Society of Rural Physicians of Canada Privacy Policy

Last Update: December 12, 2024

The Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (“SRPC”, “we”, or “us”) values and respects your privacy.

We have prepared this privacy policy to describe the manner in which we collect, use, process,  disclose and retain personal information to that which is necessary in the course of providing services to our members, through our website located at www.srpc.ca  (the “Website”), as well as through other electronic interactions with us, or to that which is permitted by law. We also explain the purposes of such actions. 

By providing us with personal information, by using our website, or by interacting with us via technological means, you agree that we may collect and process your personal information in accordance with the terms and conditions described herein. If you do not agree to comply with and be bound by this policy, you may not visit, access, or use our website or services or share your personal information by technological means with us.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Collection and Use of Personal Information
• How do we Collect Personal Information
• Sharing of Personal Information
• Information about our Website
• Interest-Based Advertising
• Safeguards and Retention
• Your Rights and Choices
• Limitation of liability
• Updates to the Privacy Policy
• Contact Us

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

“Personal information” refers to any information about a natural person that reveals, directly or indirectly or by reference, something about that person’s identity, characteristics, location or activities. Examples include your name, date of birth, personal e-mail address, IP address, financial information and personal identification numbers.

We may collect and use personal information that is necessary for the following purposes:

• Donations
• SRPC Membership
• Newsletter Subscription
• SRPC Rural Mentorship Program
• National Advanced Skills and Training Program for Rural Practice
• Event Registration
• Job Applications

Donations: When you make a donation through our website or over the phone, we collect information including your name, donation preferences and payment information (including billing address, credit card number, expiry date and CVV/CVC code) in order to process your donation. If you choose to make a donation in honour, memory or support of someone else, we also collect that person’s name, email address and memory if you choose to provide it so that we can notify them of the donation. You will have the option to make your donation anonymously.

SRPC Membership: If you apply to be a member of the SRPC, we may collect information such as your desired membership level, email address, name, title, name of your company or organization (optional), your company contact (optional), phone number, address, practice area, designation, medical school (optional), year you graduated from med school (optional), CRJM subscription preferences, and other optional information (e.g., bio, website). We use this information to administer your membership, contact you about your membership and provide SRPC membership benefits.

We may also use this information to determine if you qualify for an SRPC Rural Service Award which we provide from time to time to highlight the noteworthy achievements of our members, and to provide recognition to persons or organizations that have made a significant contribution to rural medicine in Canada. We may collect additional information about your practice for this purpose. Please ensure that your profile remains up to date so that we have current information about you on file.

Newsletter Subscription: If you sign up to receive our email newsletter, we will collect your first and last name and email address to send you newsletters and other communications about the state of rural healthcare, CME-accredited continuing education, and updates on premier conferences and events. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link included at the bottom of each email. Alternatively, you can opt out of receiving email communications by contacting us at the contact information provided in the “Contact Us” section below. Please note that you may continue to receive transactional or membership account-related communications from us.

SRPC Rural Mentorship Program: If you register as a mentor in our mentorship program, we will collect your full name, SRPC membership status, professional status and contact information. If you sign up to be a mentee, we will ask you for your full name, SRPC membership status, professional status and contact information. We will use this information to connect medical students with rural physicians and residents from across the country.

National Advanced Skills and Training Program for Rural Practice: If you apply to our National Advanced Skills and Training Program for Rural Practice , we will collect personal information such as your title, name, address, city/town, province/territory,  and designation, as well as information about your training requirements (such as  requested number of training days, proposed start date, proposed end date, preceptor first and last name, preceptor town/city, preceptor province/territory, proposed training community, training objectives) to assess your eligibility for the program. If you are admitted to the program and receive funding, we will ask you for additional information to process your claim such as copies of receipts and evaluations as well as for information required to reimburse you (e.g., email address for e-Transfer).

Event Registration: If you register for one of our events, we will collect your name and contact information as well as practice, designation, year graduated med school other information to facilitate your registration (e.g., what days you plan to attend, how you heard about the event, what social events you plan to attend, and whether you have any dietary restrictions and the name and work email address of any non-medical partners you wish to register as well). If you require day care, we collect the name and ages of your children. . When you are registering, we may ask you whether you are interested in funding learners. If you elect to donate, we will ask you for your donation amount payment processing. We rely on you to obtain consent from any third parties whose information you provide to us.

In addition, if you attend one of our events (or visit a booth at an event), we may collect business contact information such as your first and last name, company name, work email address and phone number. We collect this information so that we can communicate with you about the event and contact you about future events.

Job Applications: In connection with a job application or related inquiry, you may provide us with certain personal information about yourself (such as that contained in a resume, cover letter, or similar employment-related materials). We use this information for the purpose of processing and responding to your application for current and future career opportunities.

We will always respect the purposes for which we have collected your personal information. If we wish to use or disclose your personal information for other purposes, we will seek your consent, except as permitted by law.

