Why a corporate privacy policy?
CSPE has always valued your privacy and acted to ensure that it is protected. CSPE has enacted this corporate privacy policy to put into writing its current practices and to conform to recent and anticipated legislative requirements requiring organizations to have written privacy policies. We have looked to the 10 principles of the Canadian Standards Association's (CSA's) Model Code to formulate this policy, and the CSA code has been incorporated into federal privacy legislation.

This privacy policy applies to all personal information, excluding CSPE employee information and information in the public domain, that has been and will be collected, used and disclosed by CSPE. CSPE has a separate but consistent online privacy statement for the CSPE web site (www.cspexecs.com).

What do we mean by "personal information"?
Throughout this policy, we discuss "personal information," and it is important from the outset to clarify what we mean by this term. "Personal information" is information that reveals a distinctive trait about you and helps others identify you. Some personal information such as your business address may be found in the public domain, for example in telephone or professional directories. The focus of this policy is personal information collected, used and disclosed by CSPE that is NOT in the public domain.

What types of personal information does CSPE collect and use?
Primarily, CSPE collects and uses personal information about its members. CSPE also has personal information about individuals who attend CSPE-sponsored events and seminars and submit articles to the CSPE newsletter. CSPE assigns a personal identifier called a "user ID and password" to each member to allow them to log on to the gated "members only" portion of the CSPE web site.

CSPE collects personal information directly from individuals.

• Personal information will be used for registration and hotel reservations, and to update (address changes, emails etc) the CSPE member database. The CSPE is an affiliated society of the Canadian Medical Association and the sharing of contact information between CSPE and the CMA allows us to keep you informed about physician leader programs.
• The CSPE creates a list of participants at its annual general meeting to enhance your networking opportunities. This is not shared beyond the conference participants or used for any other purpose.
• The CSPE maintains an on-line directory of members that can only be accessed through the gated "members only" section of the web site.

Why does CSPE collect and use personal information?
CSPE collects and uses only the personal information necessary to achieve the following purposes:

1. to determine an individual's eligibility for membership in the CSPE;
2. to determine an individual's eligibility to benefit from the services of one of CSPE's programs;
3. to provide and to communicate information about CSPE member benefits and services (e.g., the delivery of publications and travel reservations, advocacy, career placement assistance, etc);
4. to develop and to market products and services tailored to the interests of CSPE members;
5. to update the contact information in the CSPE database;
6. to engage members and physicians in CSPE's policy development process.

In identifying these six purposes, CSPE's overarching goal is to give you control over how your personal information is used. For example, if you indicate to CSPE that you do not wish to receive certain publications, participate in surveys or receive information about new benefits and services, your preference will be noted in our database, and you will no longer receive correspondence from us on these issues.

When and to whom does CSPE disclose personal information?
CSPE does not sell personal information. CSPE will only disclose your personal information to an organization for a purpose outlined in this policy, unless we obtain your explicit consent for a new purpose. For example, one purpose identified above is maintaining up-to-date membership and client contact information. CSPE might also disclose personal information to third parties or to organizations or companies that are not CSPE-affiliated companies or divisions if these organizations have contracted with CSPE to help us provide products and services. For example, CSPE might out-source the distribution of one of its publications. Rest assured, however, that CSPE takes contractual precautions to ensure that your personal information is protected by these third parties at a level comparable to CSPE's own measures.

Within CSPE itself, your personal information is available on a strictly need-to-know basis. Only certain CSPE employees in the Conference and Travel Management Department have access to personal information about food sensitivities.

What if you object to CSPE's collection, use or disclosure of personal information?
CSPE wants you to understand the purposes for which we collect personal information. And we want to be sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use and disclose your personal information for those purposes. You may at any time, subject to restrictions required by law, withdraw your consent to the further collection, use or disclosure of your personal information by CSPE for some or all of the purposes identified in this policy. You need only provide CSPE with reasonable notice in writing of your intention and the details of your withdrawal.

Please note, however, that your objection to the disclosure of other information might mean that CSPE is unable to continue to provide you with some products or services. It is your responsibility to contact CSPE in order to determine how an objection to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information might affect the services supplied.

How accurate is the personal information held by CSPE?
CSPE makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and currency of your personal information so that we might fulfill the purposes for which it was collected in the first place. Your personal information is subject to change so please advise us of such changes so that we might better meet your needs.

How do you access the personal information held by CSPE?
You may send a written request to the attention of the

Chief Privacy Officer
1559 Alta Vista Drive
PO Box 59005
Ottawa ON  K1G 5T7

or to carol.rochefort@cma.ca or ccmd@rogers.com to obtain the personal information held about you by CSPE.

Within a reasonable time frame, CSPE will then advise you in writing whether it has such personal information and the nature of this information unless there is the rare occurrence that the release of such information is legally prohibited. If CSPE cannot release the personal information, we will provide you with the reasons for denying access.

You may challenge the accuracy and completeness of the personal information that is maintained by CSPE. CSPE will amend personal information when an individual successfully demonstrates inaccuracy or incompleteness.

How secure is your personal information?
CSPE makes every reasonable effort to protect your personal information by implementing security safeguards against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. CSPE uses physical, organizational and technological measures as methods of protection. For instance, only a limited number of staff have access to such sensitive information as credit card numbers and food sensitivities. An even smaller number can actually change the information for updating purposes. Moreover, CSPE will ensure that employees are aware of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of personal information.

How long does CSPE retain personal information?
CSPE keeps personal information as long as it is needed to fulfill the purposes identified above. When personal information is no longer required to fulfill the identified purposes, it will be safely and securely destroyed. Moreover, CSPE will retain personal information that is the subject of an access request for as long as is necessary to allow an individual to exhaust any legal remedy that is provided for in applicable federal or provincial privacy legislation.

What if you have a question or concern about this privacy policy or CSPE privacy practices?
You may address any questions or concerns relating to this Privacy Policy or CSPE privacy practices to the

Chief Privacy Officer
1559 Alta Vista Drive
PO Box 59005
Ottawa ON  K1G 5T7

or to carol.rochefort@cma.ca or ccmd@rogers.com to obtain the personal information held about you by CSPE. For more information about your personal privacy rights, you might contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at the web site: http://wwwprivcomm.gc.ca or the privacy commissioner for your province or territory.