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Privacy Policy Principles
Privacy Policy FAQs
Terms of Use
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Our Privacy Policy
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who is Connecting Neighbours?
Connecting Neighbours, its licensors, its sponsors, and partner organizations provide neighbourhood website services to communities throughout Canada.
In regards to this Privacy Policy:
- Connecting Neighbours means ConnectingNeighboursCanada.com and Connecting Canada Inc. and their respective personnel.
- Our licensees/licensors are individuals, organizations and/or companies that act for us on our behalf.
- Our sponsors are business people and/or organizations that sponsor specific neighbourhood websites, of their choosing, for residential use.
- Our partner organizations or partner companies that provide services for Connecting Neighbours and/or its products.
For more information about Connecting Neighbours please visit 'About Us' at www.connectingneighbourscanada.com
What is the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)?
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is a piece of Canadian legislation that tells business the rules of managing personal information they may encounter while carrying out their services.
Do the provinces have their own form of privacy legislation?
Yes, some of the provinces do have their own privacy legislation. They are all very similar in nature to the federal Act. Because Connecting Neighbours operates nationally, we have chosen to follow PIPEDA because it is all embracing.
What is Personal Information?
According to PIPEDA, Personal Information means information that identifies an individual. Examples of this are (but are not limited to); your name, email address, or information about the products and services you use as well as subscribe to.
Information not considered personal, and/or private, includes any information publicly available in registry or directory listings such as your name, phone number, or electronic identification, for example. This also includes employee names, titles and phone numbers as well as information found on business cards.
How do you obtain consent to use my personal Information?
Consent to use your information may be obtained in two ways, expressed or implied.
Expressed Consent
When we ask your permission and you agree (either in written, electronic, or verbal form) to collect and/or use your personal information; this is considered expressed consent.
Implied consent
Implied consent is unspoken but reasonably indicates your consent by your action(s), or lack of action(s). An example of this may be when we ask you to fill out an electronic form that asks for your personal information. We state the terms under which we are collecting and using your information. By your own action, in filling out the form and then submitting it, we reasonably conclude that you are giving us your consent to collect and use your information.
When do you collect my personal information, what do you collect and how long do you keep it?
Connecting Neighbours collects personal information when you:
- Visit a neighbourhood site.
- Submit information to a neighbourhood site,
- Subscribe to the neighbourhood newsletter,
- Make a request to contact a sponsor for a neighbourhood, and/or,
- Create an account through a neighbourhood website sponsorship.
Connecting Neighbours may ask you for personal information at times, including but not limited to; when you enter a sweepstakes, contest, or promotion sponsored by one of our sponsors. In other instances, you may choose to provide us with personal information when you complete a form on one of our websites or send us an email message, such as an ad or event, or when you choose to subscribe to products or services such as a newsletter.
Our web logs collect standard web log entries for each page served, including your IP address, page URL, and timestamp. Web logs help us to diagnose problems with our server, to administer the sites, and to otherwise provide our service to you.
Connecting Neighbours retains your personal information only as long as it is required for our business proceedings or as required by federal and provincial laws. All submissions are stored in our database, even after 'deletion,' and may be archived elsewhere. Our web logs and other electronic records are also only stored as long as it is required for business proceedings or as required by federal and provincial laws. Personal information stored by our third party interests is not subject to this privacy policy and therefore, we do not have any control over their policies. We encourage you to inquire about the privacy policies of these third party interests. Wherever or whenever we collect your personal information, it is subject to the terms of this Policy.
Finally, our sites also may contain links and advertisements to other websites that are operated by other companies or persons, third parties. These links may be to foreign sites that are not registered as a Canadian company and therefore may not be subject to privacy policies and standards. We are not responsible for, nor do we have any control over the privacy policies of those third party websites and we encourage all users to read the privacy policies of each and every website visited.
Our policy statements only apply to information collected and maintained by Connecting Neighbours; any questions regarding our policy may be directed to our Policy Officer as listed in the last section of this document.
Why and how do you use my information?
Connecting Neighbours primary goal in collecting personally identifiable and other information is to provide you, the user, with a customized experience on our websites. This includes personalization services and many other types of services offered through the use of our websites.
When you contact us we may also keep a record of that correspondence. This information is used to provide you with the services and/or products you have requested. From time to time, we also may ask users to complete surveys that we use for research purposes.
When we collect your email address, it is for purposes such as sending confirmation emails, authenticating user accounts, providing subscription email services, and providing you update notices pertaining to the services provided by Connecting Neighbours.
In addition, we may use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user's movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, however, will not be linked to any of your personally identifiable information. Basically, an IP address is a unique number assigned to your computer to identify it from other computers on the Internet. Wherever or whenever we collect your personal information, it is subject to the terms of this Policy.
Besides your company, who else is collecting and using my information?
