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Privacy Policy

Introduction

The Canadian Health Food Association ("CHFA”) is a non-profit federally chartered trade association that supports Canadians achieving better health, naturally; by promoting natural health products, organic foods, and whole foods as the primary source of well-being for all Canadians. We have prepared this policy to inform you about how we collect, use, and disclose Personal Information, and our ongoing commitment to helping ensure that any Personal Information we hold remains accurate and confidential.

By using the Website, or by choosing to submit Personal Information to the CHFA, you signify your consent to all of the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any terms of this Privacy Policy, do not use this website or submit any Personal Information to the CHFA.

This privacy Policy contains the following sections. We encourage you to read the entire policy, however, you may use the links below to be directed to the information you are seeking:

  1. What is Personal Information, and what Personal Information does CHFA Collect?
  2. Why CHFA collects Personal Information
  3. When CHFA may disclose your Personal Information
  4. Consent
  5. The retention of Personal Information
  6. Protection of Personal Information
  7. How to access and correct your Personal Information
  8. How we Collect Information Automatically and use Cookies
  9. Third Party Websites
  10. We may change our Privacy Policy
  11. How to contact us and resolving your privacy concerns

What is Personal Information, and what Personal Information does CHFA Collect?

"Personal Information" is any information about an identified individual or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from such information.

The Personal Information the CHFA collects depends on how you interact with us or our website. The Personal Information we ask for will depend upon which services you may obtain and may include personal contact information and financial information required to process payment for products and services.

For example, we may collect:

  • Your name, and contact information such as your address, telephone number, or e-mail address;
  • If you choose to purchase goods, services, or a membership, payment information;
  • Information about the business you represent, for example, the names of individuals in the company, the company name, address, contact info, sales details and information about the type of business and products it sells, please note that not all of this information is Personal Information; and
  • Any other information that you choose to provide to us.

Why CHFA collects Personal Information and How we Use it

CHFA may use Personal Information it collects in order to:

(a)   Offer educational and certification programs on natural products, nutrition and other subjects, and offer related materials to members and non-members, including;

(b)   Provide an electronic newsletter to members, and non-members;

(c)   Provide members and non-members with information about our trade shows (including by means of direct marketing);

(d)   Communicate with and determine the needs of our members for example, through surveys, email, or telephone calls;

(e)   Permit affiliated organizations and preferred suppliers to provide products, services and information to members;

(f)    If you choose to participate in one of our advocacy campaigns, we may collect your name and contact information to send a letter to your Member of Parliament, or other political, governmental, regulatory or industry figures who are disclosed to you, on your behalf. Such a letter will include the information you provide, and will appear to come from you as you are asking us to send it in your name;

(g)   If you use our “Find a store” tool, we use the information you provide, such as a postal code, or city, to direct you to our member retailers near you;

(h)   Process and complete transactions you have agreed to enter, such as purchasing goods or services from us, registering for an event, or becoming a member;

(i)   Process credit card and other forms of payment information for products, services or memberships provided by CHFA to its members or third parties;

(j)   Meet legal and regulatory requirements; and

(k)   Such other purposes consistent with these purposes or which are disclosed to you and to which you consent.

3. When CHFA may disclose your personal information

CHFA may disclose your Personal Information to individuals or organizations:

a)   Who assist CHFA in informing you about our services;

b)   Who are affiliated organizations and preferred suppliers who wish to tell you about their products or services or to inform you about other opportunities; or

c)    Who are our advisers, for example lawyers or financial advisors; or

d)    For purposes which are disclosed to you and to which you consent. CHFA may also transfer your Personal Information to our third party service providers, for example IT service providers who are involved in maintaining, reviewing and developing our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems, or financial service providers who are involved in the processing of payments for the products or services that we offer to you.

Where CHFA discloses Personal Information to organizations that perform services on its behalf, we will require those service providers to use such information solely for the purposes of providing services to CHFA, its members or the person concerned and to have appropriate safeguards for the protection of that Personal Information.

