At Activa, your privacy is important to us. The leadership and staff at Activa (sometimes referred to as “we”) and all of its associated and related companies (referred to collectively as “Activa”) are committed to protecting your privacy. When you share any private information with us, we want you to feel secure.

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) outlines how we handle your personal information to protect your privacy. It informs you about Activa’s commitment to ensuring that the personal information obtained during the course of our activities remains accurate and confidential as part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed about our privacy practices. The provision of personal information to Activa means that the person concerned agrees and consents that we may collect, use and disclose their personal information in accordance with this Policy. In addition, specific authorizations or consents may be obtained from time to time and where appropriate.

A person is free to refuse or withdraw his or her consent at any time upon reasonable, advance notice in most cases and subject to legal and contractual restrictions. Some services can be offered only if a person provides personal information to Activa. Therefore, if a person chooses not to provide us with any required personal information, we may be unable to offer the requested services. You will be informed of the consequences of the withdrawal of consent.

 

PRIVACY LEGISLATION
Since January 1, 2004, all organizations collecting, using or disclosing personal information in Canada in the course of commercial activities have been required to comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and any applicable “substantially similar” provincial legislation.


PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information is defined in PIPEDA as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. In other words, it does not include the information that one expects to find on a business card (other than an e-mail address which is considered to be personal information).


CONSENT TO OUR COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In most cases, we obtain your consent to collect, use and disclose your personal information. If you solicit information from Activa or conduct business with Activa, we assume that we have your implied consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for the purposes of providing services to you, your company or organization; however, at times we may ask for your express consent, either verbally or in writing. By providing your personal information to us, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose your personal information as outlined in this Policy.


WITHDRAWAL OF CONSENT

You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal and/or contractual restrictions and upon reasonable notice. However, your withdrawal of consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information may affect our ability to provide our services to you, your company or organization.

You can ask us not to send e-mail marketing communications to you by following the opt-out instructions in each communication or you may let us know by contacting our marketing department at info@activa.com. If you prefer not to be contacted by other means, such as by regular mail or by phone, please provide those instructions to the agent with whom you are dealing, or to our Privacy Officer, whose contact information is provided below.


COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Activa uses only fair and lawful methods to collect personal information. Generally, we collect your personal information directly from you at the start of or during the course of your relationship with Activa. We may also obtain personal information about you from other sources, such as:

  • other individuals within your company or organization, if applicable;
  • your insurance company or other financial institution;
  • your real estate agent;
  • your legal counsel;
  • from a government agency or registry;
  • your employer, if applicable; or
  • your accountant.


USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

At Activa, we collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that would be considered reasonable in the circumstances and only such information as is required for the purposes of providing products, services or information to our customers. We may also use your personal information so that we may communicate with you about recent developments at Activa and invite you to our company events.


DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We do not sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any personal information we have obtained. Our use of personal information is limited to the purposes described in this Policy, and Activa also does not provide personal information to any non-affiliated company for marketing or solicitation purposes unless you have given your consent to such use and disclosure.

There are times when Activa may disclose your personal information to individuals or
organizations:

  1. Who are other Activa companies, where permitted by law, that wish to tell you about their products or services or to inform you about other opportunities, and their related service providers, except when you indicate otherwise;
  2. Who are credit bureaus or personal information agents involved in determining initial and ongoing customer eligibility for products and services;
  3. Who are advisers of the person concerned (e.g. lawyers, inspectors, etc) or who work for such advisors who;

  • Provide, manage or administer products or services intended to inform individuals about Activa products or services;
  • Maintain, review and develop our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems;
  • Are involved in the transfer of all or part of the assets or business of Activa, including in connection with the securitization, sale, assignment and/or financing of our transactions; or
  • Are involved in a corporate re-organization of Activa or any corporation owned by Activa.

In the event sensitive personal information is provided to Activa, we will not disclose such personal information unless it is required in order to provide a customer with products or services.

Where Activa 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 the person concerned or Activa and to have appropriate safeguards for the protection of that personal information.

