the mason group

privacy

PRIVACY AND PERSONAL INFORMATION POLICY

Introduction
At The Mason Group Inc., including its Affiliates as defined in the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (collectively, “TMGI”), we respect the privacy of our applicants, contractors, employees and clients (“People”) and acknowledge that People have certain rights related to personal information we collect from or related to those People. TMGI’s privacy policy is designed in accordance with the federal Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”).

Scope
TMGI is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of the personal information of our People. TMGI’s privacy principles reflect these principles, and this policy will apply to and protect all associated personal information collected, used or disclosed by TMGI.

The policy will apply to and protect all such personal information collected, used or disclosed by TMGI, except demographic information that is aggregated in such a manner that it cannot be connected to a specific individual person. For example, TMGI may share non-personal, non-individual information with our partners in aggregate form for research analysis. The information is used and analyzed only at an aggregate level to help us understand trends and more precisely determine how to improve our services.

Personal information which may be collected and which may fall under this policy may include but is not limited to:

Contact information;
Education records;
Employment history;
Professional training and certifications;
References from third parties named by applicants and/or employees;
Skill testing results;
Background check results;
Social Insurance Number (“S.I.N.”), date of birth and any other information listed in an application form;
Information necessary to administer health benefits, if any; and
Resumes submitted by applicants, contractors and employees.

TMGI’s goal in collecting personal information is to provide the most personalized service possible. By knowing more about our People, TMGI is able to deliver leading staffing and employment services and hence a better service to our clients.

Definitions
To better understand our policy, TMGI has set out some basic definitions to use (which may/may not be capitalized in the Policy) when reading and interpreting the principles below.

Client: is a customer of TMGI for which TMGI attempts to place contractors or applicants for temporary placement or employment opportunities.

Collection: the act of gathering, acquiring, recording or obtaining personal information from any source, including third parties, by any means.

Consent: voluntary agreement to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information for defined purposes. Consent can be either express or implied and can be provided directly by the individual or by an authorized representative. Expressed consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from the circumstances or from an individual’s action or inaction.

Disclosure: making personal information available to a third party.

Personal Information: information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form, but does not include aggregated information that cannot be associated with a specific individual.

Use: the treatment, handling and management of personal information by and within TMGI.

Principles
TMGI’s privacy policy is organized along the privacy principles of PIPEDA.

Principle #1 – Accountability
TMGI is responsible for personal information under its control and has designated its Privacy Officer as accountable for the company’s compliance with the following principles.

Accountability for TMGI’s compliance with the provisions of TMGI’s privacy policy rests with the Privacy Office within TMGI, which shall designate one or more persons to be accountable for compliance with the TMGI policy. Other individuals within TMGI may be delegated to act on behalf of designated person(s) or to take responsibility for the day-to-day collection and processing of personal information. The Privacy Office has been created to ensure People have a designated avenue to answer their privacy-related inquiries.
TMGI is responsible for personal information in its possession or custody, including information that has been transferred to third parties who may be offering positions or contracts for which a Person may be a suitable candidate. TMGI will use contractual or other means to provide a comparable level of protection while the information is being used or processed by a third party.
TMGI will implement policies and practices to give effect to these principles, including:

Implementing procedures to protect personal information;
Establishing procedures to receive and respond to complaints and inquiries;
Training staff and communicating to staff information about the organization’s policies and practices; and
Developing information to explain the organization’s policies and procedures.

Principle #2 – Identifying Purposes
Where appropriate, TMGI will identify the purposes for which personal information is collected at or before the time the information is collected (including by making available a summary acknowledgment and consent form to candidates at the time of intake).

TMGI collects personal information only for the following purposes:
To provide services to applicants and contractors, namely assisting them in: (i) finding suitable contract or permanent employment opportunities with Clients; and (ii) managing, planning and advising with respect to their career path and opportunities over time; To verify information contained in applications or resumes, including employment and educational history, professional training and certifications, professional memberships and other related matters as may be reasonably necessary in assessing a candidate or contractor; Administering the employment or contracting relationship with TMGI; To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and To administer and manage its business operations, including personnel and employment matters. Unless required by law, TMGI shall not use or disclose personal information for any purpose other than those described above without first identifying and documenting the new purpose and obtaining the consent of the Person, where such consent may not reasonably be implied.

Principle #3 - Consent
The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except in certain circumstances as described below:

In certain circumstances, personal information can be collected, used, or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual. For example, legal, medical or security reasons may make it impossible or impractical to seek consent. Where appropriate, TMGI will generally seek consent for the use or disclosure of the information at the time of initial collection. In certain circumstances, consent with respect to use or disclosure may be sought after the information has been collected but before use (for example, when TMGI wants to use information for a purpose other than those identified above). In obtaining consent, TMGI will use reasonable efforts to ensure that a Person or persons responsible our People are advised of the identified purposes for which personal information collected will be used or disclosed, including this policy. The form of consent sought by TMGI may vary, depending upon the circumstances and type of information disclosed. In determining the appropriate form of consent, TMGI shall take into account the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of the People involved. The application for employment or contract for services with or for a Client or Clients generally will be considered implied consent to collect, use and disclose personal information for all identified purposes. An individual may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. TMGI will inform the individual of the implications of such withdrawal. In order to withdraw consent, an individual must provide notice to TMGI in writing.

