Voice of English-speaking Québec (hereinafter “VEQ“) is committed to collecting, using, disclosing, retaining and destroying your Personal Information, regardless of the format in which it is held or accessed, in accordance with this policy (the “Policy”).

This Policy also discloses the roles and responsibilities of VEQ’ staff from the collection to the destruction of your Personal Information.

If you have any questions about your Personal Information and have read the Policy and still have questions, you may contact our Privacy Officer, Brigitte Wellens, at the following email address: privacy@veq.ca

VEQ, at its discretion, may change the Policy from time to time. If there is a change to the Policy, you will be notified, as appropriate. Once notified, your continued use of the services provided by VEQ, after the amended Policy becomes effective, will represent your consent to the Policy as amended.

1. Definitions.

The attributed meanings of words and expressions found within this policy have been listed below:

1. “Governmental Authority(ies)” means the following: a) any multinational, federal, provincial, state, regional, municipal or local government, department, court, tribunal, arbitral body, commission, agency, board or office b) any subdivision, agent, commission or authority of any of the foregoing, c) any quasi- governmental or private body exercising a power of regulation, administration, expropriation or any taxing authority under the direction of or on behalf of any of the foregoing, including any private body mandated to render public services; and

d) any judicial or quasi-judicial body, court or tribunal;

• “Act” means the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, chapter P-39.1, and any subsequent amendments or modifications thereto;

• “Personal Information” means any information relating to a natural person which enables that person to be identified, directly or indirectly;

• “Privacy Officer” means the Privacy Officer appointed by VEQ to ensure compliance with and implementation of the Act, who as of the date hereof is Ms. Brigitte Wellens, who can be reached by email at privacy@veq.ca ;

2. Consent.

By submitting your Personal Information to VEQ, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your Personal Information by VEQ in accordance with this Policy.

3. Purposes for which personal information is collected.

VEQ collects your Personal Information for the following purposes:

1. Respond to your requests or questions;
2. To improve the Website and its services. VEQ may combine information obtained from you with information it receives about you from third parties;
3. To send you, according to the choice you have made, information about our various activities;
4. To prevent and detect fraud or to evaluate and improve protection and security measures;
5. Contact you about this Policy;
6. Carry out friendly check-ins with a specific clientele;
7. Carry out publicity to promote the activities and interests of VEQ;
8. To facilitate your participation in VEQ’ activities.

VEQ uses your Personal Information solely for the purposes set out in this Policy and undertakes to obtain your consent for any other use that is not provided for herein, except in the case of exceptions provided for in the Act.

4. Means of collecting your personal information.

VEQ collects your Personal Information when you:

1. Subscribe to our e-newsletter or e-bulletin on this website;
2. Register to attend one of our events and/or activities;
3. Click on an advertisement that VEQ has placed on a third-party website (e.g. Google, Facebook, etc.);
4. Complete a survey, enter a contest or any other promotion;
5. Fill in a paper or online form (e.g. Microsoft Form, Zoom, etc.);
6. Contact us by email, telephone or any other means of communication; and
7. Send us your Personal Information by email.

5. Right of access and rectification provided by law.

At your request, VEQ will confirm the existence of your Personal Information, provide you with access to it and allow you to obtain a copy of it in a structured and commonly used technological format.

You have the right to demand that Personal Information that is inaccurate, incomplete or ambiguous be rectified, or that Personal Information be deleted if its collection, communication or retention is not authorized by law.

You have the right to require VEQ to cease disseminating your Personal Information where such dissemination is contrary to law, a court order or where the following conditions are met: (i) serious harm is caused to your reputation or privacy, (ii) such harm clearly outweighs the public interest in knowing the information or any individual’s interest in free expression, and (iii) the requested cessation of dissemination does not exceed what is necessary to prevent further harm.

In all cases, your request for access or rectification must be made in writing, providing proof of your identity as the person that the Personal Information pertains to. The Privacy Officer at VEQ undertakes to respond to your written request within 30 days of receipt of your request.

Access to your Personal Information is free of charge, except where reasonable charges may be applied for the transcription, reproduction or transmission thereof.

In the event of a refusal to grant your request, the Privacy Officer undertakes to provide the reasons for the decision and to inform you of the provisions of the Act on which the refusal is based; the recourse available to you; and the time limit within which they may be exercised. The Privacy Officer undertakes to provide you with the necessary assistance to help you understand the refusal.

The Privacy Officer undertakes to issue, free of charge, a copy of your Personal Information that has either been modified, or added, or depending on the request, an attestation of the deletion of your Personal Information. The Privacy Officer also undertakes to notify, without delay, any person who has received the information in the six months preceding the request from the person concerned and, where applicable, the person from whom the information was received.

The Privacy Officer undertakes to keep the Personal Information, that is the subject of your request, for access or rectification for the time required to enable you to exhaust your recourse under the Act.

6. Right to withdraw your consent.

You have the right, at any time, to withdraw your consent to the disclosure or use of your Personal Information by VEQ. To do so, please contact the Privacy Officer using the contact information provided in this Policy.

However, where applicable, withdrawal of your consent may result in VEQ being unable or unwilling to provide its service.

7. Personal information collected automatically through our website – cookies.

VEQ collects Personal Information provided by cookies. Cookies are data files that are commonly stored on your device when you use websites and online services. They are used for the efficient operation of websites and may provide information and help personalize services.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, however if you prefer, you can usually change your browser settings to refuse cookies. If you wish to disable the use of cookies, you can do so from your browser’s preferences menu. It is possible to disable cookies or use the private browsing mode when using the website services. By refusing to accept cookies, however, use of the website may be considerably affected.

8. Disclosure of your personal information.

• Communication to entities and/or persons in Québec.

