Privacy Notice
We are committed to protecting your privacy and personal information.
The College of Complementary Health Professionals of British Columbia (CCHPBC) collects, uses, and discloses personal information in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA), Health Professions Act (HPA), Health Professions and Occupations Act (HPOA) and other applicable laws (including the CCHPBC Bylaws).
This Privacy Notice summarizes our practices for collecting, using, protecting, storing, disclosing, and disposing personal information under our custody and control, in accordance with the above legislation and our internal policies and procedures.
What is personal information?
Personal information is recorded information that can be used to directly orindirectly identify an individual. For example, this includes but is not limited to, an individual’s name, address, date of birth, registration status, and disciplinary history.
What is not personal information?
Personal information does not include business contact information, which means details used to contact an individual in their professional capacity. This includes but is not limited to, an individual’s name, position title, business phone number, and business address.
Why, when and how do we collect personal information?
We collect personal information to fulfill our mandate under the HPA and HPOA. We may also collect personal information when a law allows or requires us to.
We collect personal information from or about our licensees, employees, complainants, and other third parties, such as members of the public who communicate with us.
We generally collect personal information directly from the individual it relates to, unless a law allows or requires collection from another source. When personal information is collected directly, the purpose of the collection and contact information for questions will be provided, unless this notice is not required under FOIPPA.
When the CCHPBC website is visited, the web server automatically collects a limited amount of information needed for site operation and security. Some of this information (e.g. browser type) does not identify an individual, while other data, such as an IP address, may be identifying. IP addresses are not linked to the identity of website visitors.
How do we use, disclose and store personal information?
We only use and disclose personal information for the purpose for which the information was collected, for a consistent purpose, or for another purpose allowed by law.
We only keep personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill those purposes, or to meet legal requirements. When we use personal information to make a decision about an individual, we keep the personal information for at least two years.
CCHPBC has a file classification system that sets out specific retention periods for different types of information within CCHPBC’s custody and control. These schedules will be reviewed periodically to ensure that personal information is not kept for longer than necessary to serve the original purpose.
When personal information is no longer required, CCHPBC will dispose of it securely.
How do we protect personal information?
We take reasonable steps to protect personal information in our custody and under our control. This includes administrative security measures (e.g., policies and training), physical security measures (e.g., locked offices and security officers), and technological security measures (e.g., encryption, firewalls, and multi-factor authentication).
How do we promote accuracy of personal information?
We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information is as accurate and up-to-date as is required for the purpose of collection. Please note that for certain personal information, such as current contact information, we must rely on the individual to provide us with the update.
Review the full CCHPBC Privacy Policy.
How can privacy questions, concerns, or complaints be raised?
Anyone can send privacy-related questions, concerns, compliments, or complaints to the CHCPBC Privacy and Information Access Office at foi@cchpbc.ca.
Updates to the Privacy Notice
We reserve the right to update this notice at any time. Individuals are encouraged to periodically review this document for updates.
Information Access
Find information online
Most of the information you can request is already available on the website:
• Annual Reports
• Disciplinary Action & Citations
• Public Notification Policy
• Practice Standards and Professional Standards
• Registry
• Privacy Policy
You may submit a freedom of information (FOI) request if what you are looking for is not on our website.
Request Information (FOI request)
You may make a request online using this form FOI Request.
For FOI requests for your own personal information, there are no application or processing fees.
For general FOI requests, a $10 non-refundable application fee will be payable by cheque once we confirm by email that your request is being processed. Please note that additional fees may also apply; you will be advised of those fees at the same time.
Exceptions to what we can disclose
In most cases, you will receive the record(s) you requested; however, the College is unable to disclose certain types of information.
The exceptions to disclosure are listed in sections 12 to 22 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
What to expect after making a request
FIPPA requires us to respond within 30 business days of receiving an FOI request. We may extend that time at our discretion if the request is complex.
We may withhold information under exceptions in sections 12 to 22 of FIPPA
How we protect your personal information
We are committed to protecting your privacy. We collect, use and disclose personal information in accordance with the Health Professions Act, the Health Professions and Occupations Act, and the College Bylaws and FIPPA. Information in the College’s custody or control is managed in a manner that complies with FIPPA.
FOI process complaint
If you have a complaint about our FOI process, you may submit it to:
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner
PO Box 9038, Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9A4
www.oipc.bc.ca
CCHPBC’s Information Access Office
Attention: Privacy Officer
900 – 200 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC, V6C 1S4
Telephone: 604-742-6670
Fax: 1-604-608-9726
Email: foi@cchpbc.org
Updates to the Information Access Notice
We reserve the right to update this notice at any time. Individuals are encouraged to periodically review this document for updates.