Personal Information may be subject to transfer to another organization in contemplation of a merger, sale of CHFA assets or change of ownership of all or part of CHFA, or should any such transaction be contemplated. In such a case, we will do this only if the parties have entered into an agreement under which the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information is restricted to those purposes that relate to the transaction, including a determination of whether or not to proceed with the transaction, and is to be used by the parties to carry out and complete the transaction.

Please note that there are circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Personal Information may be justified or permitted or where CHFA is obliged to disclose information without consent. Such circumstances may include, without limitation:

a)  Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or governmental tribunal;

b)  Where CHFA believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group;

c)  Where it is necessary to establish or collect monies owing to CHFA;

d) Where it is necessary to permit CHFA to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain; or

e)  Where the information is public according to the applicable law.

4. Consent

Unless permitted or required by law, no Personal Information is collected, without first obtaining the consent of the individual concerned to the collection, use and dissemination of that information. However, we may seek consent to use and disclose Personal Information after it has been collected in those cases where CHFA wishes to use the information for a purpose not identified in this Policy or not previously identified or for which the individual concerned has not previously consented. By providing Personal Information to CHFA, you agree and consent that we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information as described in this Policy. In addition, where appropriate, specific authorizations or consents may be obtained from time to time. In most cases and subject to legal and contractual restrictions, you are free to refuse or withdraw your consent at any time upon reasonable, advance notice. It should be noted that in certain circumstances, certain services can only be offered if you provide Personal Information to CHFA. Consequently, if you choose not provide us with any required Personal Information, we may not be able to offer you the services requested. We will inform you of the consequences of the withdrawal of consent.

5. The retention of Personal Information

We keep your Personal Information for as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the service and the nature of the Personal Information. This period may extend beyond the end of a person’s relationship with us but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for us to have such information. CHFA has in place a Document Retention Policy, which outlines the procedures for the retention and subsequent destruction, deletion, erasure or conversion into an anonymous form of CHFA records that contain Personal Information.

Currently, the principal places in which CHFA holds Personal Information is in the city of Markham, Ontario and nearby municipalities where off-site storage facilities may be located.

6. Protection of Personal Information

CHFA endeavours to maintain appropriate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to its offices and information storage facilities so as to help prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Personal Information. This also applies to our disposal or destruction of Personal Information. CHFA further protects Personal Information by restricting access to it to those employees or service providers that the management of CHFA has determined need to know that information in order that we may carry out the purposes described in this Policy. If any employee of CHFA misuses Personal Information, this will be considered as a serious offence for which disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including termination of employment. If any individual or organization misuses Personal Information - provided for the purpose of providing services to or for CHFA - this will be considered a serious issue for which action may be taken, up to and including termination of any agreement between CHFA and that individual or organization.

Some organizations that perform services on behalf of CHFA may be located in foreign jurisdictions, including the United States, and your Personal Information may processed or stored in such jurisdictions. As a result, this information may be accessible to law enforcement and national security authorities of that jurisdiction.

Please note that although we have taken measures to help protect our website, and the Personal Information that we have collected from unauthorized use, access, disclosure, misuse, alteration or destruction, no security measures can provide absolute protection. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide to us.

7. How to access and correct your Personal Information

You are able to access, review, and request correction your Personal Information held by us and we endeavor to provide the information in question within a reasonable time, generally no later than 30 days following the request. To guard against fraudulent requests for access, we may require sufficient information to allow us to confirm that the person making the request is authorized to do so before granting access or making corrections, for example, by requiring you to verify your identity. We will provide information from our records in a form that is easy to understand. CHFA reserves the right not to change Personal Information if we disagree that it is incorrect, but we will append any alternative text the individual concerned believes to be appropriate. CHFA reserves the right to decline to provide access to Personal Information where permitted or required by the applicable law, for example, where the information requested would disclose Personal Information, including opinions, about another individual or is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege.

Where information will not or cannot be disclosed, the individual making the request will be provided with the reasons for non-disclosure. CHFA will not charge you for verifying or correcting your information, however, to the extent permitted by applicable law, there may be a minimal charge imposed if you need a copy of records.