Connecting Neighbours uses and discloses your personal information only for the purposes it was collected. We do not sell or rent personal information to any organization or person for any reason.
Your personal information is accessible only by those who need to know the information for the purposes to which you have consented. Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, when you are on any of our websites and are asked for personal information, you are sharing that information with:
1. Connecting Neighbours; and/or,
2. Our Third Party Interests: These include our Licensees/Licensors, our Sponsors and/or our Partner Organizations/Companies. For additional clarification on Third Party Interests please see our Privacy Policy Principles.
In order to provide you with a co-branded service and it may be necessary for us to share your consented personal information with our partner companies. If your personal information is shared with third parties, third parties may use your personal information according to their own policies, which may differ from our Privacy Policy. As such, you may wish to contact these parties for information about their own privacy polices. Although we do not have any direct control over third party interests, Canadian interests are also legally obliged to comply with PIPEDA and of-like provincial legislation. We also trust and expect our third party interests to follow the standards set out by our privacy policy, keeping your information confidential with or without your consent. Regarding your personal information collected through Connecting Neighbours, a current list of specific parties with access to this is available from our Privacy Officer upon your request; details are provided in the last section of this document.
Connecting Neighbours may disclose information about its users if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process. Connecting Neighbours may also disclose information about its users to law enforcement officers or others, in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to:
- Enforce our Terms of Use,
- Respond to claims that any posting or other content violates the rights of third parties; and/or,
- Protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Connecting Neighbours, its users or the general public.
From time to time, Connecting Neighbours may disclose aggregate user data to advertisers or other third parties.
In the event that Connecting Neighbours was to sell or dispose of all or a part of our business, the transaction could involve the transfer of your personal information in connection with the transferred business.
The Connecting Neighbours Privacy Policy only applies to information collected and maintained by us.
In regards to this Privacy Policy:
- Connecting Neighbours means ConnectingNeighboursCanada.com and Connecting Canada Inc. and their respective personnel.
- Our licensees/licensors are individuals, organizations and/or companies that act for us on our behalf.
- Our sponsors are business people and/or organizations that sponsor specific neighbourhood websites, of their choosing, for residential use.
- Our partner organizations or partner companies that provide services for Connecting Neighbours and/or its products.
For more information about Connecting Neighbours, its sponsors and partner companies, please visit 'About Us' at www.connectingneighbourscanada.com
What are cookies and how do you use them?
As part of offering and providing customizable and personalized services, we use cookies to store information about your use. A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. Some of these cookie files will be stored on your hard drive even after you close your browser and other files may be temporary files that will be deleted when you close your Internet browser. Excluding our own cookies, we will not attempt to read any cookies or files that may be on your computer, including cookies that may have been placed on your computer by other websites that you may have visited.
Generally, we use cookies to:
- Remind us of or confirm your identity,
- Access your account information (stored on our secured computers) in order to permit the tailoring of the websites to better match your interests and/or preferences.
These cookies will be stored on your computer when you register or 'Sign In' to one of our websites, and may be modified while you browse our sites or when you 'Sign Out' from one of the sites.
What about your third parties and advertisers - do they use cookies?
Advertising networks serving one or more of our websites as well as companies advertising or offering products and services on our sites may use their own cookies. We, however, have no access or control over these cookies. In those cases, third parties may use your personal information according to their own policies, which may differ from this Privacy Policy.
What happens when I click on a link to another website from one of your sites?
As a convenience, our websites contain links and/or advertisements to other sites that may not be controlled by, or affiliated or associated with us. Consequently, we do not control the privacy policies of those sites. These links may be to foreign sites that are not registered as a Canadian company and therefore may not be subject to privacy policies and standards.
Accordingly, we do not make any representations concerning the privacy practices or terms of use of such sites, nor do we control or guarantee the accuracy, integrity, or quality of the information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, or other materials available on such sites. We encourage you to view the privacy policy and terms of use of any of the websites that you may visit. Additionally, the inclusion or exclusion of links or advertisements on our websites does not imply any endorsement by Connecting Neighbours, licensors, or site sponsor and their companies as well as affiliates, of the sites, the site's provider, or the information on the sites.
Specifically, please be aware that our partners, advertisers, and other websites that have links on our sites may collect personally identifiable information about you. The information practices of those partners, advertisers, and other websites linked to our sites are not covered by this Policy. We are not responsible for, nor do we have any control over the privacy policies of those third party websites and we encourage all users to read the privacy policies of each and every website visited. This Policy statement only applies to information collected and maintained by Connecting Neighbours.
What are my choices regarding your collection, use, and distribution of my information?
We may, from time to time, send you email regarding our products and services.
On some of our promotions, contests for example, we will ask for your email address in order to provide a service to you and/or update you on your score, entries, and status in promotional drawings. When you participate in these types of promotions, you automatically receive promotion-related email, unless you choose the no-email option that some promotions offer. Occasionally these promotion-related email messages may include targeted advertisements. You may also be required to provide personally identifiable information in order to collect your prize when you win one of our promotions or contests.
