Introduction

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, otherwise known as PIPEDA, came into force on January 1, 2004. It requires that every organization in Canada establish a privacy policy which follows certain guidelines and a privacy officer for that organization.

The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) is the national voice for a vibrant grassroots network with partnerships that connect people who build healthy, active communities, and impact the everyday lives of all Canadians.

CPRA takes your privacy concerns very seriously and we seek to ensure in contract, policy and practice that each member's personal information is valued and guarded. While our core programs and services are not subject to PIPEDA, from time to time we may engage in a commercial activity which does require that we comply with the principles of PIPEDA. As a result we have prepared this policy to explain why we collect your personal information, when we may use your personal information, how it is used by our national office and what measures we take to keep the personal information you share with us secure and accurate.

We welcome any concerns, questions or comments you may have regarding our policy.

What is personal information?

Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity can be determined. This does not include your business information, such as your position or where you work.

Why do we collect your personal information?

We collect your personal information for the following reasons:

• to provide our newsletters, education materials and other Association related material to you
• to identify the number of users visiting our websites
• to respond to your inquiries via email or letters
• to occasionally survey our membership regarding the services, programs and experiences you may have had with CPRA
• to provide you with information you may be interested in as a member or customer of CPRA

Websites

When you visit our website, we collect information using cookies. This is standard practice and allows you to access our site more quickly. A cookie is a piece of information that a website stores on your computer. Cookies are not linked to any personal identifiable information about you. We may use this information to generate statistical information so we can evaluate and improve our websites for our customers.

You can disable cookies in your web browser. However, this may result in all or parts of our websites not working properly if you choose not to accept cookies.

Customer Inquiries and Concerns

At CPRA we seek to provide you with the best programs and services. If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, we will use your personal information to respond to you if you confirm you wish us to do so.

Marketing and Surveys

Our members mailing information is only shared with CPRA commercial members and is not sold to any individual, group or business.

However, there may be occasions when CPRA will conduct market research. In that case we may hire a company to conduct that research on our behalf. In those situations we will include contractual safeguards to ensure your personal information is only used for that particular purpose. The third party will not retain any personal information acquired by us once the project is complete.

Your consent

You may choose whether to give us your personal information, and if you do, how we use it. If we request your personal information, we will tell you why we are asking for the information and what we intend to do with the information you provide to us. Sometimes you will be asked to give your consent expressly by checking off a box on a form or clicking on a box on our websites.

PIPEDA allows us to collect, use or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent under certain specific circumstances. These include: when the use or disclosure is for your benefit and there is insufficient time to obtain consent; when required by courts or contracts; or in an emergency involving a person's health, life or security. Obviously, these are rare exceptions.

How do we protect your personal information?

The security of your information is a high priority for us. We maintain administrative, technical and physical security to protect against unauthorized disclosure, use, change or destruction of the personal information in our possession. Our staff is also trained to maintain confidentiality of all information that they come into contact with both during and after their employment with us.

Updating your information

We require accurate and up-to-date information about you and your preferences in order to maintain the high quality of service we seek to provide to our members and customers. You can update your information by calling, writing, or emailing using the contact information below.

Privacy Policy Changes

We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy without notice. Any changes to our policy will be immediately posted on our websites.

How to Contact Us?

Our Privacy Officer at Canadian Parks and Recreation Association is:
Chief Executive Officer
404-2197 Riverside Drive
OTTAWA, ON, K1H 7X3
Tel (613) 523-5315
Fax (613) 523-1182
info@cpra.ca

As well, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at:

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada
112 Kent Street
OTTAWA, ON  K1A 1H3
Tel (613) 995-8210 or 1(800) 282-1376
Fax (613) 947-6850

Drafted: April 2005
Approved: by CPRA Board of Directors
Dated: June 18, 2005