Privacy Policy

Overview

The protection of personal information is very important to the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC). TAC is committed to maintaining the accuracy, security and privacy of personal information in accordance with applicable legislation. This TAC Privacy Policy is a statement of principles and guidelines concerning the protection of personal information of our customers, service providers and other individuals (“you”). Any questions about this policy can be directed to our Privacy Officer, at tel: (613) 736-1350 ext. 235 or e-mail: services@tac-atc.ca.

Our employees play an important role in protecting personal information. Our employees are required to adhere to this policy and take all reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is protected from unauthorized access.

Consent

By submitting personal information to TAC, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose such personal information in accordance with this privacy policy and as permitted or required by law. Subject to legal and contractual requirements, you may refuse or withdraw your consent to certain of the identified purposes at any time by contacting the TAC Privacy Officer. If you refuse or withdraw your consent, TAC may be unable to provide you or continue to provide you with certain services, programs and/or information which may be of value to you. If you provide TAC with personal information of another individual, you represent that you have all necessary authority and/or have obtained all necessary consents from such person to enable TAC to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Collection of Personal Information

Canadian privacy legislation defines “personal information” broadly as information about an identifiable individual or as information that allows an individual to be identified. For the purposes of this policy, “personal information” means information about an identifiable individual as defined from time to time in applicable privacy legislation. Generally speaking personal information does not include what is considered business contact information generally found on a business card (i.e. name, title, business number, business fax number, business e-mail address, etc.).

Although TAC generally deals with corporate customers and in those cases does not collect personal information, it also deals with individual customers. TAC collects the personal information of individual customers (and, in cases of event registrations, of employees of corporate members) in administering the following:

Membership applications
Registration for TAC’s conferences/meetings/courses
Sales and free distribution of publications and newsletters

For the purposes of joining the organization as an individual member, TAC collects the following types of personal information:

name;
residential telephone number;
home address;
e-mail address and fax number; and
credit card information

When individual customers register for TAC conferences/meetings/courses we may collect the following types of personal information:

name;
spouse’s name;
children’s name(s);
home address, telephone number, and fax number;
e-mail address;
dietary requirements; and
credit card information.

For the purpose of selling technical publications or distributing free e-documents, TAC may collect the following types of personal information:

name;
e-mail address;
home address, telephone number and fax number; and
credit card information.

Use of Personal Information

The personal information collected by TAC is used for the following purposes:

to contact the individual for information re an order or the membership account;
to issue invoices, administer accounts, collect and process payments;
to send TAC conference/meeting/course registration confirmation;
to plan and arrange for needs while in attendance at a TAC conference/meeting;
to develop, enhance, market, sell or otherwise provide TAC’s products and services;
to include you on our mailing list for TAC bulletins and event notices;
to include individual members in the TAC Membership Directory;
to comply with any legal or regulatory requirements or provisions; and
for any other purpose to which you consent.

TAC only collects personal information directly from the individual except when it has the individual’s consent to collect information from elsewhere or is permitted by law to collect it without the individual’s consent.

TAC uses an individual’s personal information strictly for the purposes outlined above. If the association needs to use the personal information for any other purpose, TAC will contact the individual and obtain consent prior to that use.

Disclosure of Personal Information

From time to time, TAC may disclose your personal information to:

service providers, including an organization or individual retained by TAC to perform functions on its behalf, such as catering, marketing, data processing, printing, mailing, document management, and office services;
a financial institution, on a confidential basis and solely in connection with negotiating payment of an account to which you have consented; and
any third party or parties, where you consent to such disclosure or where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

When TAC discloses your personal information to third parties, it requires such parties to maintain levels of confidentiality and security, in addition to obtaining such third parties’ representation of the implementation of their own privacy policy.

An individual has the right to withdraw consent to TAC for the collection, use or disclosure of their personal information at any time. However, if an individual does so, it may affect his/her ability to participate in programs and/or receive services provided by TAC. If an individual wishes to withdraw consent, or has any questions about withdrawing consent, he or she can contact TAC’s Privacy Officer.

Business contact information is not protected by this policy. This type of information is not considered to be personal information and may be collected, used and disclosed without consent.

Storage of Personal Information

TAC has appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal information. TAC takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your personal information are:

premises security;
restricted file access to personal information;
technological safeguards such as security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;
internal password and security policies; and
proper training of TAC employees in respect of privacy matters

Accuracy of Personal Information

TAC tries to keep personal information as accurate as possible and individuals can assist the organization by providing updated information when necessary. Information can be updated by contacting the TAC Privacy Officer.

Retention of Personal Information

TAC only keeps personal information for as long as is necessary for the purposes outlined above. This may include keeping the information after a service or program has been completed in order to resolve any problems or concerns that may arise. TAC is also required by law to maintain certain records for set amounts of time.

Access

Individuals have the right to access the personal information TAC holds about them. You can access your personal information by making a request to TAC’s Privacy Officer. The Officer will provide the necessary forms and assistance to make the request and obtain the information. If you believe that some of the personal information is incorrect you can request that the information be corrected.

TAC may charge an individual for minimal out-of-pocket expenses in responding to an access request. If TAC decides that a charge is appropriate, it will provide you with a written estimate prior to providing access. Any concerns with the estimated charge should be directed to TAC’s Privacy Officer.

Accountability

TAC applies its best efforts to protect your privacy. If an individual has any concerns they are free to contact the Privacy Officer. TAC hopes that the Officer will be able to resolve any problems. If concerns are not resolved, the Officer can provide information on making a formal complaint.

Employment Inquiries

If you apply for employment at TAC, the organization will require your personal information, as part of its review process. TAC normally retains information from the top candidates after a decision has been made, unless you request for TAC to do otherwise. If TAC offers you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with its privacy procedures for employee records.

Web Site

TAC’s website may contain links to other sites, which are not governed by this privacy policy.

On TAC’s website, like most other commercial websites, TAC may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize its web service. TAC may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.

Amendment of this Privacy Policy

TAC will from time to time review and revise its privacy practices and this Privacy Policy. In the event of any amendment, an appropriate notice will be posted on TAC’s web site.

Contact Information

TAC has appointed its Director, Member Services and Communications as its Chief Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy and applicable privacy laws. For further information on TAC’s privacy policy and its application within TAC, contact our Chief Privacy Officer at:

Transportation Association of Canada
401-1111 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, ON K2C 3T2
Email: services@tac-atc.ca
Tel: (613) 736-1350, ext. 235
Fax: (613) 736-1395