, except as otherwise required by law.
6 – Accuracy
The Association will keep personal information as accurate, complete, and up to date as necessary for its purposes.
7 – Safety and Security
The Association will protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
8 – Openness
The Association will be open about its policies and procedures regarding management of personal information and will ensure that individuals are reasonably able to acquire information about its policies and procedures in a form that is generally understandable.
9 – Individual Access
Upon written request, the Association will inform an individual of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and will provide access to that information, except where the law requires or permits it to deny access.
10 – Handling Inquiries and Challenges
Inquiries or challenges concerning compliance with these Principles must be in written form and addressed to:
Privacy Officer / CEO
Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors
789 Don Mills Road, Suite 603, Toronto, ON, M3C 1T5
info@oand.org
Online and Website Privacy
Cookies
The Association’s website uses persistent cookies within visiting browsers to enable the functions of the website and for tracking performance. Specifically, cookies are used the following ways:
- Preserving and expiring visitor sessions on the site (e.g. preserving data between steps of a process; and ending the session after a period of inactivity)
- Storing font size preferences on the site
- Enabling web analytic tools (such as Google Analytics – see below)
Cookies are used anonymously and without storing personal information. Visitors that wish to opt-out of cookies should review the help documentation for their browser software to decline or selectively decline cookies. Note that declining cookies may adversely impact site performance.
Google Analytics
The Association uses?Google Analytics?to track performance. Google Analytics uses?persistent cookies?to track visitor sessions, visitors across multiple sessions, and referral sources to our sites. In compliance with the?Google Analytics Terms of Service, at no time is personal information passed to Google Analytics. Note that Google Analytics stores its data within the United States of America and is subject to US laws. ?We use this data to understand site performance to serve you better. ?Those wishing to opt out of Google Analytics data collection should use the?Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Security Safeguards
Personal information gathered by the Association shall be kept in confidence. Association staff are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained.
Appropriate physical and electronic measures are used to ensure personal information is secure. Access to member and volunteer records is limited to those who require such information to fulfill their job responsibilities.
For more information
Further information on privacy and your rights in regard to your personal information may be found on the website of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at?www.priv.gc.ca.
