This Privacy Policy was last updated December 8, 2011.

Privacy Policy

The following is the privacy policy of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. (the "Canadian Centre").

The Canadian Centre is a not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children. The goal of the Canadian Centre is to reduce child victimization by providing programs and services to the Canadian public. These programs and services include publicly accessible websites; a variety of public awareness activities; the creation, production and distribution of printed books, training programs and curriculums; educational, professional and related services and training; and miscellaneous other activities aimed at reducing the incidence of missing and sexually exploited children.

In the course of providing our programs and services, the Canadian Centre may collect, use and disclose personal information. The following policy is intended to provide information about why and how we do so.

Federal privacy legislation in Canada, namely the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), applies to personal information that is collected, used and disclosed in the course of commercial activities. With the exception of the collection, use and disclosure of information for the purpose of processing donations, we do not perform commercial activities; nor operate for commercial purposes; and the Canadian Centre does not consider the majority of its collection, use and disclosure of personal information to be a commercial activity. The Centre nonetheless believes that maintaining the privacy of personal information is of the utmost importance and accordingly it adheres to the spirit of PIPEDA in its operation of this Website.

This Privacy Policy describes how personal information obtained by the Canadian Centre is collected, used and disclosed by it. This Policy applies to users of our programs and services, visitors to our websites, and donors, and it reflects the spirit of PIPEDA. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy to gain a better understanding of how your personal information will be treated by our organization.

Definition of Personal Information:

Personal information is any identifiable information about an individual, including: name, e-mail address, mailing address, and telephone/fax number. Personal information does not include aggregated information that cannot be associated with a specific individual.

Privacy Policy Applicable to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc.

We respect your privacy. We developed this Privacy Policy in order to ensure those who deal with us are confident that their personal information will be handled in a reasonable manner. We feel it is important for you to understand what information we collect, why we collect it, how we will use and disclose it, and how you can contact us with privacy-related questions. Whether you are visiting the Website to obtain access to resources and information, to use it to access one of our other websites, or to make a donation, we are committed to respecting your privacy and personal information.

Certain websites operated by the Canadian Centre, such as Cybertip.ca, MissingKids.ca and TextEd.ca, have posted a specific privacy policy to address issues unique to the website and/or the program it represents. Where there is a conflict between a specific policy posted on a website operated by the Canadian Centre and this general policy, the specific policy will govern to the extent necessary to resolve the conflict.

Our 10 Privacy Principles

In order to observe the spirit of PIPEDA, the Canadian Centre has adopted the 10 Privacy Principles contained within the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information. A summary of the principles is set out below.

1. Our responsibility to protect your personal information

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. is responsible for personal information under its control, and as such has designated an individual who is accountable for compliance with the following principles.

Note: See principle 10 for contact information.

2. Our obligation to identify the purposes for collecting personal information

The Canadian Centre will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time of collection. In general terms, we collect personal information to consider, process and respond to: requests for information, assistance and resources, as well as general and specific inquiries; to perform research activities related to existing programs and services; to accept, process and respond to reports and tips related to children or the protection of children; to accept and process donations; to provide a positive experience to website users and others using our programs and services; to understand website user requirements; and to meet legal and regulatory requirements.

3. The requirement for knowledge and consent

The individual's knowledge and consent are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate. In determining the appropriate form of consent, the Canadian Centre shall take into account the sensitivity of the information and the reasonable expectation of the individual.

Note: The following statement applies to principle 3 and 5:

In certain circumstances, personal information can be collected, used or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual. For example the Canadian Centre may collect, use or disclose personal information if:

(a) it is clearly in the interests of the individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way, such as when the individual is a minor, seriously ill or mentally incapacitated; or
(b) it is reasonable to expect that seeking the consent of the individual might defeat the purpose of collecting the information, such as in the investigation of a breach of an agreement or a contravention of federal or provincial law;

The Canadian Centre may also use or disclose personal information without knowledge or consent in the case of an emergency where the life, health or security of an individual is threatened.

The Canadian Centre may disclose personal information without knowledge or consent to a lawyer representing the Canadian Centre, to comply with a subpoena, warrant or other court order, or as may be otherwise required or permitted by law

4. Limiting information collection

The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. Information will be collected by fair and lawful means.

5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention of your personal information

Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual, to comply with a government request, to protect the operations of the Canadian Centre, to protect children, or as required or permitted by law. Personal information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes. Only those employees of the Canadian Centre who require access to personal information for work-related reasons, or whose duties reasonably so require, are granted access to personal information.

Note: See the note to principle 3.

6. Accuracy of your personal information

Personal information will be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

7. Our responsibility to safeguard your personal information

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc. has security safeguards in place designed to protect personal information against loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, use or modification. Such safeguarding measures may include but are not limited to alarm systems, locked cabinets, computer passwords, firewalls, and encryption.

8. Our obligation to be open about our Privacy Policy and practices

If additional specific information about our policies and practices of personal information management are required, such information will be provided to individuals upon receiving a written request.

9. Your right to access your personal information

Upon request, an individual will be informed of the existence and use of his or her personal information, and will be given access to that information. An individual will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of their information and have it amended accordingly. In order to safeguard personal information, access requests must be in writing, and reasonable steps to verify the identity of the individual making the request will be taken before any personal information will be released.

10. Your right to challenge the compliance of our Privacy Policy

If for any reason, you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer by mailing a letter outlining your concerns to:

   Privacy Officer
   Canadian Centre for Child Protection Inc.
   615 Academy Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3G 0N4

You may also submit your question by contacting us through the Contact Us page accessible from https://www.protectchildren.ca/app/en/privacy_contact