Privacy - RTO 9

Privacy

Introduction

Regional Tourism Office 9 (referred to below as “RTO9”, “we,” “us,” and “our“) is a privacy conscious organization. The following privacy statement explains how we protect visitors’ personal information gathered via the web pages of the rto9.ca website. By using this website you agree to the use of such information in accordance with this privacy statement. This privacy statement may be supplemented or amended from time to time by privacy statements that are specific to certain areas of this website (e.g., marketing kit). If you have any questions or concerns regarding this privacy statement, please contact us using the Contact Us link.

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Examples of personal information include: gender, date of birth, home address, phone number, email address and the like.

Information Collection

As a visitor, you do have to register by submitting personal and or business information in order to use the website, other than the public landing page. Such information may consist of, but is not limited to, your name, current job title, company address, email address and telephone and fax numbers. To evaluate and respond to your questions or comments, we may require your name, email, location and a description of your inquiry. You may also choose to provide additional contact or other information. We may also store and maintain any content that you provide, including but not limited to postings on the website and other applications and services that we may provide. We do not usually seek sensitive information (e.g., data relating to gender, marital status, race or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, criminal record, physical or mental health, or sexual orientation) from visitors. We will, where necessary, obtain your explicit consent to collect, use and disclose (as applicable) such information.

Log Information, Cookies and Web Beacons

We collect non-personally identifiable information from you such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring website addresses in order for us to better understand how our Website is used. To ensure that our website is well managed and to facilitate improved navigation, we or our service provider(s) may also use cookies (small text files stored in a user’s browser) or Web beacons (electronic images that allow the website to count visitors who have accessed a particular page and to access certain cookies) to collect aggregate data. Information about a user’s visit is logged, however your IP address is never referenced to personally identifiable information. Usage statistics are gathered in a non-intrusive manner. The log files are private documents and are primarily used by the server administrator for error notification, server administration and to monitor Web site performance. At times portions of the log files may be viewed by others for the purpose of server administration, security or when required by law.

Information Use

At times, you may choose to register or create a user profile on this site – e.g., to gain access to specific content, attend a hosted event, respond to a survey, or request communications about specific areas of interest. In such cases, the information you submit will be used to manage your request and to customize and improve this website and related services offered to you. If you have emailed or otherwise contacted us with an inquiry, we will use your information to evaluate your inquiry and direct it to the appropriate RTO9 personnel for a response. With your consent, we may also use your personal information for marketing purposes, or to send you promotional materials or communications regarding services provided by us or RTO9 partners that we feel may be of interest to you. We may also contact you to seek feedback on our services or for market or other research purposes. Your personal information may also be used to protect our rights or property and that of our users and, where appropriate, to comply with legal process. You may at any time request that we discontinue sending you emails or other communications generated in response to your registration on this website.

Disclosure of Information to Third Parties

We may provide your personal information to other RTO9 partners in order to provide you with information that could be of interest to you and conduct market or other research. Personal information may also be disclosed to other third parties in order to respond to your requests or inquiries where those parties handle information on our behalf. By providing information through this website, you are consenting to the disclosures described above. Personal information may also be disclosed to law enforcement, regulatory, or other government agencies, or to other third parties, in each case to comply with legal or regulatory obligations or requests.

Blogs, Forums, Wikis and Other Social Media

This website may host various blogs, forums, wikis and other applications or services that allow you to share content with other users (collectively “Social Media Applications“). Any personal information or other information that you contribute to any Social Media Application can be read, collected and used by other users of that Social Media Application over whom we have little or no control. Therefore, we are not responsible for any other user’s use, misuse or misappropriation of any personal information or other information that you contribute to any Social Media Application.

Consent

Consent is required for the collection of personal information for the above purposes, or any new purposes that RTO9 identifies from time to time. The form of consent required by RTO9 will vary depending on the sensitivity of the information requested and the reasonable expectations of the customer. Consent will be implied for all purposes unless the purpose indicates that express consent will be collected. RTO9 may also may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent in circumstances indicated in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”).

Limiting Collection

RTO9 does not collect personal information indiscriminately. RTO9 limits the collection of personal information to that which is necessary for purposes it identifies.

