Updated on: November 2020
Privacy
As a not-for-profit organization that does not primarily engage in commercial activity, APEX is not subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) or to the Access to Information Act. Nonetheless, APEX has developed the following Privacy Policy as a demonstration of its strong commitment to the protection of the personal information of its members, employees, partners and other stakeholders with whom the Association has a business relationship.
1. What is personal information?
Personal information includes any factual or subjective information, recorded or not, about an identifiable individual (personal addresses including email, telephone numbers, membership status, security clearance, financial information [credit card numbers, financial institutions and account numbers, payroll deductions], summaries of confidential conversations, etc.). It does not include the name, title, business address or telephone numbers of an individual as an employee of an organization.
2. Who is responsible for protecting the personal information collected by APEX?
The Member Care Team, whose responsibilities include the management of the APEX memberships database, is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy for all information collected, used and disclosed as it pertains to clients, membership, services offered to members only, events and inventories. The Head of Advisory Services for Executives is responsible for same as it pertains to clients of the Advisory Service for Executives.
3. Why does APEX collect, use and disclose personal information?
In fulfilling its mandate, the Association collects and uses personal information for the following purposes:
- To keep the client list current to provide services to its clients, collect membership fees and dues, and give clients access to discounts for certain services and events;
- To keep the database of clients served by the Advisors up to date in order to communicate with them as required, and report on the services provided and client satisfaction;
- The database and physical files are destroyed after each fiscal year or when the clients request, if sooner.
4. How do individuals provide their consent for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information?
When members join APEX, they provide personal information that the Association uses only to fulfill the purposes stated in section 3.
When APEX holds events, personal information is collected from the individuals who will be attending and is used only for the purpose of conducting a specific event unless otherwise stated.
In the intake meeting for Advisory Services, data collection and confidentiality is reviewed with clients.
5. How much personal information does APEX collect, use or disclose?
APEX only collects and uses the personal information it requires to fulfill the purposes stated in section 3.
6. How long does APEX retain personal information?
APEX retains personal information for as long as it is required to fulfill the purposes stated in section 3. For example, credit card information collected during registration for an event or membership application/ renewal is kept for a few days in order to process the transaction.
Advisory Services client information is destroyed at the end of each fiscal year or before upon client request.
7. How secure is the personal information stored at APEX?
APEX is committed to ensuring that personal information is protected from unauthorized access, unintended disclosures or theft. This protection is provided by firewalls, passwords to protect databases, and locked filing cabinets.
The Advisory Services for Executives database is secured on a separate server, not accessible to anyone other than the Administrator and Advisors and not accessible off APEX premises.
8. How can individuals access their personal information held by APEX?
If someone wishes to access his or her personal information held by APEX, he or she need only contact the Association.
9. Confidentiality and the Advisory Service for Executives – What you can expect.
APEX’s Advisory Service for Executives (ASE) is available to you free of charge as an executive of the Public Service of Canada. The Senior Advisor provides a discreet and confidential sounding board, a safe place to discuss sensitive issues and a single window for advice and referral to specialized services available to the executive community.
The Senior Advisor temporarily records a written summary of conversations with you to better remember the details of your situation, the essence of the discussion, the sequence of events and the actions taken. This file is destroyed shortly after the end of the fiscal year.
APEX will treat all information you provide in the strictest confidence. Please note, however, that the confidentiality cannot be respected in situations where there is a significant risk of harm to yourself or others.
You can consult your file at any time. To do this, please send an email to the Senior Advisor.
