Policies and Procedures Regarding Privacy and Data Collection
Via Capitale Partenaires, ‘THE AGENCY’, is governed by the Private Sector Personal Information Protection Act (R.S.Q., c. P-39.1) (the Act).
We are committed to upholding the highest standards of privacy regarding the personal information of individuals who visit our website, and we do not collect any information unless you voluntarily provide it to us, such as through an email submission or when you make an inquiry.
Personal information
Personal information is information about an identifiable individual that,
directly or indirectly, enables their identification. A document, image, video, or
audio recording may contain personal information. In the course of their professional activities, THE AGENCY or the BROKER may collect personal information such as name, home address, date of birth, identification document details, social insurance number, income information, marital status, etc.
Consent
THE AGENCY or the BROKER collects, uses, and discloses personal information with the consent of the individual concerned. For consent to be valid, it must be clear, voluntary, informed, and given for specific purposes. The person who consents to provide their personal information is presumed to consent to its use and disclosure for the purposes for which it was collected.
Any individual may withdraw their consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information by THE AGENCY or the BROKER at any time. In such a case, if the collection is necessary for the conclusion or execution of the contract by THE AGENCY or the BROKER, they may not be able to accommodate a service request.
Responsibility
THE AGENCY or the BROKER is responsible for the protection of personal information it holds in the course of carrying out real estate brokerage activities. To this end, THE AGENCY or the BROKER has adopted a privacy policy as well as policies and practices governing the governance of personal information. The objective of these policies is to regulate the collection, use, disclosure, retention, and disposal of personal information.
Collection of Personal Information
THE AGENCY or the BROKER only collects personal information necessary for the conduct of its activities in the field of real estate brokerage. For example, this may include information collected for the purpose of completing a real estate transaction, maintaining records, monitoring professional practice by the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ), or any other purpose determined by THE AGENCY or the BROKER and made known to the person whose consent is sought.
THE AGENCY or the BROKER encourages its staff members to explain in simple and clear terms to the individual concerned the reasons for collecting their personal information and to ensure their understanding. For the purpose of collecting personal information, THE AGENCY or the BROKER
encourages its staff members to use standardized forms developed by the OACIQ.
THE AGENCY or the BROKER may also collect personal information verbally during correspondence with individuals involved in a transaction or through various documents submitted in the context of a real estate transaction (identification documents, financial documents, powers of attorney, etc.)
Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
Personal information is used and disclosed for the purposes for which it was collected and with the consent of the individual concerned. In certain cases as provided by law, personal information may be used for other purposes, for example, in order to detect and prevent fraud, or to provide a service to the individual concerned.
THE AGENCY or the BROKER may be required to disclose personal information to third parties, for example, to suppliers, co-contractors, subcontractors, agents, insurers (such as the Professional Liability Insurance Fund of the Quebec Real Estate Brokerage wpcodeself[le FARCIQ]), professionals, other regulators, or outside of Quebec.
THE AGENCY or the BROKER may, without the consent of the person concerned, disclose personal information to a third party if such disclosure is necessary for the execution of a mandate, service contract, or business contract. In this case, THE AGENCY or the BROKER establishes a written mandate or contract in which it specifies the measures that its mandatary must take to ensure the protection of the personal information entrusted to it, so that it is only used in the exercise of the mandate or contract and that it is destroyed after its end. The co-contractor must also undertake to cooperate with THE AGENCY or the BROKER in the event of a breach of the confidentiality of personal information.
“Before disclosing personal information outside of Quebec, THE AGENCY or the BROKER takes into account their sensitivity, the purpose of their use, and the protective measures that will be in place outside of Quebec. THE AGENCY or the BROKER will only disclose personal information outside of Quebec if its analysis demonstrates that it will receive adequate protection in the location where
it is to be stored.
Retention and Destruction of Personal Information
When the purposes for which personal information was collected or used have been achieved, the AGENCY or the BROKER must destroy it, subject to a retention period provided by the Law. In this regard, the professional obligations of the AGENCY or the BROKER require them to retain their records for at least six (6) years following their final closure.
