IHLA Memorandum of understanding

 International and Heritage Languages Association is committed to safeguarding the personal information entrusted to us by our members. We manage your personal information in accordance with Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act and other applicable laws. This policy outlines the principles and practices we follow in protecting your personal information.

This policy applies to the International and Heritage Languages Association and to any person providing services on our behalf. A copy of this policy is provided to any member on request.

What is personal information? Personal information means information about an identifiable individual. This includes an individual / school association ‘s name, address and phone number, email address, financial information, heritage background, educational history, etc.

We inform our members, before or at the time of collecting personal information, of the purposes for which we are collecting the information. The only time we don’t provide this notification is when a member volunteers information for an obvious purpose (for example, producing a credit card to pay a membership fee when the information will be used only to process the payment).

Consent

We assume your consent to continue to use and, where applicable, disclose personal information that we have already collected, for the purpose for which the information was collected.

We ask for your express consent for some purposes and may not be able to provide certain services if you are unwilling to provide consent to the collection, use or disclosure of certain personal information. Where express consent is needed, we will normally ask members to provide  their consent orally (in person, by telephone), or in writing (by signing a consent form).

In cases that do not involve sensitive personal information, we may rely on “opt- out” consent. For example, we may disclose your contact information to other organizations that we believe may be of interest to you, unless you request that we do not disclose your information. You can do this by contacting an IHLA representative.

A client may withdraw consent to the use and disclosure of personal information at any time, unless the personal information is necessary for us to fulfil our legal obligations. We will respect your decision, but we may not be able to provide you with certain products and services if we do not have the necessary personal information.

We may collect, use or disclose member personal information without consent only as authorized by law. For example, we may not request consent when the collection, use or disclosure is to determine suitability for an honour or award, or in an emergency that threatens life, health or safety.

We use and disclose client personal information only for the purpose for which the information was collected, except as authorized by law. For example, we may use member contact information to deliver goods and services.

If we wish to use or disclose your personal information for any new business purpose, we will ask for your consent. We may not seek consent if the law allows this (e.g. the law allows organizations to use personal information without consent for the purpose of collecting a debt).

We will inform our employees and volunteers of any new purpose for which we will collect, use, or disclose personal employee information, or we will obtain your consent, before or at the time the information is collected.

We will obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information for purposes unrelated to the employment or volunteer relationship (e.g. such as providing you with information about our workplace charity program).

We make every reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. We rely on individuals to notify us if there is a change to their

personal information that may affect their relationship with our organization. If you are aware of an error in our information about you, please let us know and we will correct it on request wherever possible. In some cases we may ask for a written request for correction.

We protect personal information in a manner appropriate for the sensitivity of the information. We make every reasonable effort to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information.

We use appropriate security measures when destroying personal information, including shredding paper records and permanently deleting electronic records.

We retain personal information only as long as is reasonable to fulfil the purposes for which the information was collected or for legal or business purposes.

Access to records containing personal information

Individuals have a right to access their own personal information in a record that is in the custody or under the control of the International and Heritage Languages Association, subject to some exceptions. For example, organizations are required under the Personal Information Protection Act to refuse to provide access to information that would reveal personal information about another individual.

If we refuse a request in whole or in part, we will provide the reasons for the refusal. In some cases where exceptions to access apply, we may withhold that information and provide you with the remainder of the record.

You may make a request for access to your personal information by writing to the International and Heritage Languages Association. You must provide sufficient information in your request to allow us to identify the information you are seeking.

You may also request information about our use of your personal information and any disclosure of that information to persons outside our organization. In addition, you may request a correction of an error or omission in your personal information.

We will respond to your request within 45 calendar days, unless an extension is granted.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you should contact the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta:

Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta Suite 2460, 801 - 6 Avenue, SW

Calgary, Alberta T2P 3W2

Phone: 403-297-2728 Toll Free: 1-888-878-4044

Email: generalinfo@oipc.ab.ca Website: www.oipc.ab.ca