Privacy Policy

Family Service Association of Toronto is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of its clients, members, employees, volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders as required by Canadian Privacy Legislation. To this end, we take every step to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

1. What is "personal information"?

"Personal information" is information about an identifiable person (not including business contact information). This is described in detail in various privacy legislation.

FSA collects personal information in a variety of ways and for a variety of purposes, including when we provide services to you and when we conduct fundraising activities. The personal information we collect could include:

  • Name, address, e-mail address, telephone number and other contact information
  • Income, employment information, personal and social history
  • Information on problems you present, medical information; and
  • Donation/fundraising details or history of giving.

2. How will FSA Toronto use your personal information?

FSA generally uses personal information for the following purposes:

  • Providing services or information to you;
  • Providing information to third parties for which you have consented;
  • Responding to your questions and comments with respect to our services;
  • Contacting you to evaluate the services we have provided you;
  • Contacting you with respect to fundraising activities; and
  • Providing you with information about FSA activities.

3. Who may have access to your personal information?

We maintain strict controls over access to personal information you share with FSA and our privacy policy enters into effect from the moment you contact the agency for the first time.

Within FSA, access to your personal information is granted only to authorized employees and agents of FSA who require access to fulfill their job requirements, or on a "need to know" basis and without using names, except in cases of supervision, service planning or internal peer consultation.

All FSA personnel are expected to sign a Confidentiality/Privacy Agreement that specifies that identifying information regarding FSA service users is confidential and cannot be discussed with anyone outside of FSA.

4. Who may FSA give your personal information to?

FSA does not disclose any of your private information without your informed consent, unless we are required or permitted to by law.

FSA may provide personal information, as necessary, to support your service elsewhere. With your consent or as permitted/required by law, we may also provide your personal information to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, audit and security requirements. FSA takes reasonable measures to ensure that these service providers, or our affiliates who work with your personal information, only handle the information as you have consented.

FSA may be required or permitted by law to collect, use or disclose personal information without your consent to comply with a court order, for example, or with local or federal regulations or a legally permitted inquiry by a government agency. In situations where we believe an FSA client presents a significant and imminent risk of harm to self or others, we reserve the right to notify authorities or persons at risk.

5. Does FSA collect personal information through the website?

FSA operates the website www.fsatoronto.com, which provides information about FSA and our services. Through the website, you can request more information about the agency, provide feedback and make other comments and inquiries.

Unless you choose to provide personal information to us (e-newsletter subscription, e-mail messages, or on-line donations through Canada Helps) we do not collect any identifying information about you.

Our Internet servers may passively and automatically collect certain information about our website traffic, which may be linked to a visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address (a unique Internet "address" assigned to all Internet users by their Internet Service Providers). Servers may record statistical information—such as visitors' IP addresses, types of operating systems, time and duration of visit, pages requested—and identify categories of visitors by items such as domains and browser types. These statistics are gathered and used collectively; No individuals are identified.

6. What about the websites linked to from FSA Toronto website?

Our website contains numerous on-line resources and links to other websites. These are provided as a convenience only, and they may have different privacy policies and practices than we do.

FSA has no responsibility for such third-party websites, and we advise you to review their privacy policies as well. In addition, any reference on FSA's website to other organizations and products is for the information and convenience of the public and is not meant to endorse, recommend or favour them.

7. How can you give consent to FSA to collect, use and disclose your personal information?

There are various ways for you to give your consent to FSA to collect, use and disclose your personal information. It can be:

  • express consent – for example, verbally, electronically or on a form, you sign describing the intended uses and disclosures of personal information; or
  • implied consent – for example, when you provide information necessary for a service you have requested, or in some circumstances where we have given notice about our intentions with respect to your personal information and you have not withdrawn your consent for the identified purpose (e.g. using an "opt out" option provided).

Consent may be given by your authorized representative (such as a legal guardian or a person having a power of attorney). Generally, by providing us with your personal information, we will assume that you consent to our collection, use and disclosure of that information for the purposes identified in this privacy statement or otherwise at the time of collection.

8. When can you withdraw consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information?

You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information at any time, subject to contractual and legal restrictions and reasonable notice.

Note that if you withdraw your consent to certain uses of your personal information, we may no longer be able to provide you with certain products and services.

9. How secure is FSA's system of collecting and storing personal information?

FSA recognizes the sensitivity of your personal information and protects it using appropriate physical, electronic or procedural security measures. This may include safeguards to protect against loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. Only authorized employees and agents of FSA, who require access to your personal information to fulfill their job requirements, will have access to your personal information.

10. How can you correct or update your personal information?

FSA may establish and maintain a file of your personal information for the purposes described above, which you can access, by request, at 355 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1Z8.

If you would like to access or correct FSA's file of your personal information, write to Peter Crosby, Chief Privacy Officer, at the above addressor e-mail privacyofficer@fsatoronto.com. Your right to access or correct your personal information is subject to applicable legal restrictions. If you wish to make inquiries or complaints or have other concerns about FSA's personal information practices, you may write to Peter Crosby at the addresses above or telephone us at 416-595-4030

11. How is the Ontario's Health Information Protection Act affecting FSA privacy policy?

FSA is required by law to comply with Ontario's Health Information Protection Act. This Act applies to "personal health information", which includes information that relates to the physical or mental health of an individual and to providing health care to an individual. FSA treats personal health information in the same way it treats personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. However, FSA may be required or permitted under this Act to collect, use or disclose your personal health information without your consent.

If you have any questions about the treatment of your personal health information, you may contact Peter Crosby, the Chief Privacy Officer of FSA, at 355 Church Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 1Z8 or via e-mail at privacyofficer@fsatoronto.com

If you wish to make a complaint under the Health Information Protection Act regarding the treatment of your personal health information, you must do so in writing to either Peter Crosby, Chief Privacy Officer of FSA, at the address above or to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario as set out under the Health Information Protection Act (please see www.ipc.on.ca for details on how to contact the Commissioner).

12. Privacy statement changes

This privacy statement may be revised from time to time. If we intend to use or disclose personal information for purposes not described in this statement, we will make reasonable efforts to notify affected individuals in advance, if necessary. If you are concerned about how your personal information is used, you should contact us as described above or check back at our website periodically to obtain a current copy of this Statement.

If you have a question about our privacy policies that is not addressed in the Privacy Policy Statement, please send an e-mail to Peter Crosby, Chief Privacy Officer at: petercr@fsatoronto.com; Attn: Privacy Officer.

 

Back to previous page

 

About FSA | Programs & Services | What's New | Media | Get Involved | Policy Research | Contact us