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Privacy Policy
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At GetHomes.ca, we respect the privacy of our clients and we are committed to keeping your personal information accurate, confidential, secure, and private. We have adopted the following Privacy Policy to ensure that GetHomes.ca continues to meet its commitment to your privacy. The following sections, read as a whole, constitute the GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy:
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- Introduction
- The Ten Principles of Privacy
- Application of the Ten Principles
- Questions, Concerns and Complaints About the GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy
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Introduction
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GetHomes.ca is a web site (the "Site") that offers:
In the course of providing its business activities, GetHomes.ca may collect certain personal information about its clients with suppliers and other stakeholders in accordance with applicable laws.
"Personal Information" means information about an identifiable individual. This may include, without limitation, the individuals name, home address, age, income, credit history, or other financial information, credit card information, personal preferences, and other information about his or her family. Personal Information does not include the name, title, business address, or telephone number of an employee of an organization.
The GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy is based on, and complies with, Canadas Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"), which includes the Ten Privacy Principles outlined in the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Privacy. For more information about this legislation, please visit the official Web site of the Privacy Commission of Canada at http://www.privcom.gc.ca.
This Privacy Policy describes the ten principles that GetHomes.ca follows to ensure that we protect your Personal Information when we collect, use, or disclose it in the course of carrying on commercial activities in Canada. All of our employees who have access to Personal Information must adhere to the GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy and related procedures.
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The ten principles of privacy:
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The following ten principles govern our actions as they relate to the use of Personal Information:
- Accountability
- Identifying purposes
- Consent
- Limiting collection
- Limiting use, disclosure, and retention
- Accuracy
- Safeguarding personal information
- Openness
- Access
- Addressing complaints
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Principle 1: Accountability
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GetHomes.ca is accountable for all Personal Information in its possession or custody, including Personal Information disclosed to third parties for purposes of providing services requested by you.
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Principle 2: Identifying purposes
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GetHomes.ca will inform you of the purposes for which it is collecting any Personal Information, before or at the time the information is collected.
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Principle 3: Consent
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GetHomes.ca will obtain your consent before or when it collects, uses, or discloses your Personal Information. Consent can be express, implied, or given through an authorized representative. You may withdraw your consent at any time (subject to any legal consequences of which you will be informed). GetHomes.ca, however, may collect, use, or disclose Personal Information without your knowledge or consent in exceptional circumstances where such collection, use, or disclosure is permitted or required by law.
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Principle 4: Limiting collection
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The information collected by GetHomes.ca will be limited to those details necessary for the purposes it has identified to you or to perform the services you have requested. Information will be collected by fair and lawful means.
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Principle 5: Limiting use, disclosure, and retention
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Personal Information will only be used or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected unless you have otherwise consented. Personal Information may only be retained for the amount of time needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected. In certain exceptional circumstances, GetHomes.ca may have a legal duty or right to disclose Personal Information without your knowledge or consent with respect to matters that concern the companys or the publics interest.
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Principle 6: Accuracy
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GetHomes.ca will keep Personal Information as accurate, complete, and current as necessary to fulfill the identified purposes for which it was collected. You may have this information amended where it is found to be inaccurate or incomplete.
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Principle 7: Safeguarding personal information
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Personal Information is safeguarded using measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
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Principle 8: Openness
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GetHomes.ca will make information available to its clients and employees about the policies and procedures GetHomes.ca uses to manage Personal Information. You have access to this information through our website, or through alternative means if requested.
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Principle 9: Access
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Upon written request, you will be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information, and will be given access to it. GetHomes.ca will respond to such requests as efficiently as possible. If GetHomes.ca is prohibited from providing such access they will explain the reasons for the lack of access, except where prohibited by law.
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Principle 10: Addressing complaints and suggestions
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You may challenge GetHomes.ca compliance with this Privacy Policy. GetHomes.ca has policies and procedures to receive, investigate, and respond to complaints and questions regarding this Privacy Policy and our collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information. You may contact the GetHomes.ca Privacy Officer to express any concerns or to request access to your Personal Information. The contact information for this individual is provided at the end of this document.
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Application of the ten Privacy Principles - How we treat your personal information
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The kind of information we collect
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GetHomes.ca gathers and uses Personal Information in order to provide you with the products and services you have requested, including but not limited to, information about residential real estate listings and about real estate agents. GetHomes.ca may also use your Personal Information to update you about our services and to offer you additional products and services that you may be interested in, so that we may continue to serve your needs.
If you visit the GetHomes.ca Web site, we do not collect personally identifiable information about you unless you provide it. All information that you do provide us with is securely maintained and kept strictly confidential. This Privacy Policy does not apply to aggregated data from which it is not possible to determine the identity of a specific individual. GetHomes.ca reserves the right to use aggregated data in any way that it determines appropriate.
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How we use your information
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At GetHomes.ca we use Personal Information for three general purposes:
- To communicate with you in order to provide you with our products and services.
- To communicate your contact information to Royal LePage sales representatives or his/her representative so that they may provide you the information you requested.