RTO9 primarily collects personal information directly from you; however, personal information may also be collected from other sources including other people who represent that they have the right to disclose information.

Your personal information may be collected directly from you may be collected in a variety of ways, including, by being disclosed directly by you to RTO9, generated by your transactions with RTO9, or observed by RTO9.

Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

RTO9 only uses and discloses information for the purposes for which it was collected, or otherwise in accordance with PIPEDA. Any new purpose for which the information is to be used or disclosed will be documented, and consent will be obtained for it.

Unless this Policy indicates otherwise, RTO9 retains your personal information for a minimum period of seven years after it was collected. Personal information will be disposed of by shredding, deleting (electronically) or otherwise destroying it. Third party services may be retained to destroy personal information; however, that third party will be required to provide assurances to RTO9 that it will protect the personal information.

Accuracy Personal

Information will be kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used. You are responsible for informing RTO9 about changes to your personal information. If you have concerns about the accuracy of your personal information collected by RTO9, then please contact RTO9 at the phone number or address indicated at the end of this document.

Access to Information

Visitors who choose to register with this website may access their user profile, correct and update their details, or unsubscribe at any time. Visitors who have any problem accessing their profiles, or would like to request a copy of their personal information should contact us using the contact us link. In all cases we will treat requests to access information or change information in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Information Safeguarding

We have in place reasonable commercial standards of technology and operational security to protect all information provided by visitors via this website from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction, appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information. Files are protected by keeping them in areas restricted to employees, and/or in locked filing cabinets or rooms. RTO9’s employees have been made aware of the need to safeguard personal information and they only access the information on an as-needed basis. RTO9 also uses firewalls and passwords to protect electronic personal information.

Openness

RTO9’s policies and practices related to the management of personal information are contained in this Policy. The Policy as well as additional information and documents are available from the Privacy Officer on request. They include:

  • A Personal Information Request Form to be used to inquire about or gain access to personal information held by RTO9; and
  • A Privacy Complaint Form used to complain about RTO9’s treatment of personal information.

Individual Access

Upon written request, RTO9 will divulge the existence, use and any disclosure made of personal information and will give you access to your information. Written requests must be delivered to the Privacy Officer at the address at the end of this Policy. Personal Information Request Forms are available from the Privacy Officer on request. If assistance is needed with the request, please contact the Privacy Officer.

RTO9 will respond to an access request within 30 days, unless an extension of time is required, pursuant to PIPEDA, in which case the response may take up to an additional 30 days. A fee for reasonable costs incurred pursuant to the request may be charged to you by RTO9, provided that you are informed of the fee in advance and do not withdraw your request.

RTO9 may require additional information from you in order to locate certain personal information. If this is the case, the additional information will not be used for any purpose other than that of locating the personal information.

Should your information on file with RTO9 be proven incomplete or incorrect, it will be amended as required. Where necessary, the amended information will be transmitted to third parties using the information in question.

RTO9 will not comply with access requests in certain situations:

  • If it would reveal information about a third party;
  • If the information is subject to solicitor-client privilege;
  • If to do so would reveal confidential commercial information; and
  • If the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process.

If RTO9 does not comply with an access request, it will inform you of the reasons for such refusal.

Challenging Compliance

Any concerns respecting RTO9’s compliance with PIPEDA should be addressed to the Privacy Officer. A Privacy Complaint Form is available from the Privacy Officer. RTO9 will investigate and respond to written complaints within 90 business days of receiving a complaint. If a complaint is found to be justified RTO9 will take appropriate measures, including, if necessary, amending its policies and procedures.

PRIVACY OFFICER
Region 9 Regional Tourism Organization
Kingston, Ontario
E-mail: bruddock@dev.tourismtalk.ca

Changes to Our Privacy Statement

We may modify or amend this privacy statement from time to time at our discretion. When we make changes to this statement, we will amend the revision date at the top of this page. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to be informed about how we are protecting your information

Children’s Privacy Protection

We understand the importance of protecting children’s privacy in the interactive online world. This website is not designed for or intentionally targeted at children.