Personal Information Protection Policy & Disclaimer

Some of our policies in simpler words:

PACTA BC will not sell or trade your personal information.
Online credit card payments are done through Stripe.
We value our supporters and don't want to send spam, but we do want to keep you and others informed.
If you want to
- be removed from a mailing list,
- change how we contact you,
- update information which cannot be done when you log in to your account,
- have your personal information removed from our database, or
- see the information we have about you,
simply contact us at [email protected].
Like most websites, our site may track you through cookies or analytics, but you can opt-out, or refuse, or delete cookies.
Although we have youth members, our website and social media are meant to be used by members 13 years old and over.
If you have concerns or questions about how we use or store your personal information, please continue reading below or contact us.
The information on our website, social media, other media, etc. or through messages, emails, calls, or printed materials, etc. is for educational purposes and entertainment only. Please contact an appropriate professional should you need help with your animals or business.

About

PACTA Professional Animal Care and Training Association of BC is a member-based organisation which provides services to both our members and the public. Providing these services involve the collection, use and disclosure of some personal information, but protecting personal information is one of our priorities.

While we have always respected our members’ privacy, we have strengthened our commitment to protecting personal information as a result of British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, sets out the ground rules for how B.C. not-for-profit organisations may collect, use and disclose personal information.

We will inform you of why and how we collect, use and disclose your personal information, obtain your consent where required, and only handle your personal information in a manner that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.

This Personal Information Protection Policy, in compliance with PIPA, outlines the principles and practices we will follow in protecting your personal information. Our privacy commitment includes ensuring the accuracy, confidentiality, and security of your personal information, and allowing you to request access to, and correction of, your personal information.

We also try to follow the guidelines of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).

Definitions

PACTA BC, we, us, our, and ours refer to PACTA Professional Animal Care and Training Association of BC.

You, your, and yours refer to a PACTA BC member, customer, or person who has interacted with PACTA BC.

Personal Information means information about an identifiable individual, such as home address, names of other household members, gender identity, age or birth date, types and names of your pets/animals, and specific information you may have provided, including information to help us make our services more accessible for you (such being deaf and using a TTY/TDD for calls with us). Personal information does not include contact information.

Contact information means information that would enable an individual to be contacted, including at a place of business and includes name, position name or title, business address, phone number, email address or fax number. Contact information is not covered by this policy nor PIPA.

Part 1 – Collecting Personal Information

1.1 Unless the purposes for collecting personal information are obvious and you voluntarily provide your personal information for those purposes, we will communicate the purposes for which personal information is being collected, either orally or in writing, before or at the time of collection.

1.2 We collect information for the following purposes:

To verify your identity;
To identify your preferences;
To understand your financial needs if necessary;
To open and manage an account;
To deliver requested or purchased products and services;
To process a newsletter or magazine subscription;
To enroll you in a program, webinar, lesson, etc.;
To send out membership information;
To contact you for fundraising;
To ensure a high standard of service to our members and customers;
To meet regulatory requirements;
To collect and process donations, payments and membership fees.

1.3 PACTA BC's website is at www.pactabc.ca. Our website may use cookies to assist you in filling out forms or to log-in to your account or remember you previously visited a web page.

1.4 Our website may use Google Analytics to gather data on our visitors. Aggregated site usage data (not personally identifiable data) may be provided to our sponsors. You may opt-out of the Google Analytics Advertising Features and ads.

1.5 Some of our web pages may include embedded content, such as videos hosted on other websites. That embedded content acts the same as if you visit that website, and may track or collect data on you.

1.6 Although PACTA BC's membership is open to everyone, including youth, our website and social media channels are not meant for children under the age of 13. Other than information kept for membership purposes, we do not intentionally track or collect information on youth under the age of 18, and will delete any personally identifiable information once we are aware of it. PACTA BC encourages parents and guardians to be aware and involved with their children’s online activities.

Part 2 – Consent

2.1 We will obtain your consent to collect, use or disclose personal information (except where, as noted below, we are authorized to do so without consent).

