COMMITMENT TO PRIVACY
Safeguarding your confidentiality and protecting your personal information is fundamental to the way we do business with you. This Privacy Policy describes our current information management practices and confirms our commitment to comply with the Federal Government’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) in order to meet your specific needs and expectations as one of our clients. Dreessen Architect is committed to collecting, using and disclosing your personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services provided.
WHAT IS “PERSONAL INFORMATION”?
“Personal information” is information that refers to you specifically that reveals a distinctive trait or traits about you that may help others identify you. It does not encompass personal information about you that may be accessed in the public domain, such as your business address that can be found in public documents such as telephone or professional directories. All drawings are the property of Dreessen Architect and are not considered personal information.
WHO WE ARE
Dreessen Architect (DA) provides architectural advice and services to both residential and commercial clients. At the time of writing, it employs one architect. DA uses a number of consultants, contract workers and agencies that may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to personal information we hold. These include, but are not limited to, website managers, bookkeepers, engineering consultants, draftsmen, computer consultants, and our lawyers. We restrict their access to any personal information we hold as much as is reasonably possible and have their assurance that they follow appropriate privacy principals.
WHY WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION
Our Clients: We gather and use personal information to provide you with the architectural products and services you request and, as appropriate, to ensure you are aware of additional products and services we offer, which we believe might interest you. Providing us with your personal information is always your choice. Most of the information we collect is provided to us directly from you, and only with your consent. When you request products and services or enroll for a service online, we will ask you to provide the personal information that enables us to complete your request or to provide you with better service.
The personal information we may ask you to provide depends on the nature of your request. Personal information that we believe is essential for us to fulfill your architectural product and service requests typically includes your full name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number(s), financial information, and design opinions and preferences. Some of the information we will ask for is required to satisfy regulations: for example, City Planning committees, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, etc..
On our website, we only collect, with the exception of cookies, the personal information you provide and only use that information for the purpose you gave it to us. Cookies are only used to help you navigate our website and are not used to monitor you.
Third Party information we collect: Our contract staff, student, volunteers and other third parties. For people who are contracted to do work for us, we collect personal information to ensure we can contact them in the future and for necessary work-related communication. We will also collect and retain information where required by guideline, rule or law.
Contractors, Suppliers and Project Security: We collect personal information about contractors and other suppliers and their staff to assist us in assessing their performance, both for the specific project in issue and in respect of future projects. We may share this information in a reciprocal way with other architects and construction contacts. Often this information is collected with consent as a part of a written or verbal contract with the organizations involved.
The choice to provide us with your personal and financial information is always yours. However, your decision not to provide the personal information we request may limit the services we are able to provide you and make it more difficult for us to advise you or suggest appropriate alternatives. If we are unable to accommodate your request based on the personal information you provide, we may ask for additional details in order to identify other ways to be of assistance. In certain circumstances, where essential personal information is not provided, it may not be possible for us to continue our client relationship with you. We only collect the information we need and we only use it for the purposes explained to you.
HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We use your personal information to fulfill your architectural requests, communicate with you and effectively provide the products and services you request. The better we know you, the better we can help you achieve your financial goals. By sharing information about you, we can begin identifying your design requirements. In certain circumstances we are required to share your personal information with affected third parties, such as neighbors, city employees, and city or provincial government, so that we can ascertain how the third party’s views affect our client’s architectural situation. The Ontario Association of Architects who may inspect our records and interview our staff as part of its regulatory activities in he public interest regulates us. In addition, as professionals, we will report serious misconduct, incompetence or incapacity of other practitioners, whether they belong to other organizations or our own. Where necessary we will also report to other government agencies. We must disclose information in response to a valid demand, search warrant, or other legally valid inquiry or order. Only the information specifically requested is disclosed and we take precautions to satisfy ourselves that the authorities making the request have legitimate grounds to do so. We may disclose information to help us collect a debt owed to us by you. We only use personal information for the purposes that we have disclosed to you. If for any reason your personal information is required to fulfill a different purpose, we will notify you and ask you for your prior consent before we proceed. In most cases you may refuse or withdraw your consent at any time. Our staff will be pleased to explain your options and any consequences of refusing or withdrawing your consent, and record your choices.
HOW WE SAFEGUARD YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps:
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1.Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area.
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2.Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. All of our cell phones are digital, which signals are more difficult to intercept.
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3.Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addresses envelopes or boxes by reputable companies.
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4.Electronic information is transmitted either through a direct line or is anonymized or encrypted.
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5.Staff are trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.
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6.External consultants and agencies with access to personal information must provide us with appropriate privacy assurances.
RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We retain our client information for a minimum of fifteen years after the last contract. We will destroy paper records by shredding and electronic documents by deleting. When the hardware is discarded, we ensure the hard drive physically destroyed.
ACCESSING AND AMENDING YOUR INFORMATION
As a client, you have the right, to access and verify any of your personal information, whenever you wish. You may verify the accuracy and completeness of your personal information, and you may request that it be amended, as required. To help us keep your personal information up-to- date, we encourage you to amend inaccuracies and make corrections as often as you like. Despite our best efforts, errors may occur. Should you identify any incorrect or out-of-date information about yourself, we will make the appropriate change in accordance with your instructions. Where appropriate, we will communicate these changes to other parties who may have unintentionally received incorrect information from us about you. We are only able to update an individual’s personal information where we are in direct contact with that person. Therefore, we cannot amend personal information of family members or others without talking/communicating with each of them individually. If you have a question concerning a decision we have made about your personal information, we will inform you of the reasons for the decision if we are permitted to do so by law. If there is a problem, we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access.
ADDRESSING YOUR CONCERNS
You may direct any questions or enquiry you have with respect to the privacy policy outlined above or about the way we manage your personal and financial information by contacting the organization’s Chief Privacy Officer, 705 Roanoke Street, Ottawa, ON, K1K 2G3. For more information about your personal privacy rights you can contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at the web site: http://www.privcomm.gc.ca or the Privacy Commissioner in your province or territory.
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