Principle #4 – Limiting Collection
The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by TMGI. Information will be collected by fair and lawful means.

TMGI collects personal information from its People for the purposes described under Principle #2. TMGI may also collect personal information from such third parties as previous employers, educational institutions, professional associations, personal references or other third parties that represent they have the right to disclose the information.

Principle #5 – Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual, or as required by law. Personal information will be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.

TMGI may collect, use or disclose personal information without the individual’s knowledge or consent in certain circumstances as described in Principle #3.1. Without limiting the generality of Principle #2 above, TMGI may disclose: (i) an applicant or contractor’s personal information to: Clients of TMGI that offer positions or contracts for which he or she may be a suitable candidate; Agents of TMGI who are acting on TMGI’s behalf to assist in providing services to him or her or on his or her behalf; or Marketing companies solely so that they may be contacted them to determine feedback and satisfaction with TMGI’s services; and (ii) an employee’s personal information: In the administration of that employee’s benefits; and In providing references to prospective employers, upon receiving the consent of the employee. Only TMGI’s employees with a business need to know, or whose duties reasonably so require, are granted access to personal information about Clients. TMGI will retain personal information for only as long as required to fulfill the identified purposes or as required by law.

Principle #6 – Accuracy
Personal information will be as accurate, complete and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

Information will be sufficiently accurate, complete, and up-to-date to minimize the possibility that inappropriate information may be used to make a decision about that individual. This places inherent obligations on both TMGI and its People. TMGI will reasonably update personal information about applicants and employees as and when necessary to fulfill the identified purposes or upon notification by the individual.

Principle #7 – Safeguards
Personal information will be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

TMGI will protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The nature of the safeguards will vary depending on the sensitivity of the information that has been collected, the amount, distribution and format of the information, and the method of storage. TMGI protects all personal information regardless of the format in which it is held. Our methods of protection include: Physical measures, such as filing cabinets which are kept locked when not in use and restricted access, both to TMGI’s place of business in general and to internal offices as well; Organization measures, such as security clearances and limited access on a need to know basis; and Technological measures with respect to TMGI’s onsite information technology assets, such as the use of passwords, firewalls and encryption. TMGI makes its employees aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information. All of TMGI’s employees and contractors with access to personal information will be required as a condition of employment to contractually respect the confidentiality of personal information. TMGI will protect personal information it discloses to third parties through contractual agreements stipulating the confidentiality of the information and the purposes for which it is to be used.

Principle #8 – Openness
TMGI will make readily available to People and Clients specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.

TMGI will make information about its policies and practices easy to understand, including: the title and address of the person(s) accountable for TMGI’s compliance with the policy and to whom inquiries or complaints can be brought; and the means of gaining access to personal information held by TMGI; and TMGI will make this privacy policy available online at www.masongroup.ca/privacy. On request, a copy of this privacy policy will be provided by mail.

Principle #9 – Individual Access
Upon request, People will be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and will be given access to that information. An individual will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
NOTE: In certain circumstances, TMGI may not be able to provide access to all the personal information it holds about People. Exceptions may include information that is prohibitively costly to provide, information that contains references to other individuals, including their opinions or reviews, information that cannot be disclosed for legal, security or commercial proprietary reasons, information that is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege or, in certain circumstances, information of a medical nature. TMGI will provide the reasons for denying access upon request.

An application will include sufficient information to permit TMGI to provide an account of the existence, use, and disclosure to any third parties of this personal information. TMGI will use the application only for this purpose. TMGI will respond to an application for individual access to personal information within a reasonable time and at minimal or no cost to the individual. TMGI will be as specific as possible in providing an account of third parties to which it has disclosed personal information about an individual. When it is not possible to provide a list of the organizations to which it has actually disclosed information about an individual, TMGI will provide a list of organizations to which it may have disclosed information about the individual. Where appropriate, any amended information will be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in question. When an alleged inaccuracy is not resolved to the satisfaction of the individual, TMGI will record the substance of the unresolved issue. When appropriate, the existence of the unresolved issue will be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in question.

Principle #10 – Challenging Compliance
An individual will be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles to TMGI’s Privacy Officer.

TMGI will maintain procedures for addressing and responding to all inquiries or complaints from People about TMGI’s handling of personal information. The person or persons accountable for compliance with this privacy policy may seek external advice where appropriate before providing a final response to individual complaints. TMGI will investigate all complaints. If a complaint is found to be justified, TMGI will take appropriate measures, including, if necessary, amending its policies and procedures.

Please contact our Privacy Office as follows:
E-mail
privacy@masongroup.ca

Mail
40 Sheppard Avenue West
Suite 512
Toronto, ON
M2N 6K9
Attention: Privacy Office