2.2 Consent can be provided orally, in writing, electronically, or through an authorized representative, or it can be implied where the purpose for collecting using or disclosing the personal information would be considered obvious and you voluntarily provide personal information for that purpose.

2.3 Consent may also be implied where you are given notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt-out of your personal information being used for mail-outs, the marketing of new services or products, fundraising and you do not opt-out.

2.4 Subject to certain exceptions (e.g., the personal information is necessary to provide the service or product, or the withdrawal of consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation), you can withhold or withdraw your consent for PACTA BC to use your personal information in certain ways. Your decision to withhold or withdraw your consent to certain uses of personal information may restrict our ability to provide a particular service or product. If so, we will explain the situation to assist you in making the decision.

2.5 We may collect, use or disclose personal information without your knowledge or consent in the following circumstances:

When the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is permitted or required by law;
In an emergency that threatens an individual's life, health, or personal security;
When the personal information is available from a public source (for example, an online listing, a magazine/newspaper article or ad, a pamphlet/flyer, a telephone directory, or social media);
When we require legal advice from a lawyer;
To collect a debt;
To protect ourselves from fraud;
To investigate an anticipated breach of an agreement or a contravention of law.

Part 3 – Using and Disclosing Personal Information

3.1 We will only use or disclose your personal information where necessary to fulfill the purposes identified at the time of collection, or for a purpose reasonably related to those purposes such as:

To conduct surveys;
To contact our you about products and services that may be of interest;
To award contest prizes, or allow a sponsor or third-party to award you a prize;

3.2 We will not sell your personal information to other parties.

Part 4 – Retaining Personal Information

4.1 We will retain your personal information as long as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes (such as being a member or a past supporter), or a legal or business purpose. Data on a website or social media, such as comments you leave, may remain indefinitely.

Part 5 – Ensuring Accuracy of Personal Information

5.1 We make reasonable efforts to ensure your personal information is accurate and complete where it may be used to make a decision about you or disclosed to another organisation (for example, to mail you a item you have purchased from a PACTA BC sponsor).

5.2 You may ask us to correct, edit or update your personal information. The request must be made in writing and provide sufficient details to identify it is coming from you.

5.3 If the personal information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct the information and send the corrected information to any organisation to which we disclosed the personal information in the previous year. If the correction is not made, we will note your correction request in our records.

Part 6 – Securing Personal Information

6.1 PACTA BC is committed to ensuring your personal information is secure in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks.

6.2 We will use appropriate security measures when destroying your personal information such as shredding documents and deleting electronically stored information.

6.3 We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

Part 7 – Providing You Access to Personal Information

7.1 You have a right to access your personal information, subject to limited exceptions, such as solicitor-client privilege, disclosure that would reveal personal information about another individual, and health and safety concerns.

7.2 A request to access personal information must be made in writing and provide sufficient detail to identify the personal information being sought.

7.3 You can request that we tell you how we use your personal information and to whom it has been disclosed.

7.4 We will make the requested information available within 30 business days, or provide written notice of an extension where additional time is required to fulfill the request.

7.5 A minimal fee may be charged for providing access to personal information. Where a fee may apply, we will inform the you of the cost and request further direction from you on whether or not we should proceed with the request.

7.6 If a request is refused in full or in part, we will notify the you in writing, providing the reasons for refusal and the recourse available to you.

Part 8 – Questions, Complaints and Concerns

8.1 Do you have concerns, complaints, or questions about how PACTA BC’s treats your personal information? Write to us at [email protected].

8.2 If we are unable to resolve your concern, you may also write to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is for educational and entertainment purposes only and may not reflect the opinions of PACTA BC, its directors, or volunteers. PACTA BC, the authors, writers, photographers, videographers, volunteers, helpers, advisors, committee members, Board of Directors, or any other staff, employees or volunteers are not liable nor responsible to any person or entity for any loss, damage, injury or death caused directly or indirectly by the information on or linked from this website, emails, messages, newsletters, printed materials, social media or other media, or phone or online conversations.

There are no guarantees or warranties of any kind.

Questions or comments should be sent, in writing, to [email protected].