Arbique & Ahde, Associate Lawyers (“A&A”) has a practice of protecting the privacy and security of client, supplier and employee records. We are committed to meeting our obligations under Canadian data privacy laws, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act S.C. 2000, c. 5, and applicable provincial laws. We adhere to the privacy principles set out below, which govern the way we collect, use, store and disclose personal information that is obtained in the course of our practice.

Personal information”, as used in this policy, means any information about an identifiable person, including employee records, client records and supplier information.

A. Policy for the Protection of Personal Information:

We will collect, use, store and disclose personal information in accordance with the following privacy principles:

1. Accountability

The overall responsibility for ensuring our compliance with data privacy laws and this privacy policy rests with the principals of A&A, although other individuals within A&A have responsibility for the day-to-day collection and processing of personal information and may be delegated to act on behalf of the principals.

2. Identifying Purposes

Either before or at the time of collection, we will identify the purposes for which we plan to use the personal information. Depending upon the way in which the personal information is collected, this can be done orally or in writing. A&A may use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• to search conflicts against other clients of A&A;
• to respond to client inquiries about their accounts and other services;
• to understand our clients and prospective clients’ needs and to offer services to meet those needs; and
• to meet legal requirements.

Unless required by law, we will not use personal information for a new purpose without the knowledge and consent of the individual to whom the information relates.

3. Consent

Personal information will only be collected, used or disclosed with the consent of the individual, except in certain circumstances permitted or required by law. The way in which we seek consent may vary depending upon the sensitivity of the information. We will obtain consent in all cases where the personal information involved is considered sensitive, such as income or health information. Typically, we will seek consent for the use or disclosure of personal information at the time of collection. However, additional consent will be sought after the personal information has been collected if it is required for a new purpose. In certain circumstances, obtaining consent would be inappropriate. The federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and provincial privacy laws provide for exceptions where it is impossible or impractical to obtain consent.

4. Limiting Collection

We will collect personal information by fair and lawful means and will limit the amount and type of personal information we collect to that which is necessary for our identified purposes.

5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law.

6. Accuracy

We will use our best efforts to ensure that personal information that is used on an ongoing basis and information that is used to make a decision about an individual is as accurate, complete and up-to-date as necessary for the purpose for which it is to be used.

7. Safeguards

We will protect personal information with safeguards appropriate to the level of sensitivity of the information. Our safeguards protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, regardless of the format in which the information is held. Our methods of protection include physical measures (e.g., locked file storage and restricted access to offices), organizational measures (e.g., security clearances and limiting access on a need-to-know basis) and technological measures (e.g., the use of passwords and encryption).

B. Changes to the Policy:

A&A reserves the right to modify this privacy statement at any time.

C. Non-Personal Information:

Cookies & Other Internet Technologies: This Site uses “Cookies” to track visitors while they browse the Site. When someone visits this site, our servers automatically collect non-personally identifiable information that allows the website to communicate with the visitor’s computer. Non-personally identifiable information does not disclose personally identifiable information that would permit us to identify or locate individual visitors. We use this information to help understand trends and patterns of visitors to the Site. You have the choice whether or not to accept cookies by configuring your web browser options. If you decide not to accept cookies, some web pages may not display correctly.

D. Third Party Tracking Tools & Links to Third Party Websites:

This site makes use of Google Analytics to improve the performance and features of the Site. This site may contain links to third-party websites, or websites A&A does not own or control. We cannot be responsible for their privacy policies and practices, and we make no representations or warranties about the privacy practices of those websites. The type of data you provide to these third-party Websites are not covered by the A&A Privacy Policy.