HOW DO WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

We collect personal information directly from you through our website, telephone, or email, or in person when you attend one of our events. We also collect information automatically when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, and activity through cookies or similar technologies, as described below.

By providing us with personal information, you expressly authorize the Organization to collect and process, in accordance with the terms and principles described below, the personal information identified below and as required under applicable laws, including Quebec’s Law 25 and PIPEDA.

Please note that you are always in control of your personal information and can refuse to allow us to collect it, as provided for by law. To do so, you may inform us in writing, by email, or verbally at the time the information is collected. You may also indicate your refusal to a staff member at any time. However, certain personal information is necessary for our operations, and your refusal may result in our inability to provide certain services.

If you wish to withdraw your consent to the collection or processing of your personal information, you may do so at any time by contacting us at info@srpc.ca or at 877-276-1949. We will respect your choice and act in accordance with our legal obligations.

For concerns or complaints regarding your personal information, you may contact us at info@srpc.ca or at 877-276-1949. If your concerns are not addressed to your satisfaction, you have the right to file a complaint with the Commission d’accès à l’information (CAI) in Quebec.

SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

We do not sell or disclose your personal information to third parties without your consent, except as set forth below or as required or permitted by law.

Service Providers: Although we try to avoid sharing your personal information with third parties, your personal information may be transferred (or otherwise made available) to certain third parties that provide services on our behalf. We use service providers to provide services such as hosting the Website and online forms, providing contact and event management services, and providing advertising and analytics services. Our service providers are only provided with the information they need to perform their designated functions and are not authorized to use or disclose personal information for their own marketing or other purposes. These service providers provide us with sufficient guarantees that they have implemented adequate safeguards for the protection of your personal information processed or communicated before your personal information is communicated to them. When our service providers no longer need your personal information, we ask them to destroy it in an appropriate manner.

Our service providers may be located outside the province in which you reside (which may, for individuals in Quebec, include transfer outside of Quebec), in Canada, or in the US or other foreign jurisdictions. Just as well, the personal information we collect and store remains protected and is securely hosted on servers that may (for individuals in Quebec, include transfer or storage outside of Quebec), be located in Canada or in the US or other foreign jurisdictions.

Legal and Compliance: We and our Canadian, U.S. and other foreign service providers may provide your personal information in response to a search warrant or other legally valid inquiry or order, or to another organization for the purposes of investigating a breach of an agreement or contravention of law, detecting, suppressing or preventing fraud, or as otherwise may be required or permitted by applicable Canadian, U.S. or other law or legal process, which may include lawful access by U.S. or foreign courts, law enforcement or other government authorities. Your personal information may also be disclosed where necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims and to investigate or prevent actual or suspected loss or harm to persons or property. Where a disclosure of our customers’ information is required by applicable law, we notify our customer prior to complying with such requirements (to the extent we are not prohibited from doing so) and co-operate with our customer’s instructions with respect to our response.

Sale of Business: We may transfer any information we have about you as an asset in connection with a proposed or completed merger, acquisition, or sale (including transfers made as part of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings) involving all or part of the SRPC or as part of a corporate reorganization or other change in corporate control involving the SRPC. In such a case, and in the event that the business transaction is completed, we will inform you before your personal information is governed by another privacy policy.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR WEBSITE

Visiting our Website:  In general, you can visit our Website without telling us who you are or submitting any personal information. However, we collect the IP (Internet protocol) addresses of all visitors to our Website and other related information such as page requests, browser type, operating system and average time spent on our Website. We use this information to help us understand our Website activity and to monitor and improve our Website.

Cookies: Our Website uses a technology called “cookies.” A cookie is a tiny element of data that our Website sends to a user’s browser, which may then be stored on the user’s hard drive so that we can recognize the user’s computer or device when they return. You may set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to not accept certain cookies. However, if you decide not to accept cookies from our Website, you may not be able to take advantage of all of the Website features.

Analytics: We may use a third-party such as Google Analytics to help us gather and analyze information about the areas visited on the Website (such as the pages most read, time spent, search terms and other engagement data) in order to evaluate and improve the user experience and the Website. These third parties may use cookies and other tracking technologies. For more information about Google Analytics or to prevent the storage and processing of this data (including your IP address) by Google, you can download and install the browser plug-in available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.  You can also obtain additional information on Google Analytics’ data privacy and security at the following links:

• https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and
• https://support.google.com/analytics/topic/2919631

If you deactivate certain cookies, it is possible that some parts of the site may not be available for consultation and/or use or may only be partially available.

Third-Party Links:  Our Website may contain links to other websites that the SRPC Canada does not own or operate. We provide links to third-party websites as a convenience to the user. These links are not intended as an endorsement of or referral to the linked websites. The linked websites have separate and independent privacy policies, notices, and terms of use. We do not have any control over such websites, and therefore we have no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such linked websites may collect, use, or disclose, secure and otherwise treat personal information. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.

