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Privacy Policy

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The leadership of Hillside Community Church is committed to protecting the privacy of its members and adherents in accord with the Personal Information Protection Act of British Columbia (PIPA), which came into effect January 1, 2004.

Hillside does this in order not only to meet the Act’s requirements, but to ensure the comfort of its members, adherents and their family members in regard to their personal information. This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, marital status, work place and related information.

When any new lists are being compiled or information taken down in regard to church activities, we will circulate a statement informing the church of our commitment to not distribute that information beyond its designated purpose or keep it in an unsecured manner in our files. In addition we will provide a means for Hillsiders to let us know if they do not want their personal information or photographs included in our publications or website.

Introduction

Since January 1, 2004, British Columbia’s “Personal Information Protection Act” (PIPA) has governed the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The leadership of Hillside Community Church (Hillside) is committed to keeping your personal information secure, and has implemented this Privacy Policy for your benefit.

Purpose and Scope

To ensure that we comply with the legislation, we are reviewing and updating the way we collect, store, secure or distribute personal information. We are also publishing this Privacy Policy, which governs all aspects of our church community that involve any personal or confidential information. We respect and uphold an individual’s right to privacy and to the protection of such information and we are fully committed to ensuring compliance with PIPA.

Personal Information in the Church

Personal information includes items such as name, address, gender, age, phone number, e-mail address, marital status for members and adherents and information for dependant children.

In the course of carrying out our responsibilities, Hillside is trusted with personal information about its members, adherents and other individuals. By attending Hillside, or events hosted by Hillside, individuals consent to the necessary collection, use and disclosure of personal information, as provided for in PIPA, in order that the church may properly serve them.

The Act also permits the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in situations where consent may not be obtainable in a timely way in emergency situations or medical crises, or as required by law.

We understand the private nature of personal information, and commit to limiting its collection, use and disclosure to the specific purpose intended or "obvious to a reasonable person” at the time it was obtained.

Our Responsibilities

1. Accountability

Hillside is accountable for the personal information in its possession or control, including information that has been transferred to a third party for processing. Hillside has appointed a Privacy Officer who is responsible for the organization’s compliance with this policy.

2. Use of Your Information

Our relationship with you is important for us. We want to provide you with useful services and to establish a long-lasting relationship with you that will grow and change to meet your needs. Hillside collects and uses Personal Information about you to:

• identify you,
• establish and maintain a relationship with you and to provide you information about events, conferences and seminars put on by Hillside or recommended by the leadership.
• protect you and us against error or fraud,
• comply with legal requirements,
• to process payments for services provided.

Hillside will not collect, use or disclose information beyond what is required to fulfill the specified purposes. When personal information that has been collected is to be used for a purpose not previously made known to the body, the new purpose will be identified prior to its use and opportunity provided for people to opt out of that use if they so desire.

Consent

We will only collect, use or disclose your personal information with your consent, except where otherwise permitted by the Act or required by law. You may refuse or withdraw your consent by contacting the church office at (604) 936-2313 or contact.us@myhillside.ca. Our staff will explain your options and any consequences of refusing or withdrawing consent, and will record your choices.

Limited Collection

We will limit the collection of your personal information to only those details which are necessary for the purposes identified or obvious at the time of collection.

Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

Personal Information will only be used, retained or disclosed for the purpose for which it was collected, unless you have otherwise consented, or when it is permitted by law. Hillside does not sell, trade or disclose information to third parties and will not keep information that is no longer needed for church purposes, except for basic information that may be archived, in a secure manner, to preserve a record of the life of our church community.

Accuracy

Hillside strives to keep your personal information as accurate and up-to-date as possible. To help us keep your personal information current, we encourage you to notify us of inaccuracies or corrections.

Safeguards

Hillside will maintain strict security systems to safeguard your personal information - in electronic or printed format - for the duration of time that your personal information is in our possession, in order to protect it from unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal or similar risks.

If we no longer need your personal information, or do not desire to archive it for future reference, we will destroy it in a secure manner.

Personal Access

You have the right to access your personal information that Hillside has under its control. Access requests should be made in writing to the Privacy Officer at Hillside. In certain situations we may not be able to provide access to information - for example, where it would reveal personal information about another individual, or where information cannot be disclosed for legal or security reasons.

Openness

Hillside will make available specific information about its policies and practices concerning the management of personal information. You may contact the Privacy Officer at Hillside regarding any questions or concerns about the church’s compliance with this policy.

We will investigate any complaints. If a complaint is found to be justified, we will take appropriate action to resolve the complaint. The results of the investigation will be sent in writing to the individual who made the complaint.

Our policy may change from time to time in accordance with the changing needs of the church or as necessary to stay in compliance with any future changes to the act.

Dated February, 2006