PRIVACY POLICY

Philosophy Surrounding Privacy:

We, at Ontario Building Officials Association (“OBOA”, “we” or “us”), value the trust that you have shown in our business and, in turn, we are committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of your personal information. To that end, we have adopted this privacy policy.

This policy explains how OBOA collects, uses, discloses and safeguards the personal information provided to us either directly by you or by a third party.

By providing personal information to us or authorizing a third party to provide your personal information to us, you signify your consent to OBOA's collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.

For purposes of this privacy policy, “personal information” shall mean any information that can identify an individual directly or through other reasonably available means. Personal information will not include an individual's business address or business telephone number.

As part of our commitment to treat your personal information with respect, we operate in accordance with the following ten principles (the “Principles”):

PRINCIPLE 1 – ACCOUNTABILITY

We will maintain and protect the personal information under our control. We have designated an individual or individuals who is/are accountable for compliance with the Principles.

PRINCIPLE 2 – IDENTIFYING PURPOSES

The purposes for which personal information is collected by us will be identified to you before or at the time the information is collected.

PRINCIPLE 3 – CONSENT

Except where required or permitted by law your informed consent is required for our collection, use or disclosure of your personal information.

PRINCIPLE 4 – LIMITING COLLECTION

The personal information collected by us shall be limited to those details necessary for the purposes identified to you.

PRINCIPLE 5 – LIMITING USE, DISCLOSURE AND RETENTION

We will only use or disclose your personal information in accordance with the purposes for which it was originally collected unless you have otherwise consented, or when it is required or permitted by law. We will retain your personal information only for so long as is required to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected or as required by law.

PRINCIPLE 6 – ACCURACY

We shall make every reasonable effort to ensure your personal information is maintained in an accurate, complete and up-to-date form.

PRINCIPLE 7 – SAFEGUARDING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

We shall utilize no less than industry standards security safeguards to protect your personal information.

PRINCIPLE 8 – OPENNESS

If you would like a copy of our privacy policies we would be more than happy to provide one to you and if you have any questions regarding same, we are more than happy to discuss the merits with you.

PRINCIPLE 9 – CUSTOMER ACCESS

Upon your request, we shall inform you of:

(i) the type of personal information we have collected;
(ii) how we have used your personal information in the past, and how we may in the future; and
(iii) whether or not we have disclosed your personal information to any third parties (and, if so, to whom).

Individuals may verify the accuracy and completeness of their personal information, and may request that it be amended, if appropriate.

Please note that before we are able to provide you with any information or correct any inaccuracies we may ask you to verify your identity and to provide other details to help us to respond to your request.

PRINCIPLE 10 – HANDLING CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Customers may direct any questions or enquiries with respect to the Principles or about our information handling practices by contacting:

Lawrence Wagner
Ontario Building Officials Association
200 Marycroft Avenue, Unit 8
Woodbridge Ontario L4L 5X4
Phone 905-264-1662
Fax: 905-264-8696
Email: ceo@oboa.on.ca

Why We Gather Personal Information:

At OBOA, we gather and use personal information to process membership, course and event applications, provide products and services to member representatives and customers, make publicly available and to Government Ministries, a list of certified individuals, communicate with member representatives and customers, including communications regarding goods and services offered by OBOA and selected service providers, payment for products or services, accounting and invoicing purposes, internal management and audit purposes, meeting legal and regulatory requirements.

We also use the personal information you have provided to us to communicate with you and safeguard your interests. We will send you important notices, and respond to any special needs or enquiries you may have. We may also send you information about other products and services in which we believe you may be interested.

We only use personal information for the purposes that we have disclosed to you. If for any reason your information is required to fulfill a different purpose, we will obtain your consent before we proceed.

Types of Information We Collect:

The type of personal information we may ask for depends on and is related to the reason (or purpose) such personal information was provided to us. For instance, upon Registration for Training Courses through the on-line registration application or paper copy registration, information such as contact name, contact phone number, contact fax number, addressing information, prerequisites, certification and maintenance required, years experience, completed courses, disabilities that require consideration, membership status and member ID may be collected.

In addition to the foregoing, the following is a description of the type of personal information that we may ask for:

Home address & home telephone numbers
Credit card & banking information (i.e personal cheques)
Trade and certification information
Educational background information
Associated groups or organizations
Survey opinions, consumer opinions/complaints
Conference/training registrations that may include food & hotel preferences etc.

The choice to provide us with your personal information, either directly or through a third party, is always yours. However, your decision to withhold particular information may result in limiting our ability to provide you with the services or products you requested.

How We Collect Such Personal Information

We may gather such personal information from you in person, over the telephone or by corresponding with you via mail, facsimile, the Internet, or from third parties who have your authority to disclose such personal information to us.

Through the use of website cookies (very small text file that is added to your hard drive from a web page), we monitor the pages you visit and the number of times these pages are viewed. Through the use of these cookies, we are able to capture standard web traffic information such as time, date, IP address and browser, but in no circumstance do we (or the cookies) capture any information that can identify you as an individual.