INTEREST-BASED ADVERTISING

We work with third parties such as ad networks and other advertising companies that use their own tracking technologies (including cookies and pixel tags) on our Website in order to provide you with tailored advertisements across the Internet. These companies may collect information about your activity on our Website and third-party websites (such as web pages you visit and your interaction with our advertising and other communications) and use this information to make predictions about your preferences, develop personalized content and deliver ads that are more relevant to you on third-party websites. This information may also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our online advertising campaigns.

Opting-out of Interest-Based Advertising: For more information about interest-based advertising and to understand your options, including how you can opt-out of receiving behavioural ads from third-party advertising companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada, please visit the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada website at http://youradchoices.ca/choices.

Please note that even if you opt-out of interest-based advertising by a third-party, these tracking technologies may still collect data for other purposes including analytics and you will still see ads from us, but the ads will not be targeted based on behavioural information about you and may therefore be less relevant to you and your interests.

To successfully opt out, you must have cookies enabled in your web browser (see your browser’s instructions for information on cookies and how to enable them). Your opt-out only applies to the web browser you use so you must opt-out of each web browser on each device you use. Once you opt out, if you delete your browser’s saved cookies, you will need to opt-out again.

SAFEGUARDS AND RETENTION

We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical and physical measures in an effort to safeguard the personal information in our custody and control against theft, loss and unauthorized access, use, modification and disclosure. We restrict access to personal information on a need-to-know basis to employees and authorized service providers who require access to fulfil their job requirements. These measures include controlling access to our offices and equipment, setting up a secure connection between our device and our server on our Web Site, making the employees aware of this Policy, obtaining their commitment to comply with it and to respect the confidentiality of your personal information, and adopting governance measures aimed in particular at the secure storage and destruction of your personal information

We have personal information retention processes designed to retain personal information for no longer than necessary for the purposes of providing services to our customers and in accordance with our contractual commitments or, with respect to the Website, for the purposes set out in this privacy policy, or to otherwise meet legal and business requirements, unless you consent to your Personal Information being used or processed for another purpose.  After this period, your Personal information will be securely destroyed or anonymized.  A member’s Personal Information is retained for the maximum period indicated in our retention schedule.

Despite the adoption of such measures, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your Personal Information. If you have reason to believe that your Personal Information is no longer secure, please contact us immediately as indicated in the “Contact us” section.

YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

Subject to limited exceptions under applicable law, you have the right to access, update and correct inaccuracies in your personal information in our custody or control, and to withdraw your consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your personal information (subject to legal and contractual restrictions).

According to the new provisions of the Act respecting the protection of Personal information in the private sector (RLRQ chap. P-39.1) in the province of Quebec, you also have the right to ask us to stop disseminating your Personal Information or to stop indexing any link attached to your name that would provide such Information if such dissemination violates the law or a court order, the right to be informed when you are the subject of a decision based exclusively on automated processing, the right to file a complaint with us or with the public authority of the province you reside in (and for Quebec’s residents, the Commission d’accès à l’information) and the right to receive a computerized Personal information collected from the member (and not created or inferred using personal information concerning him) in a structured, commonly used technological format. The information must also be communicated, at the applicant’s request, to any person or body authorized by law to collect such information.

You may request access, deletion, updating and corrections of inaccuracies in your personal information in our custody or control, or in Quebec any of the other rights, or withdraw your consent, by emailing or writing to us at the contact information set out below. We may request certain personal information for the purpose of verifying the identity of the individual seeking access to his or her personal information records.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

We take all reasonable measures to ensure a level of confidentiality and security of personal information in accordance with technological standards appropriate to our sector of activity and the sensitivity of the data collected.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge that no computer system offers absolute security and that there is always a degree of risk involved in transmitting Personal Information over the public Internet.

We cannot be held responsible for any breach of confidentiality, hacking, virus, loss, theft, misuse or alteration of Personal Information transmitted or hosted on our systems or those of a third party. You agree to waive all claims in this regard, except in the case of gross negligence or intentional misconduct on our part. You agree to hold us and our officers, directors, affiliates and business partners harmless from any damages of any kind, whether direct or indirect, incidental, special or consequential, arising out of the use of your Personal Information.

In the event of a Privacy Incident involving your Personal Information that poses a high risk to your rights and liberty, you will be notified of such breach as soon as possible, and we will take appropriate steps to preserve the confidentiality and security of your Personal Information.

UPDATES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this privacy policy periodically to reflect changes to our privacy practices. We encourage you to periodically review this page to ensure you are familiar with those changes. We will indicate at the top of this privacy policy when it was most recently updated. We will also provide notice of the update on the home page of our Web Site. The notice will indicate the date of its publication, the general purpose of the changes made and the date on which the changes take effect.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or comments about this privacy policy or the manner in which we or our service providers (including our service providers outside Canada) treat your personal information, or to request access to or correction of your personal information, or to withdraw your consent, please contact us at:

Chief Operating Officer
jenniferm@srpc.ca
877-276-1949