Security Measures
When collecting, using, storing and destroying personal information, the AGENCY or BROKER applies the necessary security measures to protect the confidentiality of personal information. More specifically, the following measures apply:
Personal information is protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Our procedures for protecting personal information and privacy are ensured by physical, administrative and technical measures.
Confidentiality incident
A confidentiality incident is any access, use or disclosure of personal information that is not authorized by the Act, or the loss of personal information or any other breach of the protection of personal information.
The AGENCY or BROKER has established a protocol for managing a confidentiality incident, which identifies the persons who assist the Privacy Officer and sets out the concrete actions to be taken in the event of an incident. This protocol sets out the responsibilities expected at each stage of incident management, including the measures to be taken to ensure data security.
Roles and responsibilities
AGENCY or BROKER
- Ensures confidentiality of information through good information management practices. In particular, he/she provides directives, training and instructions to staff members regarding the collection, use, storage, modification, consultation, communication and permitted destruction of personal information.
- Deploys appropriate safeguards to reduce the risk of privacy incidents, e.g. computer security, updated personal information policies, staff training, etc.
- Has standardized methods for filing documents containing personal information.
- Has standardized methods for retaining documents containing personal information, including digitization procedures.
- Manages physical and computer access to personal information, based in particular on its sensitivity.
- Securely destroys personal information. More specifically, he/she gives directives or instructions to staff members regarding the secure destruction method, destruction deadlines, etc.
Privacy Officer
In accordance with the Act, the AGENCY or BROKER has appointed a Privacy Officer.
In particular, he/she ensures that these policies are respected and that they comply with applicable regulations. The name and contact details of this person are given in the “Right of access, withdrawal and rectification” section.
The Privacy Officer is responsible for managing incidents of confidentiality and, in this context, takes the actions provided for in the Act.
The Privacy Officer handles requests for access to and correction of personal information. He or she also handles complaints about the AGENCY’s or BROKER’s handling of personal information.
The Privacy Officer is consulted as part of a privacy impact assessment for any project involving the acquisition, development or redesign of an information system or the electronic delivery of services involving the collection, use, disclosure, retention or destruction of personal information. It may suggest measures to ensure the protection of personal information in the context of such a project.
Employees
A member of the AGENCY’s staff or the BROKER may view personal information only insofar as this is indispensable for the performance of his duties or mandate.
AGENCY staff member or BROKER :
- Ensures the integrity and confidentiality of personal information held by the AGENCY or BROKER.
- Complies with all policies and directives of the AGENCY or BROKER on access, collection, use, disclosure, destruction of personal information and on information security and respects the instructions presented to him/her.
- Respects the security measures in place at the workstation and on any equipment containing personal information.
- Use only the equipment and software authorized by the AGENCY or BROKER.
- Ensures the secure destruction of personal information in accordance with instructions. Immediately report to his/her superior any act of which he/she is aware that may constitute an actual or suspected breach of security rules relating to personal information.
- Transmit any confidentiality incident to the Privacy Officer, Mr. Patrick Juanéda, or to his assistant, Nancy Savard, Agency Manager.
Access, withdrawal and rectification rights
An individual (or his/her authorized representative) may request access to his/her personal information held by the AGENCY or BROKER. An individual may withdraw his or her consent to the collection, use and disclosure of his or her personal information at any time. This withdrawal will be recorded in writing.
An individual may request the correction of personal information in a file concerning him or her that he or she believes to be inaccurate, incomplete or equivocal.
The AGENCY or BROKER may refuse a request for access or rectification in the cases provided for by law.
Complaints
An aggrieved person may file a complaint regarding the processing of his or her personal information by the AGENCY or the BROKER. This complaint will be handled diligently within a maximum of 5 days by the Privacy Officer
and a written response will be sent to you.
To request access to or rectification of your personal information, or to submit a complaint regarding the processing of personal information, please contact :
Privacy Officer
Patrick Juanéda
Agency manager and co-owner
Via Capitale Partenaires, real estate agency
280A boul. de La Seigneurie O., Blainville, Qc, J7C 5A1
Téléphone :450-435-2200
Courriel : pjuaneda@viacapitale.com