Canada Retirement Information Centre

At Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc., we are committed to respecting our clients and the personal information that we obtain in the course of our relationship with them.

We have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a client relationship. In addition, we are committed to properly collecting, using and disclosing the personal information we obtain from our clients in accordance with the new Privacy Law listed below and other laws of Ontario and Canada. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard
your privacy.

Your Privacy Rights

On January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/P-8.6/index.html.

This Act gives all Canadians rights concerning the privacy of their personal information. Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. is responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy. The Chief Privacy Compliance Officer at Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc., ensures that proper personal information procedures and policies are in place, and that all members abide by the procedures that are established to protect our clients' personal information.

Why Does Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. Need Personal Information?

Our Retirement Income Specialists and other staff members at Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. must collect personal information from our clients to fully understand and address their retirement income issues and to provide them with services. Normally, personal information is collected during the initial client contact and on an ongoing basis as we work with our clients. In most cases, the personal information is collected directly from our clients. However at times, we may obtain personal information about our clients from other sources, with our clients permission: for example, from insurance companies, a real estate agent in a property transaction, a government agency or registry, and financial, accounting or other advisors that work with our clients.

Use of Your Personal Information

We limit our collection of personal information to what is required to provide retirement income services to you, for billing purposes, and to provide updates. If you tell us that you no longer wish to receive updates, we will not send any further information to you. We do not sell, trade or exchange any personal information that we receive from our clients with third parties to market their products.

Disclosure of Your Personal Information

Any personal information we receive is held in strict confidence. However, we may need to disclose personal information to provide you with the services you have requested, or if we are required to do so by law. Circumstances that may require disclosure include:

	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 to give your information to third parties your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise;
	Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
	If we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy;
	If the information is already publicly known.

Updating Information and Correcting Errors

Since we use our clients' contact and other personal information to provide services to them, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. While a file is active, we ask our clients to inform us of any changes in their personal information so that we can update our files and records. When a client advises us that the personal information we hold is not accurate, complete or up-to-date, Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. will take all reasonable steps to
correct it.

Is My Personal Information Secure?

Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. endeavours to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Further, we will retain your file only so long as is necessary in the circumstances. Safeguards in place to protect your personal information include premises security, restricted file access, proper destruction procedures, and technological safeguards like security software, firewalls, internal password procedures and security policies.

Access to Your Personal Information

You may ask for access to your personal information that we hold at any time.

Summary information is available upon request. More detailed requests that require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.

Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc., in limited circumstances, may deny access when:

	Denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about the requester is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by one of our other clients);
	Granting access to a client would have an unreasonable impact on other people's privacy;
	To do so would prejudice negotiations with a client;
	Protecting the rights and property of Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc.; or
	The request is frivolous or vexatious.

If we refuse your request for access, or refuse a request to correct information, we will send a letter to you outlining why your request has been denied.

Requests for Access or Other Privacy Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions or concerns about the personal information practices of Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc., or if you wish to request access to the personal information we hold, or wish to file a complaint, please write to us, care of:

Canada Retirement Information Centre
Chief Privacy Policy Compliance Officer
1827 Woodward Drive, Suite 212
Ottawa, Ontario - K2C 0P9

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Since Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, we may change our Privacy Policy from time to time.

Employment Inquiries

When someone applies to Canada Retirement Information Centre Inc. for a job, we need to consider each applicant's personal information, as part of our review process. We normally retain personal information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless they ask us not to retain such information. If we offer a person a job, which is accepted, the information will be retained in accordance with our privacy procedures for employee records.

For More Information

To find out more about federal privacy laws, contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at:

112 Kent Street
Ottawa Ontario,
K1A 1H3
1-800-282-1376

or visit their website at www.privcom.gc.ca.