Privacy Policy
The HarbourEdge Group includes HarbourEdge Capital Corporation (FSCO License # 11214) and HarbourEdge Mortgage Investment Trust, its officers and directors and any companies affiliated with them.
Your privacy is important to HarbourEdge and we are committed to respecting your privacy through the protection of your Personal Information given to us when you invest with us or apply for a loan from us.
The following outlines our commitment to you:
Purpose and Consent – before collecting your Personal Information, or at the time of collection, we will explain to
you the purpose for collecting it and obtain your consent
Limiting Collection – our collection of Personal Information is limited to what is reasonable under the circumstances and
your information will be used only for the purpose for which it is collected
Security – your Personal Information is kept confidential and secure and is not disclosed to anyone outside of the HarbourEdge Group without your consent, unless required by law
Access – you have the right to access your own Personal Information, and to correct any inaccuracies
What Is Personal Information?
Personal Information is broadly defined as information about an identifiable individual and typically includes your name, residential address, telephone number, personal e-mail address, identification numbers, including your social insurance number, age, gender,employment and financial history and certain physical characteristics. Personal Information does not include business or employment information
typically found on your business card. Data we collect with personal identifiers removed, so that it is impossible to determine the identity of the person to whom the information relates, is not considered Personal Information.
10 Privacy Principles
HarbourEdge will be committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality and security of your Personal Information. As part of this commitment, we have adopted the 10 Principles for the protection of privacy forming part of the federal privacy statutes and provincial
Regulations 189/08 (collectively the “Acts”) which govern the HarbourEdge Group and which establish rules for the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information by the private sector1.
1. Accountability: All HarbourEdge associates are responsible for maintaining and protecting all Personal Information
under their control. HarbourEdge has designated an individual to oversee compliance with the Acts and our 10 Privacy Principles.
2. Identifying Purposes: We will identify the purposes for which Personal Information is collected, either before or at the time of collection.
3. Consent: We will only collect, use and disclose your Personal Information with your knowledge and consent, except where otherwise required or permitted by law.
4. Limiting Collection: We will limit the collection of your Personal Information to only those details that are necessary for the purposes identified.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention: Your
Personal Information will only be used or disclosed for the purposes for which it was collected, unless you have otherwise consented, or when it is required or permitted by law. We will only retain your Personal Information for the period of time required to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.
6. Accuracy: We will keep Personal Information we collect as accurate, complete and up-to-date as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.
7. Safeguards: We will protect the Personal Information we collect with security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
8. Openness: Information about our policies and practices relating to the management of Personal Information will be made readily available to you.
9. Access: At your request, we will inform you of the existence, use and disclosure of your Personal Information, as well as give you access to the information. You have the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your information, and to amend it as necessary. (See Access to, and Changing your Personal Information).
10. Challenging Compliance: You may contact us with any questions, complaints or suggestions with respect to the above principles.
What Personal Information Does HarbourEdge Collect?
At HarbourEdge, we collect Personal Information from individuals who are investors in Harbouredge or borrowers or guarantors of loans by Harbouredge.
With your consent, as an investor we usually collect and maintain your name, residential address, telephone number, e-mail address, social insurance number and banking information.
With your consent, as a borrower or guarantor, in addition to the information listed above for investors, we usually collect and maintain your financial status and history, employment history and credit information.
We may also collect and summarize investor or borrower information in a format that does not identify you as an individual for statistical and marketing purposes.
It is always your choice whether or not you provide us with your Personal Information. However, a decision to withhold Personal Information may restrict or prevent us from allowing you to invest with us or providing you with a loan.
How Do We Gather Your Personal Information?
Depending on how you do business with us, we may gather Personal Information from the following sources:
- from you, on applications, contracts or forms filled out through telephone, e-mail or face-to-face interviews
- from intermediaries contracted by us with whom you have a relationship
- from your interactions with us; for example as an existing investor or past borrower or guarantor
- from government and other entities, such as CCRA
- from consumer reporting agencies, such as a credit reporting agency
- from previous employers
How Do We Use Your Personal Information?
