(519) 752 4636
communications@enterprisebrant.com

Privacy Policy

Flexible financing and support for business in Brantford and Brant County.

1.0 Purpose of Enterprise Brant Privacy Policy

The Brant Community Futures Development Corporation o/a Enterprise Brant, is a federally supported not-for-profit community organization with a volunteer board of directors and professional staff whose purpose is to develop and diversify local economies. Enterprise Brant supports community economic development and small business growth by developing and implementing strategic community plans, delivering a range of counselling and information services to small businesses and operating locally controlled investment funds to provide repayable financing to new and existing businesses.

The organization developed this privacy policy to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). PIPEDA sets out rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activity as defined in the Act.

1.1 A Summary of PIPEDA’s 10 Principles

The 10 principles of PIPEDA, forming the basis of this Privacy Policy, are  as follows:

  1. Accountability: organizations are accountable for the personal information they collect, use, retain and disclose in the course of their commercial activities, including, but not limited to, the appointment of a General Manager;
  2. Identifying Purposes: organizations are to explain the purposes for which the information is being used at the time of collection and can only be used for those purposes;
  3. Consent: organizations must obtain an individual’s express or implied consent when they collect, use or disclose the individual’s personal information;
  4. Limiting Collection: the collection of personal information must be limited to only the amount and type that is reasonably necessary for the identified purposes;
  5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention: personal information must be used for only the identified purposes, and must not be disclosed to third parties unless the individual consents to the alternative use or disclosure;
  6. Accuracy: organizations are required to keep personal information in active files accurate and up to date;
  7. Safeguards: organizations are to use physical, organizational and technological safeguards to protect personal information from unauthorized access or disclosure.
  8. Openness: organizations must inform their clients and train their employees about their privacy policies and procedures;
  9. Individual Access: an individual has a right to access personal information held by an organization and to challenge its accuracy if need be; and
  10. Provide Recourse: organizations are to inform clients and employees of how to bring a request for access, or complaint, to the General Manager and respond promptly to a request or complaint by the individual.

1.2 Definitions

Personal Information: any information about an identifiable individual. It includes, without limitation, information relating to identity, nationality, age, gender, address, telephone number, e-mail address, Social Insurance Number, date of birth, marital status, education, employment health history, assets, liabilities, payment records, credit records, loan records, income and information relating to financial transactions as well as certain personal opinions or views of an Individual.

Business Information: business name, business address, business telephone number, name(s) of owner(s), officer(s) and director(s), job titles, business registration numbers (GST, RST, source deductions), financial status. Although business information is not subject to PIPEDA, confidentiality of business information will be treated with the same security measures by Enterprise Brant staff, members and Board members, as is required for individual personal information under PIPEDA.

Client: the business that is applying for or has been approved for a loan, (including sole proprietorships and individuals carrying on business in a partnership).

Individual: the client’s owner(s) or shareholders, co-signors, and/or any guarantor associated with a client.

Member: a person who volunteers on an Enterprise Brant committee, but who is not a current or active board member, or chair of the committee.

Application: the application form or related forms completed by the individual(s) to request financing for the client through the Investment Fund of Enterprise Brant.

Database: the list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of clients and individuals held by Enterprise Brant in the forms of, but not limited to, computer files, paper files, and files on computer hard drives.

File: the information collected in the course of processing an application, as well as information collected/updated to maintain /service the account.

Express Consent: the individual signs the application, or other forms containing personal information, authorizing Enterprise Brant to collect, use, and disclose the individual’s personal information for the purposes set out in the application and/or forms.

Implied Consent: the organization may assume that the individual consents to the information being used, retained and disclosed for the original purposes unless notified by the individual.

Third-Party: a person or company that provides services to Enterprise Brant in support of the programs, benefits, and other services offered by Enterprise Brant, such as other lenders, credit bureaus, persons with whom the individual or client does business, but does not include any Government office or department to whom Enterprise Brant reports in the delivery of such programs, benefits or services.

2.0 Purposes of Collecting Personal Information

Personal information is collected to assess the eligibility of the individual completing an application for financial assistance, as well as to report to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. The individual is the main source of information, but Enterprise Brant will also ask to obtain information directly from a third source where the individual does not have the required information.