- For inclusion in documentation relating to products and services we provide to you.
- To gather transactional information to monitor our level of service and to periodically contact our customers to determine their level of satisfaction with the services offered by GetHomes.ca.
We will only use Personal Information for the purpose that we have disclosed to you. If we want to use your information for a different purpose, we will notify you and ask for your consent first.
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When we are permitted to disclose your information
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GetHomes.ca is obliged to keep your Personal Information confidential except under the following circumstances:
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(i) When authorized by you
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Certain of the services offered by GetHomes.ca may require us to obtain Personal Information about you in order to perform the services you have engaged us to provide. We will always obtain consent from you first, and we will never use the information for purposes other than those we have told you about.
You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to any legal implications (which we will inform you about). In some cases, if you do not consent to our use or disclosure of certain Personal Information, we may be unable to continue to provide all or part of the services you have requested.
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(ii) When required by law
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The type of information we are legally required to disclose usually relates to government tax reporting requirements. In some cases, however, such as under a court order, we may be required to disclose certain information to persons specified in the court order. We will only provide the specific information requested and only upon being satisfied that the authorities have legitimate grounds to request the information.
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(iii) When permitted by law
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The legislation has provided certain situations where GetHomes.ca is legally permitted to disclose Personal Information without your consent. Examples include situations involving the collection of debt in arrears, medical emergencies, or suspicion of illegal activities.
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With whom we may share your information
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GetHomes.ca employees
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In the course of daily operations, access to sensitive Personal Information is limited to those employees with a legitimate reason for accessing it. As a condition of their employment, GetHomes.ca employees are required to follow all applicable laws and regulations, including this Privacy Policy. Unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential client information by any GetHomes.ca employee is prohibited and may result in disciplinary measures.
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GetHomes.ca affiliates
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In order to better meet your needs, we may share some of your Personal Information with our affiliates. We will only do this with your express consent and you may withdraw this consent at any time. The procedure for withdrawing consent is outlined below under the section "Opting Out."
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GetHomes.ca third-party suppliers
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As you may know, we may engage and coordinate third-party suppliers to provide you with certain services offered through GetHomes.ca. Such suppliers are only given the information that is needed to provide the specific service for which we contract them to provide. Suppliers are contractually obliged to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information and are prohibited from doing anything with this information that we have not authorized them to do. They are required to treat your Personal Information in a manner consistent with the GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy.
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Sale of Business
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We may transfer your personally identifiable information to a third party in connection with a sale, merger, or other disposition (whether of assets, stock, or otherwise) of our business.
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How we safeguard information.
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GetHomes.ca has extensive controls in place to maintain the security of its information and information systems. Client files are stored according to the sensitivity of the information contained therein. Appropriate controls (such as restricted access) are placed on our computer systems and data processing procedures. Physical access to areas where Personal Information is gathered, processed, or stored is limited to authorized employees. When you telephone a GetHomes.ca employee to speak about your file, you may be asked for some personally identifying information. This type of safeguard is designed to ensure that only you, or someone authorized by you, has access to your file.
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Website security
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The GetHomes.ca Web site may contains links to other Web sites, including those of its business partners. GetHomes.ca is in no way responsible and cannot guarantee the content or privacy of other sites linked to the GetHomes.ca Web Site.
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Accessing and amending your information
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As a client of GetHomes.ca, you have the right to access the Personal Information we keep in your file and you have the right to verify or amend the information if it is shown to be inaccurate. If you would like to view the Personal Information held in your file, please make a written request to the Privacy Officer at the address listed below, under "Questions, Concerns, and Complaints". We will respond to your request as efficiently as possible.
To make a change, please make a similar request in writing to GetHomes.ca.
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Anonymous information and "cookies"
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GetHomes.ca may collect anonymous information about you. This means that the information collected cannot be traced back to a specific person. For example, our Web servers may record certain information automatically when you visit GetHomes.ca website. This information is collected using "cookies" and might include the pages you visited, your IP (Internet protocol) address and other site usage statistics. This anonymous information is used for research and analytical purposes only (like evaluating how many visitors our Web site receives or which pages they visit most often). It does not reveal any Personal Information about you, the user. This aggregate data may be disclosed to third parties, but never with personally identifying information.
"Cookies" are small text files that contain a unique identification number that allows our computers to identify your Web browser (but not you) each time you visit our Web site that uses cookies. The information helps GetHomes.ca improve the functionality of the site and enhance the navigation and security of your session. Most major Web sites use this technology and most browsers are set up to accept them.
You may configure your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, and you may refuse to accept them entirely. However, if you refuse to accept cookies, you may limit the functionality that we can provide to you when you visit our site.
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Questions, Concerns, and Complaints
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If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about your Personal Information, or about the GetHomes.ca Privacy Policy, contact our privacy officer using the contact information provided below:
Max M. Cohen
General Counsel and Secretary
41 Wynford Drive,
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 1K1
Tel.: (416) 380-7551
E-mail: mcohen@cohenlaw.ca
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