Julie Thibault Professional Corporation (“JTPC”, “we”, or “us”) is committed to keeping our clients’ information confidential, consistent with our obligations as professionals. This commitment extends to personal information of our clients and other individuals (“you”). This Privacy Policy sets out the type of information we collect, how we use that information, and the safeguards we have in place to protect that information and your privacy.
Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Personal Information
Personal Information is any information about an identifiable individual or that permits an individual to be identified. Personal Information does not include your name, business address, and business contact information, such as your business title, email address, or phone number. JTPC generally collects Personal Information that you voluntarily provide, but we may collect information from third parties and as agents on behalf of our clients where we or they have obtained the requisite consent, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We may also collect information through our website, although that information is typically restricted to your name and email address.
JTPC collects, uses, and discloses Personal Information for the following purposes:
- to establish and foster client relationships;
- to manage and maintain ongoing client relationships;
- to perform legal services, represent clients’ interests and provide legal advice;
- to avoid legal conflicts of interest and fulfill all other legal duties;
- to distribute our invitations to events to clients and to individuals who subscribe to our electronic and regular mailing lists;
- to distribute our newsletter;
- to exchange Personal Information with third parties in the context of, and preparation for, legal proceedings, including but not limited to litigation, labour arbitrations, labour board hearings, human rights hearings, mediations, and negotiations;
- to issue invoices, administer accounts and accounts receivable, process payments, and to fulfill other contractual obligations;
- to maintain, develop, and manage our document management, knowledge management and precedent systems and databases;
- to manage and maintain our information technology;
- to recruit potential employees;
- to manage our own human resources (payroll, benefits, and so on); and
- to comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements.
We may from time to time use third party service providers to perform certain functions for us, such as office services and data processing and information technology. In these circumstances, such third party service providers are contractually bound to safeguard the Personal Information transferred to them with measures comparable to that provided by us and described in this Policy and not to retain, use, or disclose Personal Information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to JTPC.
JTPC only keeps Personal Information as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected or to comply with our statutory, regulatory, and professional requirements. When Personal Information is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected, it is either destroyed or rendered anonymous in such a way as to prevent accidental disclosure.
Consent
We will obtain your consent prior to collecting, using, or disclosing Personal Information for any purpose, except where otherwise permitted or required by law. Consent may be provided orally or in writing or may be implied, such as where you continue to provide Personal Information to us in the context of our ongoing relationship, or where you provide a member of JTPC with non-business contact information in connection with our service offerings. This includes providing Personal Information to JTPC in the course of our representing you in litigation matters, which may subsequently require disclosure as part of the litigation proceedings. By providing Personal Information to JTPC, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of such Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and as permitted or required by law. To the extent that you provide Personal Information of another individual to JTPC, you represent that you have the necessary consent or authority to permit us to collect, use, and disclose such Personal Information for the purposes set out in this Policy.
Individuals can withdraw their consent at any time by contacting the Privacy Officer. Please note that, due to our statutory, regulatory, and professional obligations, withdrawing consent for certain uses and disclosures may affect our ability to continue to provide a client with the advice or services it is receiving or wishes to receive from us.
Security
Your Personal Information is treated as private, confidential information by JTPC and we strive to ensure that your Personal Information, regardless of format, is protected and kept secure at all times. Most methods of communication are not fully secure and security measures may create challenges to the efficient exchange of information. Email is often our preferred method of communication and unless you object, we may use unencrypted plain text emails when communicating with you.
Our Website
The only information we collect through our website is the information voluntarily supplied by you if you contact JTPC through the website.
Accessing Your Personal Information
You have the right to verify and correct your Personal Information collected by us. You also have the right to access your Personal Information. These rights are not absolute; however if we deny your request for access, we will provide reasons for doing so. If you wish to access, verify, and/or correct your Personal Information, please send us a written notice at the address below. Retrieval and copying costs will be charged subject to our normal disbursements and professional fees.
Chief Privacy Officer
Julie Thibault Professional Corporation
1100-343 Preston Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1S 1N4
email: julie.thibault@employercounsel.ca
JTPC reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any revised Privacy Policy on our website.