Only that information which is required to determine an individual’s eligibility will be collected. Although the individual’s Social Insurance Number may be requested in the application for confirming the identification of the individual to the credit reporting agency, the provision of this personal information is optional. The individual may provide alternative forms of identification, such as date of birth and driver’s license number.

3.0 Consent

An individual’s express, written consent will be obtained before or at the time of collecting personal information. The purposes for the collection, use or disclosure of the personal information will be provided to the individual at the time of seeking their consent. Once consent is obtained from the individual to use their information for those purposes, Enterprise Brant has the individual’s implied consent to collect or receive any supplementary information that is necessary to fulfill the same purposes. Express consent will also be obtained if, or when, a new use is identified.

By signing the application and/or other forms, implied consent is granted by the individual to obtain and/or to verify information from third parties such as banks, credit bureaus, other lenders, and insurance companies in the process of assessing the eligibility of an individual or client. Implied consent is also granted by the individual to permit Enterprise Brant to report or otherwise disclose information to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the regional development agency responsible for administration of the Community Futures Program on behalf of the federal government within the region.

An individual can choose not to provide some or all of the personal information at any time, but if Enterprise Brant is unable to collect sufficient information to validate the request for financing, the individual’s application for such financing may be turned down.

A client or an individual can withdraw consent to Enterprise Brant’s use of personal information at any time before the application being approved by making such a request in writing. Once a loan has been approved, an individual cannot withdraw consent by authorizing Enterprise Brant to use and disclose the personal information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. Express consent will be obtained from the individual before disclosing the individual’s personal information to other lenders, credit insurers and credit bureaus.

This Privacy Policy does not cover statistical data from which the identity of individuals cannot be determined. Enterprise Brant retains the right to use and disclose statistical data as it determines appropriate.

4.0 Limiting Collection

Personal information collected will be limited to the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, Enterprise Brant applications, and/or other forms.

5.0 Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

5.1 Use of Personal Information

Personal information will be used for only those purposes to which the individual has consented with the following exceptions, as permitted under PIPEDA:

Enterprise Brant will use personal information without the individual’s consent, where:

  • The organization has reasonable grounds to believe the information could be useful when investigating a contravention of a federal, provincial or foreign law and the information is used for that investigation;
  • An emergency exists that threatens an individual’s life, health or security;
  • The information is for statistical study or research;
  • The information is publicly available;
  • The use is clearly in the individual’s interest, and consent is not available in a timely way;
  • Knowledge and consent would compromise the availability or accuracy of the information; and
  • The collection is required to investigate a breach of an agreement.

5.2 Disclosure and Transfer of Personal Information

Personal information will be disclosed to only Enterprise Brant employees, members of Enterprise Brant committees, and the Board of Directors that need to know the information for their work or assessing the individual’s eligibility for the loan program.

Personal information will be disclosed to third parties with the individual’s knowledge and consent. PIPEDA permits Enterprise Brant to disclose personal information to third parties, without an individual’s knowledge and consent, to:

  • A lawyer representing Enterprise Brant;
  • Collect a debt owed to Enterprise Brant by the individual or client;
  • Comply with a subpoena, a warrant or an order made by a court or other body with appropriate jurisdiction;
  • A law enforcement agency in the process of a civil or criminal investigation;
  • A government agency or department requesting the information; or
  • As required by law.

PIPEDA permits Enterprise Brant to transfer personal information to a third party, without the individual’s knowledge or consent, if the transfer is simply for processing purposes and the third party only uses the information for the purposes for which it was transferred. Enterprise Brant will ensure, by contractual or other means, the third party protects the information and uses it only for the purposes for which it was transferred.

5.3 Retention of Personal Information

Personal information will be retained in client files as long as the file is active and for such time frames as may be prescribed by applicable laws and regulations.

A file will be deemed inactive if the Investment and Loans Committee rejects an application, when a loan is repaid in full and securities are discharged, or when a guarantee is terminated. Information contained in an inactive file will be retained for seven (7) years, except in the case where an application is rejected. Where an application has been rejected, the file and all personal information contained in the file will be retained for two (2) years.

6.0 Accuracy

Enterprise Brant endeavors to ensure that any personal information provided by the individual in their active file(s) is accurate, current and complete as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the information has been collected, used, retained and disclosed.

