Privacy Policy

Approved: January 2014

Approved by: National Assembly

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The Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information of its members, associates, subscriptions holders, and all users of its services. This Privacy Policy has been prepared to affirm CNSA’s commitment to maintaining high standards of confidentiality, to provide information on CNSA’s practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and other applicable statutes.

 

1. Defining personal information

Personal information is any information about an “identifiable individual” that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. Business contact information such as information on business cards and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories are not considered personal information under federal legislation (PIPEDA). Information about corporations is not considered personal information.Where an individual provides his or her home address to CNSA as their business contact information, CNSA considers it to be business contact information, and is therefore not subject to protection as personal information.

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2. Collection of personal information

CNSA will collect name and contact details including address(es), mailing preference, telephone, email address, and language preference from chapters and individuals who request information, products or services. CNSA collects no personal information, unless provided. CNSA does not use techniques that collect personal information about anyone without their knowledge. CNSA only collects personal information about individuals when they specifically and knowingly provide it, for example when they apply for membership, register for a program or complete a registration form. Individuals may also provide CNSA with credit card information in order to pay for goods or services purchased including registration fees, membership fees or promotional materials. CNSA collects this information only to process the transaction, and provide the goods or services purchased. CNSA does not store credit card information for later use. CNSA collects and retains personal information regarding individuals’ past registrations to events, membership renewals and/or any other goods or services provided at the individual’s request. This information is retained for a minimum period of seven years. CNSA also provides individuals with an opportunity to specify certain preferences in service delivery; if an individual chooses to provide such information, CNSA will collect and maintain CNSA Policies 2014 Page 20 language preference in order to send individuals the information they need in the language they prefer, as well as other special needs requested for a specific event (i.e., meal preference).

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3. CNSA Website

A visitor to the CNSA website is not required to reveal any individually identifiable information, nor is such information collected passively by electronic means. Personal information is only collected when an individual voluntarily submits his or her information such as in an online membership application form, meeting registration form or an online survey. The personal information collected in this manner is subject in full to the Privacy Policy contained in this document. If individuals do nothing during their visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, CNSA will neither gather nor store any personal information. CNSA’s web server collects statistical data about visitor information used only in aggregate. This tracking system does not record personal information about individuals or link this information to any personal data collected.

 

4. Use of information

CNSA commits that individual information will be used to establish and maintain responsible relationships with chapter members, associates, subscribers, and other users to provide them with products, services and support, and to respond to member needs. Personal information will be used to provide people with the specific transaction that they applied for or services requested in the application submitted. One of the CNSA’s primary objectives is to provide a communication link among nursing students across Canada, in both official languages. The achievement of the CNSA’s objectives involves, among other things, providing members with information about events and information that are of interest to nursing students such as regulation updates, work of other stakeholders, educational research, professional development programs, and other services.

 

5. Consent by individuals

The information provided to CNSA by chapter members, associates, and subscribers such as name, address, email address, etc. allows CNSA to inform them about events and activities, to notify of issues, events or special offers which may be of interest to nursing students. By becoming a chapter member, associate, and subscriber or by requesting information or registering for events offered by CNSA, you are giving CNSA permission to contact you by way of the contact information you provide. Members may choose not to be contacted by CNSA – please use the contact information section of the registration forms to customize your communications preferences, or by contacting the CNSA Director of Membership Services at services@cnsa.ca or 613-235-3150, ext. 29. CNSA Policies 2014 Page 21.

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6. Disclosure of personal information

CNSA may share aggregate information about its members and customers with sponsors, potential sponsors and other parties to help them better understand CNSA members and their interests. At no time is individual contact information or data provided to any third party. Such aggregate demographic data and information is used to improve Programs and services provided to CNSA members.

 

7. Security of information

CNSA endeavors to maintain appropriate safeguards and adequate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to our offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification of personal information. Safeguards include securing physical documents and technological measures by way of secure access and encryption. CNSA Board Members and staff are authorized to access and use personal information based solely for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was gathered. We also take measures to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed.To ensure the integrity and privacy of the personal and credit card information transmitted over the internet when performing online transactions, CNSA has obtained a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Server Certificate, all information collected within a secure page is encrypted while being transmitted to CNSA’s secure server. The server is protected by a firewall that is regularly updated and is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for threats or deficiencies in security