THE CANADIAN REAL ESTATE
ASSOCIATION
Policy On the Collection, Use and Disclosure
Of Personal Information
"Privacy Policy"
BACKGROUND
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is a national
trade Association representing some 103 Real Estate Boards,
10 Provincial Real Estate Associations, one Territorial Association
and all licensed brokers and salespersons (REALTORS) who
are Members of those organizations. CREA's mission is to
represent and promote the interests of its Members, enhance
Member professionalism and ability to succeed, and advocates
policies that ensure real estate property rights and ownership.
THE PRIVACY CODE OF THE CANADIAN REAL
ESTATE ASSOCIATION In 2001, the members of The Canadian Real Estate Association
approved the adoption of a national Privacy Code. This Code,
which applies to all member Boards, Associations, brokerage
firms, brokers and salespersons, is comprised of the 10 Principles
of privacy, which set in place a solid foundation within
which the REALTOR® community can protect the confidentiality
of the Personal Information of its customers, clients and
the general public.
CREA adheres to and abides by the Principles set out in
the Privacy Code.
Those Principles have been incorporated into this Policy,
which is intended to outline CREA's practices with regard
to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information.
DEFINITIONS For the purpose of this Policy:
"Personal Information" means any
information about an identifiable individual but does not
include:
- The name, title, business address or telephone
number of an employee of an organization;
- Aggregated information that cannot be associated
with a specific individual.
"Member" includes,
for the purpose of this Policy, licensed brokers and salespersons
belonging to member Boards/Associations and individuals belonging
either directly to CREA or to Councils of CREA.
COLLECTION, USE & DISCLOSURE OF
PERSONAL INFORMATION
COLLECTION
Unless permitted by law, or within the terms of
this Privacy Policy or CREA's Bylaws and Rules, no Personal
Information is collected from an individual without first
obtaining the consent of the individual to the collection,
use and dissemination of that information.
CREA may collect Personal Information of Members directly
from the member. Personal Information may also be provided
to CREA by the Board/Association, which is collected at
the time of the individual's application for membership.
CREA's Privacy Code requires that the collection of such
information by the Board/Association be done with the informed
consent of the individual.
Information on properties listed for sale on MLS® systems
may be provided to CREA by Boards/Associations for display
on CREA's property database websites. This information is
collected by the listing salesperson, and may be Personal
Information if it can be associated with an individual.
USE & DISCLOSURE
CREA uses the Personal Information provided to it for various
purposes, all of which are intended to fulfill its obligations
as a national trade association and further its mission statement.
These purposes include:
- Providing leadership, support, counsel and
representation on behalf of organized real estate;
- Providing products, services, information
and advice to individual members and Boards/Associations;
- Operating and maintaining its residential
property website (REALTOR.ca),
its commercial property website ( www.icx.ca )
and its Intranet site ( www.realtorlink.ca; www.lienimmobilier.ca );
- Administering and facilitating membership
in the Boards/Associations across Canada;
- Administering trademark and competition
law compliance programs;
- Furthering national policies;
- Ensuring compliance with bylaws, rules and
regulations of CREA and Boards/Associations;
- Administering CREA's Code of Ethics and
Standards of Business Practice;
- Meeting any legal or regulatory requirements;
- Any other purposes consistent with CREA's
mission statement and strategic plan.
DISCLOSURE TO THIRD PARTIES
Certain Personal
Information of Members, (name, licensed status, firm name and
business contact information) is available to other Members
of CREA through REALTOR Link®, a password-protected
Intranet site. CREA may also disclose personal information
of members to Boards/Associations or real estate regulators
for membership or related purposes.
CREA may also disclose Personal Information of Members to
third parties, such as lawyers, consultants, affinity partners
or others who work with CREA to collect and analyse information
from Members, to improve the products and services offered
by CREA or to provide products and services to Members. Some
of these third parties may send information to or contact
the individual as part of membership surveys.