Where personal information may be subject to transfer to another organization in contemplation of a merger, sale of Activa assets or Activa business units or change of ownership of all or part of Activa, we will do this only if the parties have entered into an agreement under which the collection, use and disclosure of the information (including any personal information) is restricted to those purposes that relate to the business transaction, including a determination whether or not to proceed with the business transaction, and is to be used by the parties to carry out and complete the business transaction.

Take notice that there are circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of personal information may be justified or permitted or where Activa is obliged to disclose information without consent. Such circumstances may include:

  • Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or governmental tribunal;
  • Where Activa believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable individual or group of people;
  • Where it is necessary to establish or collect monies owing to Activa;
  • Where it is necessary to permit Activa to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain; or
  • Where the information is public.
  • Where obliged or permitted to disclose information without consent, Activa will not disclose more information than is required.


ACCURACY OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Activa makes every effort to ensure that any personal information provided and in its possession is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for our purposes. If we become aware that personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, Activa will revise the personal information and, if necessary, use its best efforts to inform third parties which were provided with inaccurate information so that those third parties may also correct their records.


SAFEGUARDS

Activa uses various administrative and technological safeguards to ensure that your personal information is protected against loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying or alteration. These include: security of our physical premises; our professional obligations; security software and firewalls to prevent unauthorized computer access or “hacking”; and internal passwords that restrict access to our electronic files.


ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Activa permits the reasonable right of access and review of personal information held by us about an individual. We will endeavour to provide the information in question within a reasonable time and no later than 30 days following the request. In order to guard against fraudulent requests for access, we may require sufficient information to allow us to confirm that the person who is making the request is authorized to do so before we grant access or make corrections.

Activa reserves the right not to change any personal information but will append any alternative text the individual concerned believes to be appropriate. We will provide information from our records in a form that is easy to understand.

Activa reserves the right to decline to provide access to personal information where the information requested:

  • Would disclose (i) personal information, including opinions, about another person or about a deceased individual; or (ii) trade secrets or other confidential business information that may harm Activa or the competitive position of a third party;
  • Is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege;
  • Is not readily retrievable and the burden or cost of providing would be disproportionate to the nature or value of the information;
  • Does not exist, is not held, or cannot be found by Activa;
  • Could reasonably result in (i) serious harm to the treatment or recovery of the individual concerned, (ii) serious emotional harm to the individual concerned or another individual, or (iii) serious bodily harm to another individual;
  • May harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative or regulatory functions of a body authorized by law to perform such functions; or
  • May be restricted under applicable legislation.
  • Where information will not or cannot be disclosed, we will provide the person making the request with the reasons for non-disclosure.

Activa will not respond to repetitious or vexatious requests for access and in making such a determination, we will consider such factors as the frequency with which information is updated, the purpose for which the information is used, and the nature of the information.

Activa will not charge you for verifying or correcting your information. There may be a minimal charge imposed if you need a copy of records, to the extent permitted by applicable law.


CHALLENGING COMPLIANCE

Activa will respond to inquiries about its policies and practices relating to its handling of your personal information. Inquiries should be directed to the Privacy Officer at Activa using the contact information below. Activa will investigate all complaints and will respond within 30 days of receipt of a written inquiry. If the complaint is found to be justified, we will take appropriate measures to resolve it, including, if necessary, amending this Policy and its procedures.


WEBSITE PRIVACY

Like most other organizations, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information. Our website server will automatically collect IP addresses, and we may use a browser feature called a “cookie” to optimize your visit to our website. You may set your browser to turn cookies off during your use of any website. We do not link your IP address or cookies to other personally identifiable information.

By accessing and browsing our website, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose any personal information collected about you through our website as described in this Policy.


PRIVACY OFFICER

If you have any questions or complaints about this Policy or the handling of your personal information, if you wish to withdraw your consent to our use of your personal information, or to request access to or update any information we have on file, please contact:

Activa
55 Columbia Street East
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 4N7
Telephone No.: 519-886-9400
Email: info@activa.ca
Website: www.activa.ca


CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may change this Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website at www.activa.ca and will be made available upon request through your contact at Activa. Please check from time to time to ensure you are aware of our current Policy. This Policy is current and reviewed on an annual basis.