Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 21, 2021

211 British Columbia Services Society (“BC211”, “we”, “our” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your Personal Information.  This policy explains how we handle your Personal Information when you use our website, interact with us on social media, or, otherwise, communicate with us by email, phone, SMS message or webchat.

This Privacy Policy applies to all of our operations, unless we have provided you with a separate privacy policy for a particular product, service or activity.

This Privacy Policy is current as of the “last updated” date which appears at the top of this page.  We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time.  When changes are made to this Privacy Policy they will become immediately effective when published in a revised Privacy Policy posted on our website, unless otherwise noted.  We may also communicate the changes through our services or by other means. 

Please review this Privacy Policy carefully.  By submitting your Personal Information to us, by using our website, or by voluntarily interacting with us, you consent to our collecting, using and disclosing your Personal Information as set out in this Privacy Policy, as revised from time to time.


 

  • This Privacy Policy covers the following topics:

    • Meaning of Personal Information
    • Your Consent to Collection, Use and Disclosure
    • Personal Information We Collect
    • How We Use Personal Information
    • Storage of Personal Information
    • Your Rights Over Your Personal Information
    • Third Party Websites and Services
    • How To Contact Us
  • "Personal Information" means information about an identifiable individual as described under Canadian privacy laws.  This information may include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone number, cookies and electronic data. A cookie is a text file that a website puts on a computer’s hard disk so that the website or web application can identify your computer at a later time.

    Personal Information does not include any business contact information that is solely used to communicate with you in relation to your employment, business or profession, such as your name, position name or title, work address, work telephone number, work fax number or work e-mail address.

  • We collect, use and disclose your Personal Information with your consent or as permitted or required by Canadian privacy laws.  How we obtain your consent (i.e. the form we use) will depend on the circumstances, as well as the sensitivity of the information collected.  Subject to applicable laws, your consent may be express or implied, depending on the circumstances and the sensitivity of the Personal Information in question. 

    If you choose to provide Personal Information to us, we assume that you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that Personal Information as outlined in this Privacy Policy.

    If you wish to withdraw your consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your Personal Information, please contact us using the contact information in the “How to Contact Us” section below.  However, before we implement the withdrawal of consent, we may require proof of your identity. In some cases, withdrawal of your consent may mean that we will no longer be able to provide certain services.

  • The Personal Information we collect is generally in one or more of the following categories.

    Services

    For individuals located in Canada who use our services, we may collect information from you or from your use of our services.

    • We collect Personal Information that you submit through your use of our services, such as your name, e-mail address, and telephone number.

    Website

    For individuals located in Canada who visit our website located at bc.211.ca or any of our related websites (collectively, “our website”), we may collect information from you or from your activities on our website.

    • Like most websites and other Internet services, we may collect certain technical and device information about your use of our website.  Such information may include your Internet protocol address, information about your device, browser and operating system, and the date and time of your visit.
    • We may use “web beacons” to better understand how our website is being used and to enhance your online experience. Web beacons are Internet tools that help us determine, for example, whether a page of our website has been viewed.

    Additionally, our website may include certain social media features (for example, the Facebook like button) and other widgets (for example, the Share This share button). These features and widgets may collect your Internet protocol address, which page you are visiting on our website, and set cookies to enable the feature and/or widget to function properly. Such features and widgets are hosted by third parties or directly on our website. Your interactions with these features and widgets are governed by the privacy policy of the applicable third party service provider.

    Other Interactions

    For individuals located in Canada who otherwise interact with us, whether in person, by phone, email, SMS, webchat or through social media or otherwise, including individuals who might be interested in acquiring our services, who respond to surveys and questionnaires, or who submit testimonials or other feedback, we may collect information that you provide to us during these interactions. This information may include your name, e-mail address and other contact information.

    We do not use the information we collect to advertise third party products and services or targeted advertising of Company products and services across third party websites or service offerings.

  • We collect, use and disclose your Personal Information to:

    • To provide you more information about services and programs available to you;
    • To contact you at a later date, with your approval; and
    • To administer and protect our Website, including system maintenance and data analysis.

    We disclose your Personal Information for the same purposes as set out above and as required or allowed by law. Additionally, we may use and disclose your information when we believe such use or disclosure is permitted, necessary or appropriate: (a) under applicable law; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities, including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (d) to enforce the terms of the agreements for our services; (e) to protect our rights, operations or property; (f) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain.

  • Your Personal Information may be located at our headquarters in British Columbia and may be stored and processed elsewhere in Canada.

    We retain Personal Information only as long as necessary to provide the purposes and for any legal, tax, regulatory or other reporting requirements. We protect the Personal Information we retain by taking reasonable precautions to secure it from unauthorized loss, misuse, access or disclosure. We have implemented security policies and ensure that anyone who has access to your Personal Information for the purposes of providing services, respect the privacy rules that have been put in place.

  • In British Columbia and in Canada, you have the right to request access to your Personal Information and the right to request correction of your Personal Information, subject to our legal obligations.

    You have the right to make a complaint. If you wish to contact us for further information about this privacy policy, your rights with respect to your Personal Information, to make a complaint, or to ask about storage outside of Canada, please contact us as outlined in the “How To Contact Us” section below.

  • We provide links to third party websites for your convenience and information. This Privacy Policy does not extend to any websites or products or services provided by third parties.  We do not assume responsibility for the privacy practices of such third parties, and we encourage you to review all third party privacy policies prior to using third party websites, products or services.

  • All comments, questions, concerns or complaints regarding your Personal Information or our privacy practices should be sent to our Privacy Officer by email at info@bc211.ca or by mail at 330-111 W Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H4.