The following CSC privacy policy is in the process of being amended to better reflect the intentions of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Mandate and objectives of the Construction Sector Council

The Constuction Sector Council (CSC) is a national labour/business partnership organization dedicated to the development of a highly skilled workforce – one that will support the current and future human resource needs of the construction industry in Canada. Its mandate is to address the current and future human resource needs of the construction industry.

Funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program, the CSC is one of more than 25 sector councils in Canada.

The CSC is focusing its efforts on five strategic priorities:

1. Promoting apprenticeship training and delivery
2. Advancing career and workforce training
3. Expanding partnerships to support related skills development organizations
4. Improving the recruitment and retention of youth
5. Providing better research and information on the construction workforce

The CSC and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

PIPEDA, the federal privacy act, took effect on January 1, 2004. The Act requires that all organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information do so in a manner that recognizes the right of privacy of individuals. It sets out 10 principles for compliance: accountability, identifying purposes, consent, limiting collection, limiting use, disclosure and retention, accuracy, safeguards, openness, individual access, and challenging compliance.

In an effort to meet those requirements, the CSC has developed this privacy policy. The publication of this document meets the principle of “openness”.

The privacy office within CSC

The staff person responsible for the protection of all personal information at the CSC is Grace Dimion. She is the defined privacy officer in accordance with the Act.

Rosemary Sparks, Grace Dimion and George Gritziotis, the executive director of the CSC, are the staff members who make up the PIPEDA task force. The task force is set up to help the privacy officer ensure that the CSC is in compliance with the Act.

The executive director is ultimately accountable for compliance with the provisions of the Act. It is his responsibility to:

• Maintain this privacy policy in a current state
• Develop and maintain staff training programs and materials concerning these policies and practices
• Provide information explaining CSC policies and procedures

What types of personal information does CSC collect and use?

• Contacts lists for information and communications
• Information related to employment at the CSC
• Information received from persons seeking employment at the CSC
• Information received from persons applying for a partnership with the CSC
• Information received from and about persons registered in workshops, seminars, and other programs offered by the CSC and its partners
• Information received from persons completing comment forms from CSC workshops, seminars and other programs offered by the CSC and its partners
• Information posted to the CSC website
• Information received from participants in industry consultation activities
• Information provided to and received from third parties, such as consultants, who are contracted to do work for, or on behalf of, the CSC

Why does CSC collect and use personal information?

• To develop and to market the CSC, its programs and services
• To provide and to communicate information about the CSC, its programs and services
• To provide and exchange information with partners and other interested parties to further its objectives
• To update contact information in our database
• To conduct surveys for research purposes
• To engage interested parties in policy/program development

When and to whom does the CSC disclose personal information?

Personal information is only collected, used and disclosed by CSC in accordance with this privacy policy.

Research
When using third parties to conduct market research, surveys, product/program development, etc. CSC will provide only information necessary for project completion. All information released to third parties is confidential and protected by legal agreement outlining its use for each project.

Third parties
Personal information, e-mail addresses or other data will not be sold, rented, exchanged or passed on to third parties, other than as outlined in this policy or unless expressly indicated otherwise.

Website
The CSC website is used to provide information on the role of the CSC, its programs and services. We offer such information to interested parties electronically through the website. It may be downloaded from our server by you, and/or you may provide us with personal information to allow us to deliver additional information to you. We only collect personal information about you when you specifically and knowingly provide it, for example, when you subscribe to one of our mailing lists. If you would like to be removed from our mailing lists, you can let us know at any time.

We do not use our website to gather personal information other than that which you affirmatively agree to supply to us. However, when you visit the CSC’s website, our web server automatically recognizes the Internet domain and IP address from which you access the site, to compile statistics regarding the volume and timing of access to our website. We do this so that we can improve the content and structure of www.csc-ca.org. Only aggregate information is collected and the personal information of individual visitors is not identified. We will not share or sell this information to a third party, except in cases of electronic intrusion, attempted or successful, where material pertinent to the intrusion may be shared with computer security professionals as well as with law enforcement officials in those cases warranting legal attention.

The site contains links to other sites. The CSC is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices or the content of such websites. We encourage you to review each partner’s policy and procedures for collecting, using and disclosing your information.

