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Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA):
· Protects personal information from improper use and
disclosure.
· Gives the right to individuals to request information
about themselves.
· Gives the right to individuals to request corrections
or additions to their personal information if they feel there
are inaccuracies.
TWUC follows guidelines of PIPEDA where relevant. Most of
its activities are non-commercial and therefore outside the
scope of this law. PIPEDA applies to the sale of material
and services.
For more information, visit the government of Canada’s
Privacy Commission’s website: www.privcom.gc.ca
A Definition of Personal Information:
Personal information is any information that can be used to
distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual.
Exceptions: business contact information
and certain publicly available information, such as that published
in telephone directories, are not considered personal information.
Privacy Protection Commitment:
The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is committed to
protecting the privacy of members, donors, staff and other
stakeholders in accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act and Protection of Privacy Act.
What personal information is collected?
1. Dues, Sales, Services and Donation transactions: TWUC may
collect personal information such as e-mail addresses, home
fax numbers, and credit card information from individuals
paying dues, purchasing publications or other services, or
making donations.
2. Members: Personal contact information as well as biographical
and bibliographical information for members may be offered
by such individuals and will be maintained in a database by
TWUC staff and/or in the Union’s files. Correspondence
of a confidential nature from members to the Union may be
maintained in a paper or electronic filing system by TWUC
staff. Copies of contracts and other information related to
dealings with publishers and/or other individuals/businesses
intended to be confidential are also maintained by the Union
in a paper or electronic filing system.
3. Website: Composite tallies of website page views, such
terms, and other traffic information useful for improving
the design and content of our site. This composite information
does not identify individual users. The TWUC website does
not use “cookies”.
Why is it collected, and what is it used for?
1. Dues, Sales, Services and Donation transactions: This information
may be collected by TWUC staff to: process dues payments;
fulfill sales orders for publications or other services; registration
for professional development programs and/or annual meeting;
to provide a tax receipt, thank you correspondence, invoice,
receipt or other correspondence related to a purchase, donation
or dues payment; or to send renewal notices.
2. Members: Information regarding members is collected to
provide correspondence, newsletter and other information regarding
the business of the Union. Biographical and bibliographical
information provided by members, unless otherwise indicated
by the member, is not considered to be confidential information
and may be used for such purposes such as members’ webpages
or promotion for readings. Copies of members’ contracts
and related correspondence is collected to allow the Union
to assist the individual member with a grievance or other
query and to allow the Union to effectively undertake its
efforts on behalf of other members.
3. Website: No personal information is collected about general
website visitors.
How is it collected?
1. Dues, Sales, Services and Donation transactions: The information
may be collected through various forms available to writers
and other individuals from the Union office. This information
may also be taken over the phone as requested by the individual.
[We strongly caution you not to provide personal information,
including credit card information, by e-mail. Electronic correspondence
is not secure.]
2. Members: Some information may be collected through various
forms available to writers. Other information including correspondence
and/or contracts is collected by fax, mail, phone, or e-mail
by TWUC staff.
3. Website: No personal information is collected about general
website visitors.
Where is it kept and who has access?
All contact information for members, donors and other individuals
is tracked in a centralized database maintained by TWUC staff.
This includes, if provided, personal contact information.
The database does not include credit card information.
Original forms and documents (which may include VISA numbers
as provided by an individual), and photocopies of cheques
are kept in the Union’s files on site. Other forms (which
do not include VISA numbers) are kept in the Union’s
files on site, at the Union’s off site storage unit,
and/or at McMaster University. (Portions of the Union’s
files are sold to McMaster University’s archives for
future research purposes.)
Correspondence from/to members and copies of contracts and
other relevant correspondence are maintained in the Union’s
files on site, at the Union’s off site storage unit,
and/or at McMaster University.
What security measures are used?
TWUC’s offices are locked and secured by an alarm system
and evening patrols.
TWUC’s offsite storage is locked and secured.
TWUC’s files at McMaster are accessible by researchers
except for Grievance Committee, Membership Committee, and
individual members’ files, which are embargoed for a
minimum of 25 years (unless permission is obtained from the
Union and McMaster).
The centralized database is accessible by TWUC staff.
To whom is it disclosed?
TWUC does not disclose personal information to any third parties
except during a payment transaction when financial information
is disclosed to relevant financial and credit institutions
in order to process the payment or to a third-party mailer
from time to time to facilitate large mailings to members
and other stakeholders.
TWUC does not sell, trade or rent personal information to
other organizations or individuals, TWUC does not use personal
information outside of the purpose for which it is intended.
When is it disposed of?
Financial records from sales transactions are kept on file
for a period of seven years as per the Canada Revenue Agency,
and then are destroyed by shredding.
Correspondence from/to members and copies of contracts and
other relevant correspondence are maintained in the Union’s
files on site, at the Union’s off site storage unit,
and/or at McMaster University.
TWUC’s files, which have been sold to McMaster, remain
the property of McMaster unless they are transferred or donated
to a category “A” institution as defined by the
Cultural Property Export and Import Review Board or transferred/donated
with the permission of the Union.
Any questions or complaints can be directed to:
TWUC Privacy Officer
Deborah Windsor, Executive Director
90 Richmond Street East, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5C 1P1
Tel: 416.703.8982 x 221
Fax: 416.504.9090
Email: dwindsor@writersunion.ca
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