With your consent, we will use your Personal Information for one or more of the following purposes:
- to determine your eligibility for our products and services
- to open an investment account with us
- to pay you a return on your investment
- to comply with tax requirements
- to service your existing HarbourEdge investments
- to contact and correspond with you and to respond to your inquiries
- to email or otherwise send you communications regarding goods or services we believe will interest you
- to compile statistics, conduct market research to measure and improve the effectiveness of our marketing initiatives
- to report to regulatory or industry agencies
- in the case of borrowers or guarantors, to assess the viability of a loan and to market our products and services
- to tailor our products to your preferences
- in the event a member of the HarbourEdge Group proceeds with a business transaction such as the purchase, sale, lease transfer, merger or amalgamation or any other type of acquisition, or disposal of, or taking of a security interest in respect of, an organization, your
Personal Information may be shared with such prospective party to
complete the business transaction
We will only use and disclose your Personal Information to fulfill the
purposes for which it was collected. Any exception will be with your
prior consent, or as may be required by law or other regulatory bodies
which govern our business. Also, we will keep your information only for
as long as it is needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was
collected.
To Whom Do We Disclose Your Personal Information?
With your consent or as permitted or required by law or other
regulatory bodies which govern us and our business, we may disclose your
information as follows:
- to prospective lenders
- to mortgage brokers
- to our legal counsel
- to our auditors
- to a government institution or other person or entity that has asserted its lawful authority to obtain the information
- where we have reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful in the investigation of unlawful activity
- to comply with a subpoena or warrant or an order made by a court,
person or entity with jurisdiction to compel the production of
information - to comply with court rules regarding the production of records and information
- to contracted third party service providers (see below)
- to those associates within the HarbourEdge Group that require your
Personal Information for the uses set out above or for a legitimate
business purpose
Service Providers
HarbourEdge may share your Personal Information with certain service
providers in order to provide our products and services to you, to
verify and validate information, and to address investor and borrower
service matters. Examples of service providers include our bank,
mortgage brokers, credit reporting agencies (with respect to borrowers
and guarantors) and delivery services. To reduce the risk of fraud or
misuse of Personal Information, we will only provide such information as
is necessary for the service provider to carry out the service we have
contracted with them to provide.
Links to Other Web Sites
As part of our service, our web site may contain links to other web
sites or Internet resources. When you click on one of those links you
are contacting another web site or internet resource. HarbourEdge is not
responsible for the practices or the content of such websites, and
recommends that you check the security and privacy policy of any website
before providing your personal information. NO OTHER WEBSITE IS COVERED
BY OUR PRIVACY POLICY.
We will use reasonable efforts to ensure that your Personal
Information is used in a manner that is consistent with this policy. If
you do not wish us to provide your Personal Information to those service
providers, we may be unable to provide you with our products or
services or properly service your account or transaction with us.
We will not sell your Personal Information to any organization, for any purpose.
Giving Consent
The cornerstone to protecting your privacy is consent. We will only
collect, use, and disclose your Personal Information with your consent,
except where otherwise permitted or required by law. We do not, as a
condition of the supply of a product or service to you, require you to
consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your Personal
Information beyond that information which is required to complete the
transaction.
You may choose not to provide us with any of your Personal
Information. However, if you make this choice we may not be able to
provide you with the product, service or information that you requested
or that could be offered to you.
Types of Consent
Consent can be express or it may be implied in appropriate circumstances.
Implied Consent
In some cases, your consent is implied if we ask you to provide
Personal Information with a stated purpose. Implied consent may be used
by us as a basis for extending new product offers to you or delivering
documentation, reports and servicing your account. We will not use your
implied consent for the use or disclosure of your sensitive Personal
Information such as financial data, other than as required by law, such
as reporting your investment to securities regulatory authorities and
the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.
Express Consent
In most cases, we will seek your express consent to the use of your
Personal Information. By completing and signing a subscription agreement
and related documentation to purchase our securities, you are giving us
your express consent for us to use the Personal Information provided by
you in the ways outlined above or in the documentation provided to you
at the time or as required or permitted by law or other rules and
regulations governing us and our business.
If you are a borrower or guarantor, by completing an application for a
loan, including a personal financial statement, you are giving your
express consent for us to use the Personal Information provided by you
during the loan approval process in the ways outlined above or in the
documentation provided to you at the time or as required or permitted by
law or other rules and regulations governing us and our business.
