privacy policy

I recognize that your trust is an integral part of our working relationship and am fully aware and compliant with the laws governing the handling of your personal and confidential information. This includes:

  • PIPEDA The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada)

  • CASL Canada’s anti-spam legislation (2014)

  • GDPR General Data Protection Regulation (EU) (May 28, 2018)

Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information is a fundamental principle of my relationship with you.

I comply with the legislation and regulations referenced above and am committed to the lawful storage, protection, accuracy and use of Personal Information collected and controlled by me.

I have established procedures to implement this Privacy Policy, including:

  • procedures to protect Personal Information;

  • procedures to receive and respond to complaints and inquiries.

Collection and Use

I collect personal information for two primary purposes:

  • to gather all necessary and appropriate information required to properly serve your needs as mutually agreed upon

  • to send my newsletter to those who have willfully opted in to the receipt of said newsletter

Limiting Collection, Use, Disclosure and Retention

Personal Information is collected only to fulfil the purposes identified, for example to respond to a request for information requested on the Contact page of my website or to prepare client work as so engaged.

I do not use or disclose Personal Information for purposes other than those for which it is collected and in direct alignment with client contracts. I retain Personal Information for only as long as necessary to serve that purpose. I do not sell, rent or otherwise provide any personally identifiable information about you to a third party, nor do I share or solicit the information captured in any way.

I use Google Analytics on my website to improve the quality and relevance of the information I publish. Google aggregates and anonymizes the data, to maintain website visitors’ privacy. For more information, see Google’s policy for sites that use its services.

Consent

Consent for the collection of personal information can be either express or implied. Express consent is either given verbally or in writing, e.g. when providing information on the Contact page on our website or opting in to our newsletter.

It is understood that information gathered from visits to my website may be used to statistically analyze usage of the website and to make improvements to my  website content. If you provide your contact information on my website, I may use your email address to contact you directly from time to time. Under no circumstances is information from my Contact page added to a mailing list or used for mass marketing purposes.

Special note with respect to the GDPR (Privacy legislation for the EU, effective May 28, 2018)

The GDPR has added additional control for EU citizens over their personal informations regardless of which country that information is used in, meaning all countries are required to abide by the GDPR when dealing with, or potentially dealing with personal information from an EU citizen. Under the GDPR, your Personal Information is also protected in the following ways:

  • Notification of sharing with a third party: Personal information provided by you during the opt-in process of signing up for my newsletter or planning portal means that the information you provide is then supplied to a third party. Through their own adherence to GDPR, your information is used for the sole purpose of mailing my newsletter to you.

  • You have the ability to edit information shared with third parties yourself, directly from a link in my newsletter or in your planning portal account preferences.

  • As always, you have the ability to unsubscribe from the mailing list at any time using the unsubscribe button on the newsletter.

  • If your personal information is used for any purpose other than my newsletter, separate consent will be obtained.

  • You have the right to request that any of your Personal Information be permanently and promptly deleted.

Accuracy

I endeavour to keep Personal Information as accurate, complete and up-to-date as necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

Security

I protect Personal Information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification with security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the Personal Information and regardless of the format in which it is held. 

The methods of protection for Personal Information include:

  • while rare in the virtual environment, any physical documents are shredded when no longer needed, and are kept in a secure location when they are being used;

  • organizational measures, access to electronic records on a need-to-know basis;

  • technological measures, such not exchanging documents through non-secure channels; using encrypted VPNs to access client information; maintaining system security to guard against cyber threats.

Transparency and Access

I make specific information about my policies and practices relating to the management of Personal Information readily available to clients. I am open about my policies and procedures as they relate to the handling of Personal Information. Any inquiries should be addressed to privacy@sandimartin.ca

Every client has the right to request access to their Personal Information and the right to have Personal Information deleted or modified.