Privacy

Last revised 29 May 2023.

Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your information — over the Internet, on the telephone, or through our offices – has always been fundamental to the way we do business at Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. We operate on the basis of a Privacy Policy and related procedures that guide the handling of the personal information we collect. We have created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to protecting the privacy of our members, partners and potential clients. This policy and related procedures are consistent with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Privacy Statement

This policy deals only with personal information handled by (WESK). Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. The following explains how WESK handles personal information. WESK reserves the right to change this policy within the guidelines of PIPEDA and it may be updated periodically. These changes may affect our use of your personal information. Accordingly, please check for changes regularly.

Accountability

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. is accountable for all personal information under its control. Our Privacy Officer can be reached by:

Any questions about the handling of personal information should be directed to our Privacy Officer. Please see below for more information about the process for referring questions.

Purpose of Personal Information

The purpose for which Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. collects personal information will be identified at or before the time the information is collected. WESK may collect personal information for the purposes of:

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. will not use personal information for any other purpose than identified at or before the time of collection.

Consent

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. seeks meaningful consent for all personal information we collect, use and disclose through information provided to individuals prior to collection, or at the time of collection.

If you have voluntarily provided information, you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information as described in this privacy policy. As required by PIPEDA, WESK will not use personal information for any purpose other than that for which you consented. Should WESK require personal information for a new purpose, we will contact you to seek consent for that new use.

For lending services, for example, we need to know your credit worthiness. For this reason, we may contact other lenders or credit bureaus to give us information on your credit history. We may also contact employers or other personal references to verify information that you have given us. We will not do this without your consent, but please remember that if you do not give your consent we will not be able to provide our loan services to you.

With your consent we will disclose your credit history with us to other lenders or credit bureaus in order to support the credit approval process. We release only information required to identify you, as well as facts from our credit records about repayment history.

Limits for Collecting, Using, Disclosing and Keeping Personal Information

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. does not collect, use or disclose personal information of individuals except when individuals give consent and provide the information on a voluntary basis. There may be occasions where more specific personal information is necessary for us to proceed with a request for information, or provide you with a service. In such cases, we will provide you with a description of the information we need. In all cases,

WESK limits the amount and type of information collected to only the personal information that is required to provide the individual with the requested information or service. We collect only information that is voluntarily provided by you and undertake that such information will be kept strictly confidential.

General information: such as name & address is collected for client communication, service and administration for example: membership, business advising, bulletins & newsletters.

Financial information is used to assess your eligibility for a business loan: date of birth, social insurance number, bank information, etc.

Members of WESK can access the ‘members only’ section of our website which discloses names, business addresses, business telephone, fax, email and website. For members with business profiles, their profile is also accessible. WESK obtains agreement from their members with the purchase of their membership, that the member information is not intended for duplication or distribution to persons or businesses outside of WESK however monitoring and control of this policy is effective only if notification of violations is received.

We retain personal information only as long as is necessary to provide the individual with the requested service or information and delete or destroy this information after that time. In some cases, however, legal reporting and retention requirements necessitate that Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. retain information for a specific amount of time. In general, WESK retains information for a period of approximately three (3) years.

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. does not sell or trade any personal information with third parties. WESK may transfer information to third parties, including service providers, when information processing is outsourced in the course of conducting administrative procedures or the provision of member services in specific cases .Where personal information is transferred to a third party for processing, WESK requires that the party abides by this Privacy Policy, and any other applicable policy and/or agreement  that WESK may enact or enforce from time to time. WESK restricts third parties in receipt of personal information from using or disclosing such information for any purpose other than the provision of services to WESK.

Any personal information that Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. retains is kept in such a manner as to ensure its security and confidentiality at all times.

Safeguarding Personal Information

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. respects the privacy of our members, potential website visitors and internet users and will protect that privacy as vigorously as possible. We store personal information in electronic and physical files that are secure. Our security measures include locks on filing cabinets, computer system firewall, password protected computers, virus protection software, and others. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from us electronically. This is especially true for information you transmit to us via e-mail. We have no way of protecting that information until it reaches us. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our servers. Many other commercial web sites, may utilize a standard technology called “cookies” to collect information about how the site is used, however; WESK does not use cookies.

All employees of WESK are familiar with the procedures that must be taken to safeguard client information. And to us, protecting the confidentiality of your information is more than a procedure –it’s part of our jobs. It is specified in our employment agreements.

Accuracy of and Access to Personal Information Collected

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. makes every effort to keep personal information as accurate, complete, current and relevant as necessary for the identified purposes.

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. makes our Privacy Policy and related procedures for managing personal information readily available to individuals. We provide access to the Privacy Policy and related procedures to individuals on the WESK web site and in written form. Any questions about the handling of personal information by WESK can be raised with our Privacy Officer.

At the written request of an individual, he or she may view or edit their personal information as collected by WESK. WESK will inform them of what personal information we have about the individual, what it is being used for and, in cases where it has been disclosed, to whom it has been disclosed. There may be exceptional circumstances as provided by PIPEDA under which the WESK may not be able to give an individual access to the personal information about her or him held by WESK In this case WESK will explain the reason for this lack of access, as provided by PIPEDA.

To make a request, please send a letter, email or fax addressed to our Privacy Officer at the address indicated. In your request, please specify what information you require. Examples of what you can request: name, contact details, membership number, the nature of your request, including whether you wish to view and/or edit information or inquire regarding use and/or disclosure.

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. will reply to your request in no later than thirty days after receipt of the request, or if we are not able to respond within this time period, we will send you a notice of extension. If we are not able to disclose all the personal information we hold on you, we will give you a reason for our inability to do so, unless prohibited by law.

At the written request of an individual, he or she may view or edit their personal information as collected by WESK. WESK will inform them of what personal information we have about the individual, what it is being used for and, in cases where it has been disclosed, to whom it has been disclosed. There may be exceptional circumstances as provided by PIPEDA under which the WESK may not be able to give an individual access to the personal information about her or him held by WESK In this case WESK will explain the reason for this lack of access, as provided by PIPEDA.

To make a request, please send a letter, email or fax addressed to our Privacy Officer at the address indicated. In your request, please specify what information you require. Examples of what you can request: name, contact details, membership number, the nature of your request, including whether you wish to view and/or edit information or inquire regarding use and/or disclosure.

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. will reply to your request in no later than thirty days after receipt of the request, or if we are not able to respond within this time period, we will send you a notice of extension. If we are not able to disclose all the personal information we hold on you, we will give you a reason for our inability to do so, unless prohibited by law.

Questions

Any questions or comments about the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. handling of personal information should be directed to our Privacy Officer.

Complaints

Complaints or a challenge to WESK’s compliance with our protection of privacy obligations may be directed to the WESK’s Privacy Officer. We will acknowledge receipt of the complaint promptly, request clarification if necessary, and investigate the complaint.