Privacy Policy

Spinal Cord Injury Ontario values the relationships we have built with our members, clients, donors, volunteers and employees. In fact, we have been doing so since 1945.

The Canadian government introduced privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) to protect your personal information. Effective January 1, 2004, federal privacy legislation requires organizations to ensure that you are informed about and consent to the collection and use of your personal information and the services you subscribe to with SCI Ontario. The legislation will apply to information we currently have on record and have collected, used and disclosed to provide our members, clients, donors, volunteers and employees with services by way of your implied consent, such as providing us with your credit card information when you signed up to become a member or when you generously made a donation to our organization.

The changes will require organizations to obtain consent from their clients before their personal information on file is used or disclosed. We collect, use and disclose your person information to: Verify your identity, enroll you in products and services, to process your application or donation, and to communicate any relevant information or materials; for example our Outspoken magazine, annual report, information on special events, and to comply with legal or tax requirements.

Personal information may be collected, used or disclosed for any of these "Identified Purposes" set out above. If your personal information is not needed for one of the Identified Purposes, we will not disclose it without obtaining additional consent from you. We gather your personal information from you on applications for products, and other forms filled out through telephone, email, face-to-face interviews; for example your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, occupation, financial and banking information, and health information. An important part of our commitment to provide you with excellent service is our respect for your right to privacy.

If you would like to make changes to your personal information for the above purposes, please let us know by either email to: privacyofficer@sciontario.org or mail to: Spinal Cord Injury Ontario Privacy Officer 520 Sutherland Drive Toronto, Ontario, M4G 3V9.

SCI Ontario is committed to protecting your personal information. The confidentiality of your personal information is extremely important to us and we would like to assure you that every measure is taken to maintain its security. You will find the complete statement below.

Our Commitment:
Our organization is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its members, clients, donors, volunteers, employees and other stakeholders. We value the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you choose to share with us.

During the course of our various projects and activities, we frequently gather and use personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use or other dealing with this information is subject to consent. Our privacy practices are designed to achieve this.

Defining personal information:
Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual’s opinions or belief’s, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual. Exceptions: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, are not considered personal information.

Privacy practices:
Personal information gathered by our organization is kept in confidence. Our personnel are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information 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. We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in light of the circumstances. We routinely offer individuals we deal with the opportunity to opt not to have their information shared for purposes beyond those for which it was explicitly collected.

Website and Electronic Commerce:
We use password protocols, encryption software and a private server with firewalls to protect personal and other information we receive, as well as when a donation, product or service is requested and/or paid for online. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.

Updating of privacy policy:
We regularly review our privacy practices for our various activities, and update our policy. Please check this website on an on-going basis for information on our most up-to-date practices.

Contact Information:

If you would like more information, please send email to:
The Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@sciontario.org
or contact by mail or phone at:
Privacy Officer
SCI Ontario
520 Sutherland Drive
Toronto, ON M4G 3V9
416-422-5644 ext. 233 or toll free: 1-877-422-1112 ext.233

All inquiries will be kept in the strictest confidence. Further information on privacy and your rights in regards to your personal information may be found on the website of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.privcom.gc.ca.