You have choices with respect to cookies. By modifying your Internet browser preferences, you have the choice:
- To accept all cookies; and/or
- To be notified when a cookie is set; and/or,
- To reject all cookies. If you choose to reject all cookies you may be unable to use some of our services, including services that require registration in order to participate.
We will notify you at the time of data collection or transfer if your data will be shared with a third party and you will always have the option of not permitting the transfer. If you do not wish to allow your data to be shared, you can choose not to use a particular service or not to participate in certain promotions or contests.
You can request access to your personal information stored by Connecting Neighbours. Your request should be addressed to our Policy Officer, as listed in the last question of this FAQs document. Upon receiving such a request, we will:
- Inform you about what type of personal information we have on file or in our control, how it is used and to whom it may have been disclosed.
- Provide you with access to your personal information so you can review and verify it for accuracy.
- You may request changes and/or updates to your personal information.
How do you protect my personal financial information?
We do not collect your personal financial information on our websites.
Should you be asked to disclose your financial information on one of our sites, please do not comply. Instead, contact us immediately at privacy@connectingneighbourscanada.com to advise us of the situation so we may remedy it.
Should you have an account with us, your financial information, such as credit card or banking information is processed and secured through the Moneris system www.moneris.com. Besides authorized Moneris personnel, your financial information is accessible by our administrative and authorized personnel only. We make good faith efforts to store the information in a secure operating environment that is not available to the public; however, we cannot guarantee 100% complete security.
What security precautions are in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of my information?
Should you have an account with us, your information on our websites is password-protected so that you, Connecting Neighbours and their personnel have access to this personal information. Therefore, we recommend that you do not divulge your password to anyone and that you chose a password that only you know. We will never ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or in an unsolicited email. Also remember to sign out of your account and close your browser window when you have finished your visit to our websites. These practices will help ensure that others cannot access your personal information and correspondence if you share a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place such as a business office, library or Internet cafe. If you use a public computer, you may also wish to delete any temporary or other files that may have been created during your visit on our sites.
Newsletter subscribers, you can unsubscribe to the newsletter, thereby removing your email from the newsletter subscription list, by accessing the link at the bottom of each monthly newsletter. All registered residents profiles related to the newsletter are stored in our database, even after 'deletion,' and may be archived elsewhere. This information is stored as long as it is required for business proceedings or as required by federal and provincial laws.
Unfortunately, it is not possible for data transmissions over the Internet or wireless networks, or for any security precautions, to be guaranteed 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or from our online products or services, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems.
What about my child's privacy?
The safety of children is very important to Connecting Neighbours. We maintain general audience websites that are designed for use by adults and therefore follow children's online privacy guidelines. Specifically, we do not knowingly collect information from users under age 13. If we learn that a posting is by a person under the age of 13, we will remove that posting.
We encourage parents to create a safe place for children on the Internet. Parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist parents in limiting access to content that may be harmful to minors. We also encourage parents to monitor their child's use of the Internet and teach them not to disclose any personally identifiable information (including their age, appearance, school, grade, etc.) about themselves in emails, chat rooms, or on other sites, except with your knowledge and approval.
What if I have an issue regarding your Privacy Policy or my personal information as held by your company?
Your right to have your concerns heard and to be treated fairly are of utmost importance to us at Connecting Neighbours. This is why we have created a process for dealing with your questions, concerns or comments regarding our Privacy Policy or your personal information as retained and maintained by our company and encourage to contact our Policy Officer:
Michele C. P. Devlin, Policy Officer
Connecting Neighbours
By Telephone: 1-877-534-7266
By Email: privacy@connectingneighbourscanada.com
Concerning Your Personal Information Held by Our Licensees/Licensors:
Communication regarding the collection, use, maintenance and retention of your personal information by our licensees/licensors should be addressed to our Policy Officer.
Concerning Your Personal Information Held by Our Sponsors:
Communication regarding the collection, use, maintenance and retention of your personal information by our sponsors should be addressed with our sponsors directly and copied to our Policy Officer for our assessment purposes. Sponsor contact information is listed on each page of each individual neighbourhood site.
Concerning Your Personal Information Held by Other Third Parties:
Communication regarding the collection, use, maintenance and retention of your personal information by our partners, advertisers, and other third parties should be addressed with them directly and copied to our Policy Officer for our assessment purposes.
Should you find that you require action beyond the assistance or conclusion given by the Connecting Neighbours Policy Officer, you may ask us how to proceed to do so.
In addition, you may view our Privacy Pledge and our Privacy Policy Principles sections for more information or clarification on our Privacy Policy. Any questions or comments about our Privacy Policy may be e-mailed to privacy@connectingneighbourscanada.com.
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