Privacy Policy

1. Introduction
2. To which companies does this Privacy Policy apply?
3. What is Personal Information?
4. How do we collect your Personal Information?
5. Where do we store your Personal Information?
6. How do we use your Personal Information?
7. To whom do we provide your Personal Information?
8. When and how do we obtain your consent?
9. How do we ensure the privacy of your Personal Information when dealing with our partners and other third parties?
10. How long will we utilize, disclose or retain your Personal Information?
11. How can you review your Personal Information that we have collected, utilized or disclosed?
12. How do you know that the Personal Information we have on you is accurate?
13. What if the Personal Information we have on you is inaccurate?
14. How fast will we respond to your written requests?
15. Are there any costs to you for requesting information about your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy or practices?
16. How do we know that it is really you requesting your Personal Information?
17. What safeguards have we implemented to protect your Personal Information?
18. How do you contact us regarding access to your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy and practices?
19. Cookies

1. Introduction

At Advance United Holdings Inc. (“Advance United”), we are committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information.

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you about the types of Personal Information Advance United (as follows, “we” or “us”) collects, uses and discloses. It explains how we use and disclose that information, the choices you have regarding such use and disclosure, and how you may correct that information.

We are proud to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, by complying with the laws and regulations under applicable privacy laws in Canada. This Privacy Policy is designed to meet the standards prescribed by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the regulations thereunder (“PIPEDA”) as well as applicable provincial privacy legislation and regulations, including, and the Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta), the Personal Information Protection Act (British Columbia), and An Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (Quebec).

From time to time, we may make changes to this Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy is current as of the “last revised” date which appears at the top of this page. We will treat Personal Information in a manner consistent with the version of the Privacy Policy under which it was collected and our Privacy Policy, unless we have your consent to treat it differently. This Privacy Policy applies to any information we collect or receive about you, from any source.

2. To which companies does this Privacy Policy apply?

This Privacy Policy applies to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information by Advance United.

3. What is Personal Information?

“Personal Information” is any information that is identifiable with you, as an individual. This information may include but is not limited to your name, company, occupation, mailing address, e-mail address, billing address, phone number, credit card information, and property-related information. Personal Information, however, does not include certain business contact information used for the purpose of communicating or facilitating communication with you, as an individual, in relation to your employment, business or profession.

4. How do we collect your Personal Information?

We will always collect your Personal Information by fair and lawful means (for example, when you register with us). We may collect Personal Information from you directly and/or from third parties, where we have obtained your consent to do so or as otherwise required or permitted by law.

5. Where do we store your Personal Information?

We will keep the Personal Information that we collect at the Advance United offices, Advance United-managed co-located hosting facilities; or at the offices of our third party service providers, as applicable. Your Personal Information is stored in Ontario, Canada.

6. How do we use your Personal Information?

We identify the purposes for which we use your Personal Information at the time we collect such information from you and obtain your consent, in any case, prior to such use. We generally use your Personal Information for the following purposes (the “Purposes”):

  • to provide you with the services and deliverables that you may request from Advance United, from time to time;
  • to manage your account with Advance United;
  • to process your orders from Advance United;
  • to provide you with information about conferences and events;
  • to respond to questions, comments or concerns regarding Advance United;
  • to allow for more meaningful and useful marketing initiatives;
  • to collect your Personal Information in aggregate form to develop consumer profiles, perform sales analysis and identify marketing opportunities and strategies;
  • to collect opinions and comments in regard to Advance United’s operations;
  • to recruit for positions in Advance United;
  • to investigate legal claims;
  • to administer Advance United websites and any Advance United software applications;
  • such purposes for which Advance United may obtain consent from time to time; and
  • such other uses as may be permitted or required by applicable law.

7. To whom do we provide your Personal Information?

We identify to whom, and for what purposes, we disclose your Personal Information, at the time we collect such information from you and obtain your consent to such disclosure.

We may transfer your Personal Information to third party service providers with whom we have a contractual agreement that includes appropriate privacy standards, where such third parties are assisting us with the Purposes – such as service providers that provide telephone support or data storage or processing.

In addition, we may send Personal Information outside of the country for the Purposes, including for process and storage by service providers in connection with such Purposes. However, you should note that to the extent that any Personal Information is out of the country, it is subject to the laws of the country in which it is held, and may be subject to disclosure to the governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies of such other country, pursuant to the laws of such country.  For written information about our policies and practices regarding service providers outside of Canada, contact our Privacy Information Officer (see question 17 below).

8. When and how do we obtain your consent?

We generally obtain your consent prior to collecting, and in any case, prior to using or disclosing your Personal Information for any purpose. You may provide your consent to us either orally, electronically or in writing. The form of consent that we seek, including whether it is express or implied, will largely depend on the sensitivity of the Personal Information and the reasonable expectations you might have in the circumstances.

