Privacy Statement

Introduction 
The Vocational Rehabilitation Association of Canada recognizes the importance of privacy of personal information. We are responsible for the personal information we collect, use, maintain and disclose. We are therefore committed to protecting the security and privacy of this information. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this Privacy Statement, and have trained our staff about our policies and practices. 
 
This Privacy Statement governs the collection, use and disclosure of all information including that collected on the website. This information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than that for which it was collected, except by your written consent. 
 
Types of Personal Information Collected 
The personal information collected from our members may include at least some of the following: 
Contact information (such as name, address, e-mail address and telephone number in a non-business capacity); 
Proof of identity (such as a signature or driver’s license number) and proof of name change, where applicable; 
Financial and billing information (such as credit card number/expiration date and credit history); 
Proof of professional qualifications; 
Proof that a member is unable to work (in order to grant leave of absence requests); and 
Demographic information (such as age, education and occupation). 
 
We may ask for contact and billing information from non-members who may ask for job postings to be posted on our website. 
 
Collection of Information 
Information is collected from members for the following purposes: 
To determine eligibility for membership 
To provide services offered by the Association 
To evaluate applications for professional designations offered by the Association 
To bill for services rendered and collect debts 
To advise members of upcoming events 
To provide information to members about developments in the rehabilitation field 
To obtain statistical information for resource planning, for strategic planning and for research relevant to the profession of vocational rehabilitation 
To investigate complaints regarding the conduct and/or actions of members 
 
We collect personal information from you when you become a member and update this information annually, or more frequently as required. Since we use your personal information to provide services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If there are changes to your information, please inform us so that we can make any necessary corrections. 
 
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. It does not include the name or business address or telephone number of an employee in an organization. 
 
Consent 
Consent for the collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information may be obtained orally or in writing and may be expressly given or implied. Consent is implied when an applicant or member submits an application for membership or for a professional designation. It is implicit that VRA Canada is collecting this information as part of the application process and that by submitting an application the applicant is consenting to this collection. 
 
Use of Your Information 
When we use your personal information to provide services to you, including for billing purposes and when we use your personal information to include you in any direct marketing activities, we will assume that you have consented to such use unless you specifically advise otherwise. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive information about our services, or about new developments in the industry, we will not send any further material. 
 
We may also use the information collected from you to administer the services we provide to you; to research, develop, manage, protect and improve our services; to develop and maintain our relationship with you. 
 
Disclosure of Your Personal Information 
Under certain circumstances, VRA Canada may disclose your personal information: 
to a provincial VRA Canada society in your jurisdiction, so that the society may provide services to you; 
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 services we are providing to you require us, as a matter of course, to give your information to a third party your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise; 
where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; 
where it is necessary to inform the public that a member or former member is misrepresenting their professional qualifications or as a result of the findings of an ethical complaint where the breach has resulted in the revocation of membership and/ or the professional designation (in such a case, an example of the information to be disclosed may include: name of the member or former member, the city or province in which the member or former member practices, last year of membership and the designation being used inappropriately); 
if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (such as computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our Privacy Statement; 
if we engage consultants on your behalf; or 
if the information is already publicly known. 
VRA Canada does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services without first obtaining express consent from you. For example, we do not provide our client mailing lists to consultants we work with from time to time. Occasionally a mailing house is used for some VRA Canada sponsored events. In these circumstances a confidentiality agreement is signed by the mailing house. 
 
Inquiries 
Occasionally we receive calls from employers, lawyers etc inquiring if an individual is a member or if they hold a professional designation. We will confirm membership status (active, inactive) and we will confirm the status of the professional designation. No other information is provided to the public. We do maintain a public directory of our members on our web site – your name and contact information will only be added with your consent. 
 
Access to Personal Information 
You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. If you find that the information that VRA Canada holds about you is not accurate, we will take reasonable steps to correct it. 
 
Summary information is available upon request. More detailed requests that require archival or other retrieval costs may be subject to disbursement fees. VRA Canada may employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Our employees, agents and contractors who have access to personally identifiable information are required to protect the information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Statement. 
 
The Executive Director is responsible for training staff and volunteers regarding appropriate procedures for collection, use and disclosure of personal information. He/she is responsible for addressing complaint/inquiries regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. 
 
Denial of Access to Personal Information 
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may deny access when: 
denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a confidentiality agreement between ourselves and a third party); 
when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy; 
to protect our business’ property rights; or 
where the request is frivolous or vexatious. 
 
If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why. 
 
On–line Surveys 
Information collected through on-line surveys will be recorded, aggregated and reported anonymously. 
 
On-line registration 
Information collected on the on-line registration form is stored briefly on the web server before it is transferred to the VRA Canada internal membership database when your membership is processed. The on-line registration form is encrypted to protect your confidential information. 
 
How We Protect Your Personal Information 
VRA Canada makes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that personal information collected from you is protected against loss and unauthorized access. This protection applies in relation to information stored in both electronic and hard copy form. Access to your personal information is restricted to selected employees or representatives. In addition, we employ generally accepted information security techniques, such as firewalls, access control procedures and cryptography, to protect personal information against loss and unauthorized access. 
 
Website and Linking to other Sites 
When you use a link to go from www.vracanada.com to another web site, the VRA Canada Privacy Statement is no longer in effect. Browsing and interaction on any other web site, including any site that has a link to www.vracanada.com is subject to the rules and policies of that site. You are encouraged to read the rules and policies of the sites you visit to further understand their procedures for collecting, using and disclosing personal information. 
 
We may also collect personal information on our website (www.vracanada.com). We only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily by sending us an e-mail message, completing forms or using the links contained on the website. VRA Canada collects and uses your name, address, telephone number, email address and other information you submit on or through the website for the purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries (and applications for positions), and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you. In providing VRA Canada with any personal information on or through this website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these stated purposes. We currently do not use cookies on this website. “Cookies” are small text files that recognize repeat visitors and track their visits to a website 
 
On our website, like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimise our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information. 
 
E-mail 
Your e-mail address is used for correspondence with the national office, for responding to requests from members, for general announcements, and for advising members of employment opportunities and/or educational opportunities unless and until you ask us to stop. E-mail addresses are never shared or sold to anyone else for any purpose. 
 
Retention and Disposition of Personal Information 
Personal information about members and staff will be destroyed seven years from the cessation of membership or employment. The destruction of records will be conducted in such a manner as to insure that member/employee privacy is protected. 
 
Changes to this Privacy Statement 
We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Statement at anytime without notice. The Privacy Statement posted at any time or from time to time via our website shall be deemed to be the Privacy Statement then in effect. 
 
Contacting Us 
In the event that you have any questions about our Privacy Statement or if you have reason to believe that VRA Canada may have failed to adhere to this Privacy Statement, you may contact us at: 
 
Telephone: 613–536-5530