Withdrawing Consent
You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or
contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. If you withdraw your
consent, we will inform you of the implications of such withdrawal. To
withdraw your consent, simply contact us and advise us of what Personal
Information you no longer wish us to use. Withdrawal of your consent may
result in us being unable to continue to offer you our products or
services.
You Can Choose Not To Receive Direct Marketing
We may inform you about products or services by mail, telephone or
other means. If you do not wish to receive direct marketing, simply
contact us and tell us that you do not wish to be contacted in a
particular manner.
Security and Disclosure of Your Personal Information
What Safeguards Do We Have in Place?
We know you are concerned about the security of the information you
provide to us. To address this concern, we have developed processes and
procedures to keep your Personal Information safe and secure.
We have appropriate safeguards in place depending on the sensitivity of the information, including:
Physical – secured storage facilities and premises
Technological – password-protected computers/files, firewalls and a secured server
Organizational – HarbourEdge associates trained in the importance of safeguarding your Personal Information from loss and unauthorized access and access limited within the HarbourEdge Group to those associates that require your Personal Information or part of it to carry out the uses outlined above or otherwise communicated to you or for a legitimate business purpose
Third Parties – in the event we transfer your Personal Information to a third party, we assess their privacy procedures or take steps to require them to protect your Personal Information in a manner consistent with our own internal measures, or as required by law
Although we cannot take responsibility for any theft, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, loss, alteration or destruction of data by a third party, we take reasonable precautions to prevent such unfortunate occurrences.
Access to, And Changing Your Personal Information
Accessing your Personal Information
You may access and verify your Personal Information and find out to
whom we have disclosed it. At the time of your request, we will need
specific information from you to verify your identity, before we can
provide you with the Personal Information we hold.
There may be instances when we will not be able to provide you with
the Personal Information that you request. Examples are if the Personal
Information:
- contains references to other persons
contains our own proprietary information that is confidential to us
has already been destroyed due to legal requirements or because we no longer needed it for our purposes
is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege
cannot be disclosed for legal reasons
Changing your Personal Information
We are committed to maintaining the accuracy of your Personal
Information for as long as it is being used for the purposes we have
identified. To help us keep your Personal Information up-to-date, we
encourage you to notify us of inaccuracies or corrections as often as
you wish. Notification of changes such as your address or telephone
number will help us provide you with the best possible service.
If you identify any incorrect or outdated information requiring
amendment, please contact your investment representative, our account
manager or your mortgage broker, as applicable. We may ask you to put
your request for a correction in writing. We will make the proper
changes and, upon your request, provide you with a copy of the corrected
information.
How long is my Information Retained?
We keep your information only as long as we need it for the products
and services you’re receiving and for a reasonable time thereafter or to
meet any legal requirements. We have retention standards that meet
these requirements. We destroy your information when it is not longer
needed, or we remove your personally identifiable information.
You can also request that we remove your information from our
records. Subject to our requirements for continued retention of your
information, for example, for regulatory, audit, or legal purposes, we
will make every reasonable effort to honor your request.
Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints about your privacy or
your Personal Information, you may contact our chief privacy officer at
the address listed below. We will inform you of our complaint procedures
and will assist you in resolving the situation. If a complaint is found
to be justified, appropriate measures will be taken including, if
necessary, amending our practices and procedures.
Investors please contact us at:
40 Huron St. Suite 300
Collingwood, Ontario
L9Y 4R3
Tel: 1-705-443-8156
Fax: 1-705-443 8158
e-mail: [email protected]
Borrowers or guarantors please contact us at:
40 Huron St. Suite 300
Collingwood, Ontario
L9Y 4R3
Tel: 1-705-443-8156
Fax: 1-705-443 8158
e-mail: [email protected]
We will respond to your request or investigate your concern as quickly
as we can. If you are not satisfied that we have adequately respected
your privacy, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy
Commissioner by calling 1-800-267-0441, or via internet at
www.privcom.gc.ca
Will this Privacy Policy Change?
To accommodate changes in our products, services or business, and
legal developments, this policy may change over time. We may add,
change, or remove portions of this policy when we feel it is appropriate
to do so. Whenever we update this policy we will change the date on the
policy to indicate when the changes were made.
Effective Date: July 1,2009