9. How do we ensure the privacy of your Personal Information when dealing with our partners and other third parties?

We ensure that all partners and other third parties that are engaged to perform services on our behalf and are provided with Personal Information are contractually required to observe the intent of this Privacy Policy and our Privacy Policy and practices.

10. How long will we utilize, disclose or retain your Personal Information?

Advance United shall retain records for the period of their immediate or current use, unless longer retention is necessary for historical reference, research, or to comply with contractual or legal requirements. The records of the Advance United shall be classified for purposes of retention as follows:

  • Class 1: Permanent Retention. Records that are permanent or essential shall be retained and preserved indefinitely. Examples of permanent records include official minutes of Advance United board actions, Advance United policies, annual reports, customer service correspondence, as well as records of customer identification information.
  • Class 2: Current Records. Current records are records that for convenience, reference, or other reasons are retained by Advance United. Current records will be retained for seven years. Examples of current records include general correspondence, financial records, and records and payment regarding employee or consultant agreements.
  • Class 3: No Retention Required. Documents and other materials that are not “records” need not be retained. Documents and other materials (including originals and duplicates) that are not otherwise required to be retained, are not necessary to the functioning or continuity of Advance United and which have no legal significance may be destroyed when no longer needed. Examples include materials and documents generated for the convenience of the person generating them, draft documents (other than some contracts) and duplicate copies of records that are no longer needed. Specific examples include reminder messages, miscellaneous correspondence not requiring follow-up or action, e-mails that do not need to be retained under this policy as well as chronological files. With limited exceptions, no specific retention requirements are assigned to documents in this category. Instead, it is up to the originator or recipient to determine when the document’s business utility has ended.

11. How can you review your Personal Information that we have collected, utilized or disclosed?

If you make a written request to review any Personal Information about you that we have collected, utilized or disclosed, we will provide you with any such Personal Information to the extent required by law. We will make such Personal Information available to you in a form that is generally understandable, and will explain any abbreviations or codes.

12. How do you know that the Personal Information we have on you is accurate?

We will ensure that your Personal Information is kept as accurate, complete and up-to-date as possible. We will not routinely update your Personal Information, unless such a process is necessary. We expect you, from time to time, to supply us with written updates to your Personal Information, when required. We encourage you to maintain your personal information and contact information via the Advance United Marketplace by logging into your account on advanceunited.ca.

13. What if the Personal Information we have on you is inaccurate?

At any time, you can challenge the accuracy or completeness of your Personal Information in our records. If you successfully demonstrate that your Personal Information in our records is inaccurate or incomplete, we will amend the Personal Information as required. Where appropriate, we will transmit the amended information to third parties having access to your Personal Information.

14. How fast will we respond to your written requests?

We will attempt to respond to each of your written requests not later than thirty (30) days after receipt of such requests. We will advise you in writing if we cannot meet your requests within this time limit. You have the right to make a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your applicable provincial privacy commissioner in respect of this time limit.

15. Are there any costs to you for requesting information about your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy or practices?

We will not charge any costs for you to access your Personal Information in our records without first providing you with an estimate of the approximate costs, if any.

16. How do we know that it is really you requesting your Personal Information?

We may request that you provide sufficient identification to permit access to the existence, use or disclosure of your Personal Information. Any such identifying information shall be used only for this purpose.

17. What safeguards have we implemented to protect your Personal Information?

We have implemented physical, organizational, contractual and technological security measures to protect your Personal Information from loss or theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The only employees, who are granted access to your Personal Information, are those with a business ‘need-to-know’ or whose duties reasonably require such information.

18. How do you contact us regarding access to your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy and practices?

All comments, questions, concerns or complaints regarding your Personal Information or our Privacy Policy and practices, should be forwarded to our Privacy Officer as follows:

In writing:
Attn: Jim Atkinson [Privacy Officer]
Advance United Holdings Inc.
372 Bay Street, Suite 301
Toronto, Ontario M5H 2W9
Canada

By e-mail: jim.atkinson -at- advanceunited.ca

19. Cookies.

Our websites may pass cookies, web beacons/pixel tags, and other technologies to collection certain information about visitors to our websites (a string of information that is sent by a website to be resident on your system’s hard drive or storage media, and/or temporarily in your computer’s memory). You may set your browser to decline cookies. If you do so, however, you may not be able to fully experience some interactive features of our websites. This website uses Google reCAPTCHA v3 to prevent spam on our contact form. reCAPTCHA v3 works by analyzing your behaviour on our site to determine whether or not you’re submitting a legitimate form request. When visiting our site you will be prompted to either accept or decline cookies. You may opt-out of reCAPTCHA v3 behaviour tracking.