VEQ wants you to understand with whom it shares the Personal Information it collects about you. Accordingly, JH Partners shares your Personal Information with the following persons/entities:

1. Authorized service providers – VEQ may share your Personal Information with service providers who perform services on our behalf. The services provided by these service providers include processing credit card payments, processing donations, providing customer service, analyzing, and promoting activities, supporting website functionality, conducting contests, sweepstakes and surveys, and supporting other website functions. These service providers may have access to your Personal Information for the sole purpose of performing their functions. In such cases, measures will be put in place to ensure the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

• Business partners – VEQ may share your Personal Information with its business partners to be able to provide services to you. In such cases, measures will be put in place to ensure the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

• Community partners – VEQ may share your Personal Information with its community partners with the goal of improving the health and well-being of the English-speaking community in the Capitale-Nationale region (the Greater Québec City region), including Portneuf and Charlevoix. In this case, measures will be put in place to ensure the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

• Public health and social services – VEQ may share your Personal Information with the staff in the public health and social services sector in the Greater Québec City region. In this case, measures will be put in place to ensure the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

• Government authorities – VEQ may share your Personal Information with government authorities when required. In such cases, measures will be put in place to ensure the confidentiality of your Personal Information.

VEQ must obtain your consent to communicate or transmit your Personal Information to a third party that is not covered by this Policy, except when justified to do so by virtue of an exception provided for in the Act.

8.2 Communication to entities and/or persons outside Québec

Your Personal Information may be disclosed or stored outside Québec. In such cases, VEQ undertakes to carry out a privacy impact assessment and to transfer your information only if the assessment demonstrates that the Personal Information disclosed is adequately protected.

VEQ may share your Personal Information with the following companies, which demonstrate or have demonstrated that your Personal Information is adequately protected:

1. MailChimp – A marketing automation and email marketing platform.
2. MS SharePoint – A tool for creating websites, publishing content and storing files.
3. Zoom – A communications platform that allows users to connect with video, audio and phone.

9. Third-party websites.

There are several places on our website where you can click on links that take you to other websites that are not subject to the terms of this Policy. Third-party websites may request and collect information about you, including Personal Information, and in some cases may inform us of your activities on those websites. VEQ recommends that you review the privacy policy of each third-party website you visit by clicking on the “Privacy Policy” link usually located at the bottom of the web page you are visiting.

10. Retention of your personal information.

VEQ stores your Personal Information on secure computer servers and, where necessary, in paper format in locked offices. The following is a list of physical locations where your Personal Information may be stored:

1. The Wellness Centre at Jeffery Hale.

11. Safety measures.

VEQ takes appropriate security measures, including physical, electronic and procedural measures to protect your Personal Information from unauthorized access and disclosure.

VEQ has taken the following security measures to protect your personal information adequately:

1. Each employee has a unique password to access their computer.
2. A multifactor authentication system is in place.
3. Each VEQ staff member signs a confidentiality agreement, as do our suppliers, customers and volunteers, including Board and Committee members.
4. Staff receive training on the application of this Policy and on good practices for storing and protecting Personal Information.
5. Locked filing cabinets are in place, along with a secure method of storing the keys for each of them. Personal Information collected in paper format / physical form can also be stored in locked offices.

12. How long we keep personal information.

VEQ retains Personal Information for as long as it is required for the purposes set out in this Policy and subject to any retention period provided for by law.

Once the purposes for which your Personal Information was collected have been fulfilled, it will be destroyed or anonymized by VEQ, subject to any retention period provided for by law.

We may retain some of your account information for analytical and accounting purposes, as well as for record-keeping integrity and fraud prevention purposes, to collect fees charged, to enforce the Terms of Use, to take any action VEQ deems necessary to protect the integrity of the Website or its users, or as otherwise permitted by law. In addition, if any of your information has been provided to third parties with your consent, the use and retention of your information will be subject to the policies of those third parties and VEQ cannot be held responsible in any way.

When VEQ makes decisions based on your Personal Information, it is retained for a period of one year in accordance with the Act.

13. Handling complaints.

If you have a complaint regarding the protection of your Personal Information or the use of your Personal Information by VEQ, please contact our Privacy Officer, at the email address indicated on the first page of this Policy. A response to your complaint will follow as soon as possible.

14. Staff roles and responsibilities.

Only authorized employees of VEQ have access to your Personal Information, that is, employees who need to know or have access to your Personal Information to enable VEQ to provide its services. Employees authorized by VEQ to access your Personal Information are given specific access codes and each authorized employee has access only to the Personal Information in the program area that is required to perform their duties.

The Privacy Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with and implementation of this Policy. He or she shall also ensure that all authorized VEQ employees are familiar with the Policy and that they use Personal Information in accordance with its provisions.

15. Access to and means of accessing your Personal Information.

If you have any questions about access to or use of your Personal Information by VEQ, please contact our Privacy Officer at the email address listed on the first page of this Policy. The contact information for the Privacy Officer will also be available on our website.

16. Collection of Personal Information from Minors.

VEQ, for the purposes of its activities, may collect Personal Information from a minor. In such cases, VEQ will obtain the consent of the parent or legal guardian for the collection of the Personal Information and will only use the Personal Information for the purposes disclosed at the time of collection.

17. Protocol in the event of a breach of confidentiality.

In the event of a breach of confidentiality that can affect someone’s reputation, finances, credit rating, identity theft, and loss of employment, VEQ will promptly notify the Commission d’accès à l’information as well as notify the person (s) affected by the breach.

VEQ will also implement an internal register of confidentiality incidents so as to put into place procedures that prevent new incidents of the same nature.

18. Precedence.

In the event of any inconsistency between this Policy and the Act, the provisions of the Act shall prevail.