CTS Privacy Policy
Personal Information Protection Policy
1. Commitment to Privacy of Personal Information
The Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) is committed to protecting the privacy of its members and others who use CTS services. This Personal Information Protection Policy (the ” Policy “) describes the policies and practices of the CTS with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The CTS collects uses and discloses personal information only with the consent of the individual, except as otherwise permitted or required by law. The Policy may be updated from time to time, with updates approved by the CTS Board to reflect developments in its practices, new technology or the law. Updates will be made available in the same ways as the Policy. The CTS’ collection, use and disclosure of personal information will be governed by the version of this Policy in effect at the time.
2. Personal Information
Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual.
This Policy applies to personal information of members and prospective members, others who have expressed an interest in the CTS or have participated in an event sponsored or organized by the CTS. The personal information that the CTS generally collects and uses include: name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, banking or credit card information (card number, type and expiry date). From members, the CTS also collects information related to the member’s involvement in the CTS, such as speciality, certification, medical school affiliation, major interests and interest in the serving the CTS.
3. Accountability
The CTS is responsible for all personal information under its custody or control, including information which it may transfer to a third party for processing. The Executive Director of the CTS has been appointed as Privacy Officer for the CTS. The Privacy Officer may delegate day-to-day responsibility for administration of this Policy to other employees but the Privacy Officer remains accountable for the CTS’s handling of personal information.
The Privacy Officer may be contacted at: 30 Concourse Gate, Unit 27, Ottawa ON K2E 7V7. Tel: 613-235-6650, ext. 120
CTS is responsible for personal information sent to third parties who provide services to CTS. CTS requires any such third parties to use the personal information only for the purposes for which it is provided to them, and to protect the privacy of the personal information in accordance with privacy laws and in a manner that is consistent with this Policy.
4. Information Received From Other Sources
The CTS sometimes uses mailing lists from other organizations with whom CTS participates in organizing or sponsoring programs, publications, seminars, conferences or other events. When the CTS does so, the organization is required to provide only names of individuals who have consented to the sharing of their information. If the CTS contacts individuals on one of these lists, the CTS will ask whether further communications from CTS is desired. The CTS will respect the wishes of the individual.
5. Purposes for Collecting, Using and Disclosing Personal Information
Membership Information. CTS collects and uses personal information from members and individuals who are applying to become members of CTS for the following purposes:
- to process a membership application or renewal;
- to collect and process membership dues;
- to keep members informed about the activities of the CTS by sending them the CTS member e-bulletin and the Canadian Journal Respiratory, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine;
- to keep members informed about information, activities and events of other organizations on topics related to the aims of the CTS;
- to respond to members’ questions and communications;
- to advise members about meetings, conferences, workshops and seminars made available by other reputable organizations that may be of interest to members;
- to analyse the demographics of the membership for future planning purposes;
- to contact members with respect to requesting their participation in the affairs of the CTS.
Participants in Conferences and Events. The CTS collects and uses personal information of participants in conferences and other events for the following purposes:
- to process registration before the event;
- to carry out the organization and administration of the event;
- to make a list of attendees available at an event;
- to provide the names of attendees to all organizations who participate in the event and to allow such organizations to advise attendees of any side meetings, symposia or other activities related to the conference;
- to invite participants to future events that are likely to be of interest to them; and
- to notify participants about the benefits of joining CTS.
6. Disclosure of personal information
To streamline the membership application and renewal process for members of organizations concerned with respiratory health, the CTS collects membership dues on behalf of other organizations (eg. European Respiratory Society). The CTS then passes on the dues and the member’s contact information to the other organization. Once information has been passed to the other organization, it is no longer in the control of CTS and becomes subject to the privacy practices and procedures of the recipient organization.
The CTS also occasionally discloses personal information of members to other organizations that provide information or sponsor events likely to be of interest to our members. On the CTS application form and Membership renewal forms, members have the opportunity to opt out of the disclosure and use of their personal information for these purposes. In addition, a member may withdraw consent at any time by contacting the Coordinator of Membership and Communications. The CTS takes careful steps to ensure it complies with individual’s wishes with respect to disclosure and use of personal information.
Other than as outlined here, and as permitted or required by law, the CTS does not disclose personal information unless it has obtained the individual’s consent.
7. Consent
The CTS uses personal information only with the consent of the individual, except as otherwise permitted or required by law. When an individual submits a membership application or membership renewal, or registers for an event, the individual will be given an opportunity to opt out of receiving further information from the CTS or from any third parties. In addition, an individual may withdraw his or her consent to the use of personal information for any purpose at any time by contacting the CTS at the address above. The CTS will explain the consequences of withdrawing consent. Please allow three (3) months to process any request to withdraw consent.
8. Website
The CTS provides information and some member services via its website (the ” Site “). By using the Site, users agree that information may be collected, used and disclosed in accordance with this Policy.
Cookies. The Site uses cookies which are small amounts of data that are transferred to a user’s browser. Cookies are used to customize the site to an individual’s interests or to retain personal information, such as a password, for the next visit. A user can set his or her browser not to accept cookies and still access the Site, although as a result certain areas of the Site may be unavailable or difficult to use.
Non-Personal Information. As is typical with many websites, the Site automatically collects certain non-personal information regarding website users, such as the date and time you linked to the site. The Site also collects non-personal data which are used for system administration purposes and to update the website.
Links. The Site contains links to other third party websites, such as those of CTS Partner organizations and Affiliates. These links are provided for the convenience of users. The CTS has no responsibility or liability for, or control over, those websites or their collection, use and disclosure of an individual’s personal information.
9. Accuracy
The CTS seeks to ensure that the personal information it uses is accurate and up to date. Please assist the office by advising staff of any inaccuracies so that appropriate corrections can be made.
10. Limiting Retention of Personal Information
The CTS retains personal information as long as it is needed for the purpose for which it was collected and in order to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
11. Safeguards
The CTS protects personal information against such risks as loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, modification and destruction by using appropriate security measures.
The CTS’s employees with access to personal information are required to respect the confidentiality of that information pursuant to their employment agreement with CTS. Employees also participate in privacy training. The CTS implements methods of protecting personal information that include limiting access to the information, restricting access to offices where information is held and technological measures such as passwords.
12. Access
An individual may request access to the information held about him or her at any time by contacting the Privacy Officer at 613-235-6650, ext. 120. The CTS will endeavour to respond to any such request as quickly as possible and, in any event, within the legally required time periods. Subject to certain exceptions and limitations prescribed by law, an individual will be given access to any personal information the CTS holds about the individual. The CTS will correct or amend personal information that is shown to be incomplete or inaccurate.
13. Questions and Complaints
For further information about this Policy or the practices of the CTS related to personal information, or to make a complaint, please contact the CTS Privacy Officer at 613-235-6650, ext. 120. The CTS will investigate all complaints and take appropriate action as a result of such investigation.