New Ventures BC

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Privacy Policy

Application of Policy

The New Ventures BC Society (“NVBC”) and the BCIC-New Ventures Competition recognize the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of Personal Information (as defined below). NVBC believes in protecting your privacy. This policy outlines how we manage your Personal Information and safeguard your privacy. By providing Personal Information to us, you agree to the terms of this policy. However, we are committed to continuous improvement and value your input. We welcome your comments and/or suggestions on improving this policy. If you have any concerns, please contact us at the addresses at the end of this policy.

This policy does not apply to the practices of companies or other entities not managed or controlled by  NVBC. This policy does not apply to information regarding corporations or other non-individuals.

Definitions

The following definitions are used for the purposes of this policy:
“Contact Information” means information to enable an individual at a place of business to be contacted and includes the name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number of the individual.

“Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual, excluding Contact Information, and includes things such as gender, age, ethnicity, financial and credit information, health information, consumer preference information, customer profiles, ID numbers and any other data assigned to an individual.

“Summarized Data” mean records which have been stripped of information potentially identifying individuals, and which have been manipulated or combined to provide generalized, anonymous information.

Collection of Personal Information

This policy covers our treatment of Personal Information that we collect, either through communications or interaction we may have with you (such as e-mails, telephone conversations, face-to-face or written correspondence) or through our website. This policy also covers our treatment of any information shared with us by third parties.

Sometimes we may collect Personal Information about you from other sources, provided that such sources confirm to us that they are permitted to share such information, such information is publicly available or the collection is required or authorized by law. Examples of collection from other sources include collections from:

  • your insurance company;
  • a government agency or registry;
  • your employer, if we are acting for you, at its request;
  • your accountant;
  • consumer reporting agencies, in order to help us make credit decisions about clients, prevent fraud, check the identity of new clients and prevent money-laundering.

Use of Personal Information

NVBC may collect and use your Personal Information for the following purposes:
to administer and build your NVBC  file;
to market new services that we believe will be of interest to you;
as required or authorized by law.

Disclosure of Personal Information
NVBC does not and will not sell, rent, share or disclose your Personal Information without first receiving your permission or as disclosed in this policy.

Under certain circumstances, NVBC will disclose your Personal Information:

  • when you have consented to the disclosure;
  • to fulfill the purpose for which the Personal Information was collected;
  • when the services we are providing to you require us to give information to third parties;
  • where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
  • if we engage a third party to provide services to us (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by confidentiality obligations;
  • if the information is already publicly known;
  • when we are required or authorized by law to do so.

Except where we are required by law to disclose Personal Information, where commercially practicable we will use contractual arrangements to protect Personal Information disclosed to third parties.

Summarized Data

We may also use your Personal Information to generate Summarized Data for internal use and for sharing with affiliates, subsidiaries, advertisers and business partners. Your identity and Personal Information will be kept anonymous in Summarized Data. Summarized Data will be used for marketing and planning purposes.

Consent

By providing Personal Information to us and by retaining us to provide you with goods and services, you voluntarily consent to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information as specified in this policy. Without limiting the foregoing, we may on occasion ask you to consent when we collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information in specific circumstances, in which case we may ask for your consent in writing although in some circumstances we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes your consent will be implied through your conduct with us if the purpose of the collection, use or disclosure is obvious and you voluntarily provide the information. In addition, we may collect, use and disclose Personal Information without your consent when we are required or authorized by law to do so.

Withdrawal of Consent

Individuals have the right to withdraw their consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of Personal Information at any time, except where that withdrawal would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation by NVBC. Upon reasonable written notice given to NVBC, all Personal Information held by NVBC that is identifiable to that individual will be removed from our records and a notice of the impact of that removal will be provided to the individual. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you withdraw consent NVBC nonetheless reserves the right to retain, collect, use and disclose Personal Information without your consent where we are permitted by law to do so.

Opting Out

You may wish to opt out of receiving certain information and marketing or promotional materials from NVBC. You may do so by contacting us contact@newventuresbc.com

Access To and Correction Of Personal Information

Individuals have the right to know what Personal Information NVBC has collected about them, how that information is being used and to whom it has been disclosed, as well as to verify and amend that information if it is incorrect. Upon receiving a written access and/or correction request and handling fee of $25, and where the identity of the requestor can be confirmed, information held by the NVBC that is identifiable to the requestor, as well as information on all use and disclosures of that information, will be released to the requestor within 30 days, except where that release is not required or is prohibited by law, and if necessary NVBC will correct the Personal Information of the requestor.

Can I Be Denied Access to My Personal Information?

Your rights to access your Personal Information are not absolute. We may deny access:

  • when denial of access is required or authorized by law;
  • when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;
  • to protect our firm’s rights and property; or
  • where the request is frivolous or vexatious.

If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct Personal Information, we will explain why.

Website

Please remember that you control what Personal Information you provide to NVBC while visiting the NVBC website. You can visit the NVBC website without registering or providing any Personal Information at all.

We cannot guarantee the confidentiality or security of any e-mail communications or information sent by you to us via the website. If you wish to send us confidential information, please notify us first to make arrangements.

Our website contains links to other sites, which are not governed by this policy. You should read the individual privacy policies of such websites, and make an informed decision whether or not to use these sites based upon their privacy practices.

Like most other commercial websites, our website may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information. We may automatically (i.e., not via registration) collect or compile certain information that is not personally identifiable when you access the website. Examples of this type of information include the aggregate and unique number of visitors to the website, the dates and times of visits to the website, the domains/countries of visitors, the pages of the website visited and the content accessed, the browsers, operating systems, search engines and search terms used to visit the website and HTTP errors generated. We use this information in order to optimize our website and to assess usage of our website. We may provide such information to our website contractors for these purposes, but this information does not include any personally identifiable information.

Cookies

NVBC does not use cookies. A cookie is a small amount of text that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive.

Is My Personal Information Secure?

NVBC takes all reasonable steps to ensure that your Personal Information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps we take in order to protect your information are:

  • premises security;
  • restricted file access to personal information;
  • deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;
  • internal password and security policies.

Retention of Contact Information and Personal Information

Personal Information will be retained in accordance with this policy only for as long as may be necessary or relevant for the identified purpose of collection, or as may be required or permitted by law, after which time it will be made anonymous or destroyed unless you further consent to its continued retention. Information that you may provide to the NVBC that is in excess of what is necessary for the identified purpose of collection will not be retained by the New Ventures BC competition.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Since NVBC regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, we may change this policy from time to time and such changes will be effective from the date of revision.

Miscellaneous

This policy will be governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the laws of Canada applicable therein, excluding any conflict of laws rules that would apply another body of law. This policy constitutes and contains the entire agreement between you and the NVBC with respect to its subject matter and supersedes any prior oral or written agreements.

If any provision of this policy is held to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this policy will otherwise remaining full force and effect and enforceable.

Your Responsibility for Privacy

Ultimately, you are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any Personal Information in your possession. Always be careful and responsible regarding your Personal Information.