Privacy Policies and Procedures

Our Commitment
"Personal information" is information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual, except business contact information and publically available information (e.g. telephone directories).

The Centre for Christian Studies (CCS) is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its students, graduates, donors, volunteers, friends and staff. We value your trust and are committed to being transparent and accountable in how we treat the information you choose to share with us.

Through our work and events we gather and use personal information. We will carefully protect this information and only use it for the purposes it was intended for, or for which consent has been given.

Privacy Practices
CCS collects and gathers personal information for the following purposes:

• To comply with all the regulations set out by the Government of Canada for an educational institution
• To administer transactions such as the creation of donation receipts
• To build strong relationships within our community

• All personal information, both electronic and paper, is kept in confidence and contained in a safe environment and protected from unauthorized access.
• CCS does not sell or trade personal information and does not "rent" out our mailing lists.
• Our staff are only able to access personal information based on their need to deal with the information for the reason it was obtained. Safeguards such as passwords are in place to ensure information is not shared more widely than is necessary.
• CCS only collects the information that is appropriate for the circumstances. We will provide opportunity for individuals to opt not to have information shared for reasons beyond those for which it was collected, except where required by law (e.g. we must provide certain information to the government as an educational institution).

Comments and Feedback
CCS welcomes any comments regarding our Privacy Policy or procedures. We have appointed a Privacy Manager who would be pleased to speak with you.

Please forward all correspondence to Cathie Clement (204-783-4490).

CCS Privacy Procedures

1. All CCS staff and volunteers must adhere to the following practices in regards to the privacy of our community:
   • Keep all personal information, both electronic and paper, in confidence and contained in a safe environment and protected from unauthorized access.
   • Do not sell or trade personal information or "rent" out our mailing lists.
   • Only collect the information that is appropriate for the circumstances. All documents must indicate that individuals can opt not to have information shared for reasons beyond those for which it was collected, except where required by law.
   • If asked to share personal information of someone in our community, first ensure that the individual is comfortable with her/his information being shared.
2. A member of staff shall be named as Privacy Manager (PM). This position is to be reviewed periodically, as needed.
3. The PM must ensure that:
   • Staff are only able to access personal information based on their need to deal with the information for the reason it was obtained
   • Safeguards, such as passwords in the database or network, are in place to ensure information is not shared more widely than is necessary
   • Staff are aware of the privacy policy and that all staff are complying with the policy.
4. When collecting personal information of applicants to any of our programs or events the documents used to collect the information must include the following disclaimer: The use, retention and disclosure of personal information collected from this form is done in compliance with privacy legislation including, but not limited to, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
5. When collecting personal information from confirmed students or con ed participants (eg. collecting info regarding dietary needs or medical conditions) the form used to collect the information must include the following disclaimer: In accordance with Privacy Legislation, CCS will keep the above information confidential (unless required by law to share it).
6. When creating a form to solicit donations or gather information (includes Tapestry, Annual Appeal and other appeals) the following disclaimer must be included somewhere on the document: The use, retention and disclosure of personal information collected from this form is done in compliance with privacy legislation including, but not limited to, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.
7. When adding a new individual to the database, before selecting "Y" for the Solicit and Newsletter boxes, CCS must have verbal, written or implied consent to do so (eg. implied consent might be the receiving a donation or becoming a CCS student in the program).