8. How we Collect Information Automatically and use Cookies

Our Web server tracks general information about visitors such as their domain name, time of visit and which pages are being accessed. This information is used internally, only in aggregate form, to better serve visitors by helping us to:

a)  Manage our site;

b)  Diagnose any technical problems;

c)  Track click streams, measure, monitor, and report on website traffic and page views;

d)  Determine how visitors arrive at our website and interact with our content;

e)   Remember you if as you navigate through our site, and if you return too it; and;

f)  Improve the content of our Web site.

In browsing the Web, you will encounter a technology known as “cookies”. “Cookies” are files or pieces of information that may be stored in a computer’s hard drive when an individual visits a web site. Most Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies. We also use related technologies, such as web beacons, pixels, other storage technologies, and/or other similar devices. If you do not wish to accept cookies, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. "Session" cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once a visitor exits its Web browser window or otherwise turn its computer off. Session cookies are used to improve navigation on Web sites and to collect aggregate statistical information. CHFA’s Web site uses session cookies. "Persistent" cookies are more permanent bits of information that are placed on the hard drive of a visitor’s computer and stays there unless it is deleted. Persistent cookies store information on a visitor’s computer for a number of purposes, such as retrieving certain information previously provided (e.g., passwords), helping to determine what areas of the Web site visitors find most valuable, and customizing the Web site based on visitor preferences. CHFA’s Web site uses persistent cookies.

We may also work with third party companies, including social media companies, to collect information about your use of our Website and other websites through technologies such as cookies, web beacons, and pixels so that we may provide advertisements and other content that are more relevant to your interests based on your internet activity history and to target you with advertising and other content on our Website and third party sites. We may disclose personal information (including your name, email, or phone number) to these entities, which may include social media companies, to better serve you with advertising and other content.

We may work with third parties to assist us with the practices described in this section. These include:

  • Google Analytics, which uses cookies and other technologies to collect and analyze information about the use of our Website and report on activities and trends. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps, and resources. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
  • Facebook, where we use both first party and third-party cookies, as well as pixels and other technologies for both analytics and advertising to track activities such as page views, page interactions, clicks, and email submissions. We may use the information you provide to match you with your profile on Facebook, and better serve advertising and other content. You may adjust your Facebook ad settings and preferences by visiting this site: https://www.facebook.com/help/568137493302217?helpref=faq_content.

Some portions of our Web site are accessible only to members and require a valid username and password. Such Personal Information will only be used for authentication purposes and other purposes as stated in this Policy. We have no control over the content of third-party Web sites that individuals may access through hyperlinks at our Web sites. We encourage everyone to read the privacy policy of every Web site they visit.

9. Third Party Websites

The site may contain links to other third-party websites. These other websites may have their own privacy policies and terms and conditions that are not governed by this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of any website(s) owned and operated by any such third parties. Other websites may collect and treat information collected differently, so we encourage you to carefully read and review the privacy policy for each website you visit. Any links from this site to other websites, or references to products, services or publications other than those of the CHFA, do not imply the endorsement or approval of such websites, products, services or publications by the CHFA.

10. We may change our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. We will reflect any such modifications to this Privacy Policy on this site and will indicate the date this Privacy Policy was last amended. Your continued access to and/or use of the site or provision of Personal Information to us after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of, and agreement to be legally bound by, this Privacy Policy, as revised. Please periodically review this Privacy Policy so that you know what Personal Information we collect, how we use it, and with whom we may share it.

10. How to contact us and resolving your privacy concerns

In the event of questions about: (i) access to your Personal Information; (ii) our collection, use, management or disclosure of Personal Information; or (iii) this Policy; please contact CHFA’s privacy officer by sending an email to privacy@chfa.ca or calling 416-497-6939, or by writing to 235 Yorkland Boulevard, Suite 201, Toronto, ON M2J 4Y8. CHFA will investigate all complaints and if a complaint is justified, we will take reasonable steps to resolve the issue.