WHILE WE TRY TO ENSURE THAT EVERY THIRD PARTY WHO DISCLOSES PERSONAL INFORMATION TO US HAS YOUR CONSENT TO DO SO, IF YOU BELIEVE THAT A THIRD PARTY HAS INAPPROPRIATELY DISCLOSED YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO US, PLEASE CONTACT THAT THIRD PARTY. IF THEY DO NOT ADEQUATELY RESPOND TO YOUR INQUIRIES, PLEASE LET US KNOW IMMEDIATELY.

OBOA’s Website:

When you visit our website, information is not collected that could identify you personally unless you choose to provide it voluntarily. You are welcome to browse the website at any time anonymously and privately without revealing any personal or financial information about yourself.

When Information May be Disclosed to Outside Parties:

Except as specifically provided for in this privacy policy, we do not disclose any personal information to third parties. The following are the limited instances where we may disclose your personal information to third parties:

to investigate potentially fraudulent or questionable activities regarding your merchant account(s) or the use of our services;
in anticipation of and in the course of an actual or potential sale, reorganization, consolidation, merger or amalgamation of our business; and
when required or permitted by law.

The type of information we are legally required to disclose may relate to criminal investigations or government tax reporting requirements. In some instances such as a legal proceeding or court order, we may also be required to disclose certain information to authorities. Only the information specifically requested is disclosed and we take precautions to satisfy ourselves that the authorities that are making the request have legitimate grounds to do so.

There are some situations where we are legally permitted to disclose personal information such as employing reasonable and legal methods to enforce our rights or to investigate suspicion of illegal activities.

Our Employees and your Personal Information:

In the course of daily operations, access to private, sensitive and confidential information is restricted to authorized employees who have a legitimate business purpose and reason for accessing it. For example, when you call us, our designated employees will access your information to verify who you are and to assist you in fulfilling your requests.

As a condition of their employment, all employees of OBOA are required to abide by the privacy standards we have established. Employees are informed about the importance of privacy and they are required to agree to a code of conduct that prohibits the disclosure of any customer information to unauthorized individuals or parties.

Unauthorized access to and/or disclosure of personal information by an employee of OBOA is strictly prohibited. All employees are expected to maintain the confidentiality of personal information at all

times and failing to do so will result in appropriate disciplinary measures, which may include dismissal.

How We Safeguard Your Information:

We use industry standard technologies and maintain current security standards to ensure that your personal information is protected against unauthorized access, disclosure, inappropriate alteration or misuse.

Electronic customer files are kept in a highly secured environment with restricted access. Paper-based files are stored in locked filing cabinets. Access is also restricted.

We manage our server environment appropriately and our firewall infrastructure is strictly adhered to. Our security practices are reviewed on a regular basis and we routinely employ current technologies to ensure that the confidentiality and privacy of your information is not compromised.

Our website uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and 128 bit encryption technologies to enhance security when you visit the secured areas of these sites. SSL is the industry standard tool for protecting and maintaining the security of message transmissions over the Internet. When you access your accounts or send information from secured sites, encryption will scramble your data into an unreadable format to inhibit unauthorized access by others.

To safeguard against unauthorized access to your accounts, you are required to “sign-on” using a user id and a password to certain secured areas of the OBOA website. Both user id and password are encrypted when sent over the Internet. If you are unable to provide the correct password, you will not be able to access these sections.

When you call the OBOA you will be required to verify your identity by providing some personally identifying information as well as your member identification (ID) number.

Accessing and Amending Your Information:

You have the right to access, verify and amend the information held in your personal files. You may access and verify any of your information by calling the OBOA at 905-264-1662.

To help us keep your personal information up-to-date, we encourage you to amend inaccuracies and make corrections as often as necessary. Despite our efforts, errors sometimes do occur. Should you identify any incorrect or out-of-date information in your file(s), we will make the proper changes. Where appropriate, we will communicate these changes to other parties who may have unintentionally received incorrect information from us.

Questions, Concerns and Complaints:

If you have a question about the privacy policies stated on this site, please call us at 905-264-1662.

If you have a concern or complaint about privacy, confidentiality or the personal information handling practices of OBOA, our employees or service suppliers, please contact:

Lawrence Wagner
Ontario Building Officials Association
200 Marycroft Avenue, Unit 8
Woodbridge Ontario L4L 5X4
Phone 905-264-1662
Fax: 905-264-8696
Email: privacy@oboa.on.ca

Before OBOA is able to provide you with any information or correct any inaccuracies, however, we may ask you to verify your identity and to provide other details to help us to respond to your request. We will endeavor to respond within an appropriate timeframe.

Updating this Privacy Policy:

Any changes to our privacy policy and information handling practices will be acknowledged in this policy in a timely manner. We may add, modify or remove portions of this policy when we feel it is appropriate to do so. You may determine when this policy was last updated by referring to the modification date found at the bottom of this privacy policy.

Websites Governed by this Privacy Policy:

The website that is governed by the provisions and practices stated in this privacy policy is: www.oboa.on.ca

The OBOA’s website may contain links to other third party sites that are not governed by this privacy policy. Although we endeavor to only link to sites with high privacy standards, our privacy policy will no longer apply once you leave the OBOA website. Additionally, we are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by other third party websites. Therefore, we suggest that you examine the privacy statements of those sites to learn how your information may be collected, used, shared and disclosed.

Last revised APRIL 3, 2024