Personal Information may only be provided to organizations
providing services to CREA if they agree to use such information
solely for the purposes of providing services to CREA and
under the instruction of CREA and, with respect to that information,
to act in a manner consistent with this Policy.
CONSENT
By providing Personal Information to CREA,
the individual is consenting to its collection, use and disclosure
in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Consent to the collection and certain uses
of the information may be refused or withdrawn by the individual
subject to legal or contractual requirements. In that circumstance,
CREA may not be able to offer certain information or services
to the individual.
USE AND DISCLOSURE WITHOUT CONSENT
In certain circumstances, CREA may be permitted or required
by law to disclose Personal Information without consent.
Those circumstances may include;
- Where the information was public;
- Where required by law;
- Where it is necessary to collect dues;
- Where it is necessary to protect the rights
of an identifiable person or group;
- Other circumstances recognized by the privacy
legislation as permitting disclosure without consent.
PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION
CREA takes reasonable steps to protect information from
unauthorized access or disclosure in a manner commensurate
with its sensitivity, value and criticality. This Policy
applies regardless of the media on which the information
is stored, the location where the information is stored,
the systems used to process the information or the processes
by which information is handled.
The measures used to protect Personal Information include
physical measures (e.g. locked filing cabinets), organizational
measures (e.g. information is available to other persons
only on a need-to-know-basis) and technological measures
(e.g. computer passwords).
While CREA puts in place reasonable precautions, we cannot
guarantee at all times the security of the information. No
method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure,
particularly with regard to Internet applications.
ACCURACY
CREA attempts to insure the Personal Information under its
control is as accurate, complete, current and relevant as
is necessary for its identified purpose.
Personal Information of Members which is uploaded directly
to CREA's database by Member Boards/Associations is the responsibility
of the Member and or the Boards/Associations.
Listing information uploaded by the Boards/Associations
to CREA's property database websites is the responsibility
of the listing REALTOR® and/or the Board/Association.
Information in closed files is not updated or maintained.
RETENTION
CREA retains Personal Information as long as is necessary
to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. CREA has
in place a Record Retention and Destruction Policy consistent
with the nature and need for the information and legislative
requirements.
ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION
Individuals may request access to any Personal Information
about themselves retained in CREA records.
All access requests must be in writing and must be directed
to CREA's Chief Privacy Compliance Officer. Access requests
must be accompanied by appropriate identification satisfactory
to CREA. CREA has the right prior to responding to any access
requests, to take whatever steps it deems necessary to confirm
the identify the person making the request. CREA will endeavour
to provide any applicable information within 30 days of the
date of the request.
CREA may charge a nominal amount for costs incurred in providing
the information.
Where an individual believes that the Personal Information
in the CREA file is inaccurate, he or she may have appended
to the record any alternative information, where CREA is
of the view that the appended information is, in fact, correct.
CREA has the right to decline to provide access to Personal
Information in a number of circumstances, including where
the information;
- Is subject to solicitor-client privilege;
- Could interfere with law enforcement, investigative
or regulatory functions;
- Would disclose of Personal Information of
another individual;
- Would cause serious harm to another individual;
- Is confidential business information that
may harm CREA or the competitive position of a third party;
- Any other circumstances recognized by the
privacy legislation.
Where the information cannot be disclosed, the individual
making the request will be provided with the reasons for
non-disclosure.
POLICY AMENDMENTS This
Policy may be revised by CREA from time to time. This Policy
and any amendments will be posted on www.crea.ca and
on www.realtorlink.ca and www.lienimmobilier.ca.
WHERE TO DIRECT QUESTIONS Any questions or concerns relating to the collection, use
or disclosure of Personal Information by CREA may be directed
to:
William D. Harrington
The Chief Privacy Compliance Officer (CPCO),
The Canadian
Real Estate Association
200 Catherine Street, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON
K2P 2K9
Phone: (613) 237-7111
Fax: (613) 234-2567
Email: privacy@crea.ca
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