Individuals are requested to notify Enterprise Brant of any change in personal or business information. Information contained in inactive files is not updated.

7.0 Safeguards

Enterprise Brant will use physical, organizational, and technological measures to safeguard personal information to only those Enterprise Brant employees, volunteers, or third parties who need to know this information for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Organizational Safeguards: access to personal information will be limited to the Business and Loans Adviser, Office Administrator, and/or the General Manager who have to determine the individual’s eligibility for a business loan. Personal information provided to members of Enterprise Brant’s committee(s) will be limited to only that information required to carry out the mandate of that committee.

Members of Enterprise Brant’s committee(s) and/or Board of Directors are not permitted to copy or retain any personal information on individuals or clients and must return for destruction all such information given to them to review once the purpose for being provided with this information has been fulfilled.

Employees and members of Enterprise Brant’s committee(s) and/or Board of Directors are required to sign a confidentiality agreement binding them to maintain the confidentiality of all personal information to which they have access.

Physical Safeguards: active files are stored in locked filing cabinets when not in use. Access to work areas where active files may be in use is restricted to Enterprise Brant employees only and authorized third parties.

All inactive files or personal information no longer required are shredded before disposal to prevent inadvertent disclosure to unauthorized persons.

Technological Safeguards: personal information contained in Enterprise Brant computers and electronic databases are password protected under Enterprise Brant’s Information Security Policy. Access to any of Enterprise Brant’s computers also is password protected.

Enterprise Brant’s Internet router or server has firewall protection sufficient to protect personal and confidential business information against virus attacks and “sniffer” software arising from Internet activity. Personal information is not transferred to volunteer committee members, the Board of Directors, or third parties by e-mail or other electronic forms.

8.0 Openness

Enterprise Brant will endeavor to make its privacy policies and procedures known to the individual via this Privacy Policy as well as Enterprise Brant’s Privacy Statement. This document will also be available on Enterprise Brant’s website: www.enterprisebrant.com

9.0 Individual Access

An Individual who wishes to review or verify what personal information is held by Enterprise Brant, or to whom the information has been disclosed (as permitted by the Act), may request access, in writing, to Enterprise Brant’s General Manager. Upon verification of the individual’s identity, the General Manager will respond within 60 days.

10.0 Complaints/Recourse

If an individual has a concern about Enterprise Brant’s information handling practices, a complaint, in writing, may be directed to Enterprise Brant’s General Manager.

Upon verification of the individual’s identity, Enterprise Brant’s General Manager will act promptly to investigate the complaint and provide a written report of the investigation’s findings to the individual.

Where Enterprise Brant’s General Manager decides that the individual’s complaint is well-founded, the General Manager will take the necessary steps to correct the offending information handling practise and/or revise Enterprise Brant’s privacy policies and procedures.

Where Enterprise Brant’s General Manager determines that the individual’s complaint is not well-founded, the individual will be notified in writing.

If the individual is dissatisfied with the finding and the corresponding action was taken by Enterprise Brant’s General Manager, the individual may bring a complaint to the Federal Privacy Commissioner at the address below:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada 30 Victoria Street
Gatineau, QC Kl A 1H3
www.priv.gc.ca
Phone: (613) 947-1698
Toll Free: 1 (800) 282-1376

Questions/ Access Request/Complaint

Any questions regarding this or any other privacy policy of Enterprise Brant may be directed to the General Manager. Requests for access to information, or to make a complaint, are to be made in writing and sent to the General Manager at the address below:

Enterprise Brant 330 West Street, Unit#10, Brantford ON N3R 7V5
General Manager
smclellan@enterprisebrant.com
(519) 752-4636 

 Amendment to Enterprise Brant’s Privacy Policies

The Enterprise Brant privacy policy is subject to amendment in response to developments in the privacy legislation. The General Manager will review and revise the Privacy Policy from time to time as required by changes in privacy law.

Notification of any changes in the Privacy Policy will be posted on Enterprise Brant’s website, as well as in Enterprise Brant’s Privacy Statement. Any changes in the Privacy Policy will apply to Personal information collected from the date of the posting of the revised Privacy Policy on Enterprise Brant’s website: www.enterprisebrant.com