Sound id·EARS Hearing & Speech Clinic and the Vancouver Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Clinic (“Sound idEARS”) operates under The Ten Privacy Principles outlined by the Canadian Standard Association in its Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information.

“Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual. This may include, without limitation, the individual’s name, home address, age, income, credit history or other financial information, credit card information, personal preferences and other information about his or her family. Personal Information does not include the name, title, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”), includes the Ten Privacy Principles outlined in the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Privacy. Those ten principles are:

1. Accountability: An organization is responsible for personal information under its control and shall designate an individual or individuals who are accountable for the organization’s compliance with the following principles.
2. Identifying Purposes: The purposes for which personal information is collected shall be identified by the organization at or before the time the information is collected.
3. Consent: The knowledge and consent of the individual are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except when inappropriate.
4. Limiting Collection: The collection of personal information shall be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. Information shall be collected by fair and lawful means.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure, and Retention: Personal information shall not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by the law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for fulfillment of those purposes.
6. Accuracy: Personal information shall be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
7. Safeguards: Personal information shall be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
8. Openness: An organization shall make readily available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
9. Individual Access: Upon request, an individual shall be informed of the existence, use and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual shall be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
10. Challenging Compliance: An individual shall be able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles to the designated individual or individuals for the organization’s compliance.

Like all other organizations, Sound idEARS is obliged to keep Personal Information confidential except under the following circumstances:

(I) WHEN AUTHORIZED BY YOU

The products and services offered by Sound idEARS require us to obtain Personal Information about you in order to deliver the products and services you have engaged us to provide. We will always operate on the basis of consent from you first. We will never use any information for purposes other than those that we have told you about.

You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to any legal implications (which we will inform you about). In some cases, if you do not consent to our use or disclosure of certain Personal Information, we may be unable to continue to provide all or part of the products and/or services that you have requested.

(II) WHEN REQUIRED BY LAW

The type of information we are legally required to disclose usually relates to government tax reporting requirements. In some cases, however, such as under a court order, we may be required to disclose certain information to persons specified in the court order. We will only provide the specific information requested and only upon being satisfied that the authorities have legitimate grounds to request the information.

(III) WHEN PERMITTED BY LAW

The legislation has provided certain situations where Sound idEARS is legally permitted to disclose Personal Information without your consent. Examples include situations involving the collection of debt in arrears, medical emergencies, or suspicion of illegal activities.

All hard-copy, aged records that are to be destroyed or disposed-of are shredded/destroyed in compliance with Section 35(2) of the Province of British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) – “An organization must destroy its documents containing personal information, or remove the means by which the personal information can be associated with particular individuals, as soon as it is reasonable to assume that (a) the purpose for which that personal information was collected is no longer being served by retention of that personal information, and (b) retention is no longer necessary for legal or business purposes”.