Protecting Your Privacy

At TaxTips.ca, we are committed to providing our clients and web site visitors with exceptional service. As providing this service involves the collection, use and disclosure of some personal information about our clients and web site users, protecting their personal information is one of our highest priorities.  While we have always respected the privacy of our clients and web site visitors, and safeguarded their personal information, we have strengthened our commitment to protecting personal information as a result of British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, sets out the ground rules for how B.C. businesses and not-for-profit organizations may collect, use and disclose personal information.

We will inform our clients and web site visitors of why and how we collect, use and disclose their personal information, obtain their consent where required, and only handle their personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

This Personal Information Protection Policy, in compliance with PIPA, outlines the principles and practices we will follow in protecting clients' and web site visitors' personal information. Our privacy commitment includes ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of our clients' and web site visitors' personal information and allowing our clients and web site visitors to request access to, and correction of, their personal information.

Definitions

Personal Information

-means information about an identifiable individual. Personal information does not include contact information (described below):

Contact information 

- means information that would enable an individual to be contacted at a place of business and includes name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number. Contact information is not covered by this policy or PIPA.

Privacy Officer 

- means the individual designated responsibility for ensuring that TaxTips.ca complies with this policy and PIPA. 

Policy 1 - Collecting Personal Information

1.1 Unless the purposes for collecting personal information are obvious and the client or web site visitor voluntarily provides his or her personal information for those purposes, we will communicate the purposes for which personal information is being collected, either orally or in writing, before or at the time of collection. 

1.2 We will only collect client and web site visitor information that is necessary to fulfill the following purposes: 

1.3 We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website.  These companies may use information (not including your name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.  If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, see the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) website.  We use Google Adsense to serve ads on our site, which uses the DoubleClick DART cookie.  We have implemented the Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting feature based on Display Advertising, which provides us with demographic information on our site visitors.  Please review the following information:

Policy 2 - Consent

2.1 We will obtain client or web site visitor consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted below, we are authorized to do so without consent). 

2.2 Consent can be provided orally, in writing, or electronically, through an authorized representative, or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting using or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious and the client or web site visitor voluntarily provides personal information for that purpose. 

2.3 Consent may also be implied where a client or web site visitor is given notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of his or her personal information being used for mail-outs, or the marketing of new services, and the client or web site visitor does not opt-out. 

2.4 Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide the service or product, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), client or web site visitor can withhold or withdraw their consent for TaxTips.ca to use their personal information in certain ways. A clients' or web site visitors' decision to withhold or withdraw their consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service or product. If so, we will explain the situation to assist the client or web site visitor in making the decision. 

2.5 We may collect, use or disclose personal information without the clients' or web site visitors' knowledge or consent in the following limited circumstances: 

Policy 3 - Using and Disclosing Personal Information

3.1 We will only use or disclose client or web site visitor personal information where necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection or for a purpose reasonably related to those purposes such as:

3.2 We will not use or disclose client or web site visitor personal information for any additional purpose unless we obtain consent to do so.

3.3 We will not sell client or web site visitor lists or personal information to other parties. 

Policy 4 - Retaining Personal Information

4.1 If we use client or web site visitor personal information to make a decision that directly affects the client or web site visitor we will retain that personal information for at least one year so that the client or web site visitor has a reasonable opportunity to request access to it.

4.2 Subject to policy 4.1, we will retain client or web site visitor personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or a legal or business purpose.

Policy 5 - Ensuring Accuracy of Personal Information

5.1 We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that client or web site visitor personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about the client or web site visitor or disclosed to another organization.

5.2 Clients or web site visitors may request correction to their personal information in order to ensure its accuracy and completeness. A request to correct personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information and the correction being sought.

5.3 If the personal information is demonstrated to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information as required and send the corrected information to any organization to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will note the client's or web site visitor's correction request in the file.

Policy 6 - Securing Personal Information

6.1 We are committed to ensuring the security of client or web site visitor personal information in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks.

6.2 The following security measures will be followed to ensure that client or web site visitor personal information is appropriately protected:

6.3 We will use appropriate security measures when destroying client's or web site visitor's personal information such as shredding documents and deleting electronically stored information.

6.4 We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

Policy 7 - Providing Clients and Web Site Visitors Access to Personal Information

7.1 Clients and web site visitors have a right to access their personal information, subject to limited exceptions.

7.2 A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought. 

7.3 Upon request, we will also tell clients and web site visitors how we use their personal information and to whom it has been disclosed if applicable.

7.4 We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request.

7.5 A fee may be charged for providing access to personal information. Where a fee may apply, we will inform the client or web site visitor of the cost and request further direction on whether or not we should proceed with the request.

7.6 If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify the client or web site visitor, providing the reasons for refusal and the recourse available.

Policy 8 - Questions and Complaints: The Role of the Privacy Officer or designated individual

8.1 The Privacy Officer is responsible for ensuring TaxTips.ca's compliance with this policy and the Personal Information Protection Act.

8.2 Client and web site visitors should direct any complaints, concerns or questions regarding TaxTips.ca's compliance in writing to the Privacy Officer. If the Privacy Officer is unable to resolve the concern, the client or web site visitor may also write to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.

To contact TaxTips.ca's Privacy Officer or designated individual,

For more information or advice, you can contact the Commissioner's office at:
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia
PO Box 9038, Stn. Prov. Govt.
Victoria, BC V8W 9A4
Telephone:  (250) 387-5629  Fax:  (250) 387-1696
Web Site:  www.oipc.bc.ca
For toll-free access, call Enquiry BC at one of the numbers listed below and request a transfer to (250) 387-5629:
From Vancouver:  (604) 660-2421
From elsewhere in BC:  1-800-663-7867