Contact information
We may disclose contact information of our staff and board of directors to further the mandate of the CSC.

How accurate is the personal information held by the CSC?

The CSC makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of any personal information we collect, so that we can meet the need for which it is was collected in the first place.

How do you access the personal information held by the CSC?

The following is the process used for handling requests for personal information:

• The person makes a request for details about their personal information to the CSC.
• This request is sent/directed to the privacy officer.
• The privacy officer responds to the person in writing.
• The privacy officer responds to the request within two weeks of receiving the form.
• If the person would like to see a list of personal information the CSC has about them, the privacy officer will send them a hard copy of the list through the mail, marked confidential.
• If the person would like to see the personal information that CSC has about them, the privacy officer will schedule a meeting with that person to give them access to this personal information.
• In the letter and/or in the meeting, the privacy officer will let the individual know that they are welcome to follow up at any time.
• After sending the letter or holding the meeting with the person, the privacy officer will record the letter/meeting information in a hard copy file that is stored in a locked file cabinet.

How secure is your personal information?

The CSC makes every reasonable effort to protect any personal information we have in our possession by implementing security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. In addition, the CSC ensures that employees understand the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information.

What if you have a question or concern about this privacy policy or CSC privacy practices?

Any individual may address a challenge concerning the CSC’s compliance with the Act to the privacy officer. The complaint procedure is outlined below. The CSC will investigate all complaints, and if justified, take appropriate measures, including amending these policies and procedures.

Process for handling complaints

When the CSC receives a compliance challenge or complaint, these steps will be followed:

• The privacy officer is immediately made aware of the complaint.
• The contact information for the complainant is recorded and sent to the privacy officer immediately.
• The person is asked to make the challenge or complaint in writing to the privacy officer.
• The privacy officer reviews the complaint and responds to the complainant within a reasonable amount of time.
• The privacy officer informs the complainant that they may contact the privacy commissioner about the complaint.

Privacy officer contact information:
Grace Dimion
Construction Sector Council
220-1150 Laurier Ave. West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5Z9
Phone: (613) 569-5552
Fax: (613) 569-1220
dimion@csc-ca.org

More information on PIPEDA:
Office of the Privacy Commissioner: www.privcom.gc.ca/index_e.asp
Department of Justice: www.justicecanada.ca

Website Security Policy further to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)

The Construction Sector Council (CSC) respects the privacy of visitors to this website. Your personal information is only collected, used and disclosed by CSC in accordance with this privacy policy.

The CSC website is used to provide information on the role of the CSC, its programs and services. We offer such information to interested parties electronically through this website. It may be downloaded from our server by you, and/or you may provide us with personal information to allow us to deliver additional information to you. We only collect personal information about you when you specifically and knowingly provide it, for example, when you subscribe to one of our mailing lists. If you would like to be removed from our mailing lists, you can let us know at any time.

We do not use our website to gather personal information other than that which you affirmatively agree to supply to us. However, when you visit the CSC’s website, our web server automatically recognizes the Internet domain and IP address from which you access the site, to compile statistics regarding the volume and timing of access to our website. We do this so that we can improve the content and structure of www.csc-ca.org. Only aggregate information is collected and the personal information of individual visitors is not identified. We will not share or sell this information to a third party, except in cases of electronic intrusion, attempted or successful, where material pertinent to the intrusion may be shared with computer security professionals as well as with law enforcement officials in those cases warranting legal attention.

This site contains links to other sites. The CSC is not responsible for the privacy policies and practices or the content of such websites. We encourage you to review each partner’s policy and procedures for collecting, using and disclosing your information.

When using third parties to conduct market research, surveys, product/program development, etc. CSC will provide only information necessary for project completion. All information released to third parties is confidential and protected by legal agreement outlining its use for each project.

Personal information, e-mail addresses or other data will not be sold, rented, exchanged or passed on to third parties, other than as outlined in this policy or unless expressly indicated otherwise.

If you have any concerns, or would like complete details on our privacy policy, do not hesitate to contact:
Grace Dimion
CSC Privacy Officer
1150 - 220 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON, K1P 5Z9
Tel: (613) 569-5552
Fax: (613) 569-1220
dimion@csc-ca.org