Advocates for Employers of Canada and each of its member law firms (collectively, “AEC”, “we” or “us”) recognizes the importance of privacy and is committed to protecting any personal information it holds. This Policy explains how AEC collects, uses and discloses personal information concerning clients and other individuals (“you”), other than AEC’s professionals, employees and agents.
Any personal information you provide to us will be treated with care and, subject to this Policy and applicable law, will not be used or disclosed in a way to which you have not consented. Our professionals, employees and agents are also subject to professional and ethical obligations relating to the confidentiality of information AEC receives in the context of providing legal services.
In the course of providing services to our clients, we collect personal information about our clients and others. When we are retained to act on behalf of a client, we use, retain, and disclose personal information on behalf of, and as instructed by, that client. In this Policy, the term “clients”, includes all current, former and prospective clients. Our use, retention and disclosure of that information is governed by our duty of confidentiality to our client, by solicitor-client privilege and by the standards in thePersonal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and other applicable privacy legislation.
We are responsible for the personal information that we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this Policy, and trained our lawyers and support staff about our policies and practices.
By submitting your personal information to us, you signify your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Policy, subject to any mutually agreed exceptions.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
The term “personal information” refers to any information about an identifiable individual or any information that allows an individual to be identified. In general, personal information does not include business contact information.
PURPOSES FOR WHICH PERSONAL INFORMATION IS COLLECTED, USED AND DISCLOSED
We collect, use and disclose personal information for the purposes identified at the time of collection, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law, including for the following purposes:
- to provide legal and other related services;
- to comply with our professional obligations, including the rules regarding client identification and verification;
- to establish and manage client relationships, including considering whether to establish such a relationship;
- administrative, management and business purposes, including without limitation to issue invoices, administer accounts, and collect and process payments;
- to develop our internal knowledge management systems and databases;
- to distribute AEC publications, invitations to seminars and events and other communications that AEC believes may be of interest to clients and other individuals;
- to contact and communicate with clients and other individuals for the purpose of evaluating client service and satisfaction;
- for audit and record-keeping purposes; and
- for any other purpose for which we have your express consent.
LIMITING COLLECTION AND USE
We limit the amount of personal information we collect to that necessary and appropriate for the identified purposes.
We collect personal information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible, we collect your personal information directly from you, both at the start of a retainer and in the course of our representation. Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources, for example:
- a government agency or registry;
- a credit bureau;
- your employer, if we are acting for you at its request;
- your accountant or other consultants retained by you to assist in your legal concerns;
Generally, we would obtain your consent, as described below, before collecting information from other sources. If you provide us with personal information concerning another individual (including adverse parties and other individuals involved in legal proceedings), you represent that, prior to submitting such information, you have obtained the necessary consent or authority to permit us to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set out in this Policy, or the collection, use and disclosure is permitted by applicable law.
We will not use your personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with your consent or as permitted or required by applicable law.
If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive our publications, invitations to seminars and events and other such communications, we will not send any further communications. We comply with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation(“CASL”) in our electronic communications.
CONSENT
We will not collect, use or disclose personal information without the consent of the individual(s) concerned unless we are permitted or required to do so by applicable law. We generally do not obtain the consent of the individual(s) concerned in the following circumstances:
- if a client provides personal information about a third person to us for purposes of our legal representation of the client;
- when consent is not required by law;
- if legal, medical or security reasons make it impossible or impractical to seek consent; and
- when information is being collected for the detection and prevention of fraud or for law enforcement and seeking the consent of the individual may defeat the purpose of collecting the information.
Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with us. In determining how to obtain your consent, we consider the sensitivity of the personal information we are collecting, using or disclosing.
WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT/OPTING-OUT
You may withdraw your consent to the use and disclosure of your personal information, or opt-out of certain uses and disclosures, subject to any legal restrictions and upon reasonable notice to us. To do that, please contact AEC, as set out below.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Under certain circumstances, we will disclose your personal information:
- When we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena;
- When you have consented to the disclosure;
- When the legal services we are providing to you require us to give your information to third parties, (for example another party in a civil lawsuit), your consent will be implied unless you tell us otherwise;
- Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; and
- If we retain other law firms, consultants or expert witnesses at your request, and on your behalf.
Our professionals are subject to professional and ethical obligations and, as such, we will not disclose personal information that is subject to solicitor-client privilege unless our client has waived privilege or we are permitted or required to do so by law.
Subject always to our professional obligations and only for the purposes of providing legal services, we may disclose personal information to third parties (including adverse parties and their counsel, experts, witnesses, service providers), including in the context of legal proceedings. We may also disclose your personal information to your agent (lawyer or other representative). We do not sell or exchange for consideration any personal information we hold.
STORING AND SECURING YOUR INFORMATION
We may store and process your personal information at any AEC member firm’s office location(s) in Canada. To help protect the confidentiality of your personal information, we employ security safeguards that are customary in the legal profession and appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including physical, organizational and technological measures. Examples of such measures include restricted access to offices, training of personnel, limiting access to information on a “need-to-know” basis, using passwords and well-defined internal policies and practices.
The security measures will vary depending of the sensitivity, amount, format, nature and storage of the personal information. We will adopt enhanced security measures, such as password-protected files, upon request.
To the extent we employ third-party service providers to store, handle or process personal information on our behalf (e.g. data processing, archiving or office services), we will use contractual and other means to provide a comparable level of protection while the information is being stored, handled or processed by them.
ACCESS TO AND CORRECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
You may request access to your personal information and/or information about our collection, use and disclosure of that information by contacting us as outlined below.
Subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law, you will be given reasonable access to your personal information and will be entitled to challenge the accuracy and completeness of that information and have it amended as appropriate. Examples of such exceptions include information that is prohibitively costly to provide, information that contains references to other individuals, information that cannot be disclosed for legal, security or commercial proprietary reasons, and information that is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege. If we deny your request for access, or request to correct information, we will explain why.
More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.
You can help us maintain the accuracy of your information by notifying us of any changes to your personal information.
If you have any inquiry or complaint that relates to our policies or procedures relating to the handling of personal information, we invite you to contact us.
CONTACT
For additional information regarding this Policy, please contact AEC by telephone at: 1.833.937.2816; or by email at: contactus@empcan.com
CHANGES TO PRIVACY POLICY
Privacy laws are rapidly evolving and, as a result, this Policy may be changed from time to time in AEC’s full discretion without any prior notice or liability to you or any other person. The collection, use and disclosure of your personal information by us will be governed by the version of this Policy in effect at that time. We intend to post our Policy, including any amendments, on our website: www.empcan.com
