Privacy Policy

The Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its members, donors, clients, volunteers and employees.  When you share with us your personal information or contact us in any way, our commitment is to the protection of your personal information.  We value the trust of our stakeholders and of the public and 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.

In our quest to increase awareness of liver health and raise funds for liver disease research and education across the country, we frequently gather and use personal information.  The Canadian Liver Foundation complies with, and endeavours to exceed, the legal requirements of Provincial privacy legislation and Canada’s Federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which is based on the 10 Privacy Principles contained within the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information.

Definition of Personal Information:

Personal information is any information about a specific, identifiable individual including such commonly available details as name, address and telephone number.

Despite the fact that some personal information is widely available (e.g. through telephone directories or public database), this does not, in any way, lessen the responsibility to apply the CSA Code’s principles to its collection, use and disclosure.  The CSA Code incorporates the principles that every element of personal information should only be used for purposes that are defined and explained in advance to the individual and that use or disclosure for any other purposes requires further knowledge and consent.

The Canadian Liver Foundation’s 10 Privacy Principles

1.  Protection of Personal Information

The Canadian Liver Foundation is responsible for the protection of your personal information that is obtained through our national office, regional offices or volunteer activities and has designated a Chief Privacy Officer who is accountable for the CLF’s compliance with the legislation.  We accept this responsibility whenever we or an agency on our behalf, handles your personal information.

2.  Identification of the Purposes for Collecting Personal Information

The Canadian Liver Foundation collects a limited amount of personal information about its volunteers, donors and potential supporters, including name, title, address, telephone number and other relevant contact information.

This information is collected when you share with us your personal information or contact us in any way – such as through the mail, telephone or email or by supporting our organization through donations, participating in an event, attending an education session or being a part of our volunteer base.  We also collect information (name and address only) from other charities through fundraising lists traded with third parties (charities must have prior permission from their donors to trade their personal information with other charities).

This personal information collected by the CLF is used for the following purposes:

• Process and provide tax receipts for donations;
• Comply with Canada Revenue Agency requirements;
• Provide information about the Canadian Liver Foundation, liver disease, research and education programs;
• Provide information pertaining to an event or program for which an individual has registered;
• Respond to any information requests;
• Promote opportunities where volunteers, donors and potential supporters may help the Canadian Liver Foundation in its mandate to support liver disease research and education.

3.  Knowledge and Consent

We will only collect, use or disclose personal information with your knowledge and consent.  This may be with your express consent (for example, when you voluntarily provide information on a form for purposes you clearly understand and agree to) or by declining an opportunity to opt-out of our collection, use or disclosure of your personal information.

Opt-out consent will be used for non-sensitive information where we believe that the privacy impacts are low.  You will be provided with sufficient notice of your right to opt-out of such uses.  Further, you can withdraw your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to any legal requirements and reasonable notice.  For details on the procedure available to withdraw consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information, please refer to Section 9 of this Privacy Policy.

4.  Limiting the Collection of Information

The Canadian Liver Foundation only collects personal information relevant to the purposes that have been identified in Section 2.  You have the right to provide as much or as little personal information as you choose.  If you provide information about your personal or family medical history, this information will be considered as your information only.

5.  Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention of Collected Information

Personal information collected by the Canadian Liver Foundation is kept in confidence and is only disclosed where necessary to meet the purposes outlined in Section 2 of this Privacy Policy.  Should we identify a new situation requiring the use of your information, we will contact you prior to using the information in order to gain your consent.  There are, however, instances where your consent to the use and disclosure of your personal information is not required (for example, when consent would compromise an investigation, etc.).

The Canadian Liver Foundation shares donor contact information (name and address only) with other charities with similar aims and objectives and with prior consent from the donors.  These sharing arrangements help the Canadian Liver Foundation increase its fundraising through an expanded donor base.   The donor has the right to withdraw consent to the disclosure of this personal information at any time, subject to any legal requirements and reasonable notice.  For details on the procedure available to withdraw consent to the disclosure of your personal information, please refer to Section 9 of this Privacy Policy.

6.  Accuracy of your Personal Information

Aside from third-party fundraising lists, practically all personal information that we collect comes directly from individuals themselves, for example: on our donation slips or information request forms, in telephone conversations, on registration forms and through donor correspondence.

Unless we are advised differently, we will generally assume this information to be accurate and complete.  Although we do not regularly or routinely update personal information which has been provided to us, we do ensure opportunities exist for individuals to update their own personal information on an ongoing basis.  For details on the procedure available to update your personal information, please refer to Section 9 of this Privacy Policy.

7.  Safeguards for your Personal Information

The Canadian Liver Foundation uses appropriate safeguards to protect all personal information in its custody and control.  Access to your personal information is restricted to CLF employees, volunteers, agents and authorized service providers who need it to do their jobs.  Any and all suppliers contracted by the CLF are required to acknowledge their compliance with Canadian (federal and provincial) legal requirements and to acknowledge in writing compliance with Canadian Liver Foundation’s Privacy Policy.

8.  Openness of our Privacy Policy and Procedures

We are open about our privacy policies and procedures. We make reasonable efforts to inform individuals about our policies and procedures, the purposes for which we collect, use or disclose personal information and how to access your personal information.

If there are changes or additions to our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on our website and make them available upon request so that you will always know what information we collect from you, how we use it and what choices you have.  Regardless of any changes we make to our Privacy Policy, we will only use your personal information in accordance with the version of the Privacy Policy in place at the time you provided your information unless you give us your consent to do otherwise.

9.  Right to Access Personal Information

At any time, you are entitled to view your personal information on file with the Canadian Liver Foundation.  Upon request, we will inform you if we hold any personal information about you and provide you with access to this information.  If we have any personal information about you, we can also tell you for what purposes it is used or disclosed.

In order to access or update your personal information or to make a request to withdraw consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information, please contact our Chief Privacy Officer:

Mail: 
Chief Privacy Officer
Canadian Liver Foundation
801-3100 Steeles Ave E
Markham, ON L3R 8T3

Email:
privacy@liver.ca

Telephone:
1 (800) 563-5483

Canadian Liver Foundation staff and/or volunteers are only able to update personal information on file when received directly from you, your legal guardian or power of attorney. Current and verifiable power of attorney is required for any changes or updates.

10.  Your Right to Challenge

In pursuit of our mandate to fund liver research and education, the Canadian Liver Foundation strives to be the charity of choice for Canadians.  With this goal in mind, we are committed to transparency and openness.  Our Chief Privacy Officer can be contacted at any time should you be concerned about compliance with our stated Privacy Policy (contact details available in Section 9 of this Privacy Policy).  We will investigate all complaints.  If an objection is justified, we will take all appropriate steps to rectify the situation, including changing our policies and practices if necessary.  Your comments are always appreciated as we strive towards continuous improvement.

Last Revision Date: August, 2016