Privacy Policy

When you visit SettleNet.org/Réseau-Etab.Org (“Services” or “Service”, or “Site”), it is important for you to know that your privacy is important to us. This page details the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants’, hereto referred to as "OCASI", “we”, “us” or “our”, policies on privacy-related matters. This Privacy Policy tells you how we collect, use, store, transfer and disclose your personal information. By providing your information, you agree to your personal information being processed in accordance with this Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time.

Principles

OCASI is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of information of our Users and to handling responsibly the information and data we collect about you through the Site.

Who We Are

The Service is a Canadian not-for-profit online repository and community for Immigrant and Refugee Serving organization practitioners and other stakeholders that serve newcomers to Canada (“Users”). As a repository, the Service provides Users with access to Settlement and Integration materials including but not limited to best practices on intake assessment forms and how to tips on developing and conducting settlement services and professional development opportunities. As a community, the Service enables Users to share materials, discover new approaches, locate solutions, and network. Personal information includes all information about an identifiable person.

Information We Collect

We collect some information which is not attributable to an identifiable individual. However, the creation of a Site account requires an email address. When logged in, your online interactions will be linked to your account, including messages, comments, posts, and likes.

We may also collect anonymous aggregate information on what pages you access or visit. The aggregate information we collect is used for many different purposes in order to serve you better. Among these purposes is to improve the content of the Site and to customize the content and/or layout of the Site for each individual visitor.

Collection of Personal Information

• User Account

  In order to use the Service, a User must first complete the registration form. During registration a User is required to give contact information name and email address and unique identifiers such as username and password. Users may provide other information related to the credentials of the User such as photos, position and organization that will appear on their profile page and the member listing page. Users may provide additional information in the course of making use of and contributing to the Service. We use this information, including any personal information, to provide the Service and to contact the User in connection with the Service.

  Each User will have a member profile page that will be accessible to other members only when they are logged into the Service. This profile page will display information collected on the registration form or later on from each User, including but not limited to the User’s interests and a short description about themselves. The User’s email address is not displayed. The profile page will also display information about the User's activity for the purpose of making it easier for other members to see who else is involved in the community, to find common interests between themselves, to choose to communicate with one another, and to see what contributions are being made and recognized (including but not limited to posts, contributed resources, creating groups, participating in open discussion, etc.).

• Messages

  The messages you send or receive using the Site are only private to the extent that you and the sender/recipient keep them private. OCASI does not have any control over whether a recipient of one of your personal messages publicly posts it or its contents. OCASI does not use, collect or disclose the content of your messages in the Service.

Our collection of personal information is limited to that which is reasonable under the circumstances, and we only collect your personal information with your consent.

How We May Use Your Personal Information

We use personal information for the purposes stated or implied at the time of collection, including for the following purposes:

• confirming your identity
• responding to your inquiries
• to meet the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to us
• processing Service-related complaints, and
• marketing of our services to you, as well as those of our affiliates and third parties.

We may otherwise use your personal information where permissible by law, for example to respond to an emergency, or in the course of an investigation into illegal behaviour.

Transfers and Disclosures of Personal Information

We will not disclose personal information to any external organization without your consent unless we are required or permitted to do so by law, including in the event of a reorganization or change of control.

Your personal information may be stored, processed or otherwise used by us, our affiliates or our service providers, both inside and outside Canada. As a result, that country's courts, governments or law enforcement agencies could obtain disclosure of your information in accordance with that country's laws. Whenever we hire other organizations or third-party service providers to provide support services, they will be required to conform to our privacy standards and to allow us to audit them for compliance.

Security and Retention

The security of your personal information is important to us. We take all reasonable steps to protect the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We protect the personal information within our custody or control with appropriate organizational, technological and physical safeguards. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be fully secure. As a result, while we are committed to protecting your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant in any way the security of any information you provide to us.

We store personal information in electronic and physical files that are secure, and our security measures include secure on- and off-site storage, restricted access to records and data processing equipment, password protocols, and encryption and security software.  We conduct audits and monitor compliance with our privacy practices.

We only retain personal information for as long as is necessary for the purpose for which it was collected. When we no longer are required to retain the information, we will destroy, erase, or de-identify the information. Legal requirements, however, may require us to retain some or all of the personal information we hold for a period of time that is longer than that for which we might otherwise hold.

If your account is terminated, we will terminate your access to your account, but reserve the right not to remove your profile from the Site, and may retain your information as necessary for our future use as authorized under this Privacy Policy. We may use retained data to prevent, investigate, or identify possible wrongdoing in connection with the Site or to comply with legal obligations. Information may exist in backup storage even after it has been removed from our active databases.

When your information is shared with the host/presenter of an event in which You have chosen to participate, We lose control over how they will use, collect, and/or disseminate your information. Accordingly, You understand and agree that We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of the host/presenter and/or any third party websites, and You agree that We are not responsible for how such information is ultimately used.

Cookies

Our Site uses "cookies," which is a small text file number that is stored on your hard drive when you begin to navigate the Site. The cookies used by this Site do not contain any personal information about you, but they may identify your specific computer. Cookies are required for you to stay logged in and access this site other than limited external content. We do not save personal information on cookies or through the use of pixel tags without your permission. You will need to allow us to use cookies if your browser is set to block them for all sites. We may also use cookies to track activity and click-through behavior to better understand your preferences and browsing habits, and to provide personalized email alerts and a more personalized experience while visiting the Site. Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to accept them or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.

Third party vendors may also use cookies to serve you ads based on your visit to the Site or other websites. You may opt out of other third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting their website, and/or by visiting AdChoices.

Analytics

We may also use third-party service providers to monitor and analyze the use of our Site. Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google Inc. (“Google”) that tracks, monitors and reports traffic on our Site. Google tracks information like (i) your IP address; (ii) the type of web browser and operating system being used; (iii) the pages of the Site that you visit; and (iv) other websites you may have visited before visiting our Site. Google may also transfer this information to other third parties where they are required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf.
You can opt-out of having your activity on the Site made available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about a visit’s activity. Learn more about Google’s Privacy Practices.

Linked Websites

The Site may contain links to websites other than the Site, or redirect to or integrate services other than the Services. OCASI does not share your personal information with these third party websites, nor is OCASI responsible for the privacy practices of these websites and services. OCASI makes no representations or warranties concerning such websites and services, nor shall OCASI have any liability concerning such websites and services. You should always read the privacy policy of each website you visit carefully.

Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time as we add or improve our services and as technologies change. If we make a change to this Privacy Policy this will be reflected in the below “Date last modified” date. We encourage you to check back periodically to see if we have made any changes. If we make any material or substantive changes in this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting a clear and conspicuous notice of these changes on the Site and in this Privacy Policy.

Access to Personal Information

You or a person authorized on your behalf has the right to request to see and obtain a copy of your personal information and to request changes or corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information. If you have questions, suggestions or concerns related to this Privacy Policy, you may contact our privacy officer:

Privacy Officer
OCASI - Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants
110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario  M4R 1A3
privacy@ocasi.org