St. Christopher House is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its members, participants/clients, volunteers, students, employees, donors and other stakeholders.   We value the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires transparent and accountable management in how we treat the information that is shared with us.

 

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. The name, title, business address or business telephone number of an employee of an organization is not considered protected personal information.

 

St. Christopher House will safeguard personal information and comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and any other applicable legislation. It is our commitment to adopt, implement, maintain and provide ongoing training on the following ten principles:

 

 

St. Christopher House is responsible for maintaining and protecting personal information under its control and shall designate a Privacy Officer to be a resource for the organization’s compliance with these principles.

 

All employees, volunteers, board members, students, partner organizations or committee members who collect, process or use personal information shall be accountable for such information to St. Christopher House management.

 

The Privacy Officer shall communicate this policy and give training to all employees and volunteers who might be in a position to collect, retain or use personal information.

 

 

St. Christopher House shall ensure that limited collection, limited use, disclosure and retention principles are respected in identifying why personal information is to be collected.

 

St. Christopher House will make every attempt to document and clearly define the purposes intended for personal data before it is collected. 

 

St. Christopher House shall ensure that the information collected will be used only for the purpose for which it was collected. 

 

 

 

Any person collecting personal information on behalf of St. Christopher House must obtain consent from the individual from whom personal information is being collected.

 

Any person collecting personal information on behalf of St. Christopher House must inform individuals that they may withdraw consent at any time. The individual shall promptly be informed of the implications of withdrawing consent. 

 

 

The collection of personal information is limited only to that which is necessary for the purpose identified.

 

Information is to be collected by fair and lawful means and that the identifying purpose and consent principles are followed in identifying why personal information is to be collected.

 

 

Personal information collected shall not be disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with consent of the individual or as required by law, and any use of personal information shall be properly documented.

 

Personal information shall be destroyed, erased or made anonymous as soon as the information is no longer relevant, or as permitted by law. All personal information shall be deleted, erased, or made anonymous no later than seven years after the purpose for which it was collected has been completed.

 

 

Personal information collected shall be as accurate, complete, and up to date as is necessary for the purpose for which it is to be used.

 

 

St. Christopher House management and staff shall ensure that security safeguards against loss, theft as well as unauthorized access are in place and shall ensure the protection methods include:

 

a)     Controls on physical access to personal information

b)     Organizational measures (e.g. security clearance and limiting access on a need to know basis)

c)      Computer security measures (e.g. the use of passwords and encryption, hardware and software firewalls, clearing temporary electronic files)

  

 

 

St. Christopher House shall make readily available specific information about its policies and practice relating to the management of personal information to individuals.

 

 

Upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence and disclosure of their personal information and shall be given access to that information.

 

St. Christopher House shall ensure that when an individual challenges the accuracy and completeness of their personal information, a check as to the accuracy is undertaken and St. Christopher House shall amend the information as appropriate.

 

 

St. Christopher House shall develop procedures to receive and respond to complaints or inquiries about the policies and practices regarding the handling of their personal information.

 

The Privacy Officer shall ensure that relevant complaints procedures exist. It is the responsibility of St. Christopher House to develop and monitor adherence to the supporting procedures of this policy.

 

 

The Privacy Officer shall ensure that any breach of compliance will be immediately communicated to any individual(s) affected.

How to reach us:

 

St. Christopher House Privacy Officer Norma Frank can be reached at 416-532-4828 ext. 147 or by email at normafr@stchrishouse.org