Privacy Policy

Nahwegahbow Corbiere, Barristers and Solicitors understands the importance of the privacy of our clients and our obligations to protect their personal information. At all times, we hold in strict confidence all personal information which we may collect from time to time in carrying out the practice of law, and we protect such information from being disclosed to third parties. This obligation to our clients arises out of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the security of our clients’ personal information, common law principles of solicitor-client privilege, and where applicable, litigation-privilege. In addition, the protection of our clients’ personal information is governed by Nahwegahbow Corbiere’s privacy policy, as follows:

Personal Information Privacy Rights
As of January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (“PIPEDA”, see generally: https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/), including lawyers and law firms.

Why Does Nahwegahbow, Corbiere Need Personal Information?
Nahwegahbow, Corbiere provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients. In doing so, it produces direct marketing materials concerning its services and developments in the law.

What personal information do we collect?
Personal information includes any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. It does not include the name or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization. It also does not include any information which is available from a public source, such as a telephone directory, court record, or land registry office.

How we protect your Personal Information
Nahwegahbow Corbiere is responsible for the personal information we collect, use, maintain and disclose. We may collect personal information from our clients in order to provide legal services, and wherever possible, we strive to collect such personal information from you at the start of a retainer and in the course of representation.

We may also collect personal information about our clients from other sources, including:

• Your insurance company;
• A government agency or registry;
• Your employer, if we are acting for you at your employer’s request;
• Your accountant; and
• Other consultants obtained by you to assist with your legal concerns.

To ensure that we are accountable to our clients and their privacy, we developed this policy, and trained our lawyers, support staff and contracted employees about our policies and practices.

Consent
Nahwegahbow Corbiere will not use client personal information for any purposes other than that consented to by the client, either by express or implied consent. In determining how we obtain your consent, we will take into account the sensitivity of the personal information about you that we are collecting, using and/or disclosing.

Disclosure of your information
Under certain circumstances, Nahwegahbow Corbiere may disclose your personal information:

• When we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example, if a court issues a subpoena;
• When you have consented to the disclosure;
• When the legal services we are providing to you require us to give your information to a third party, your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise;
• Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
• If we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (such as computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third party is bound by our privacy policy;
• If we engage expert witnesses on your behalf;
• If we retain other law firms in other jurisdictions, on your behalf; or
• If the information is already publicly known.

Accuracy of Personal information
Nahwegahbow Corbiere endeavours to ensure that all personal information provided by the client is accurate, current and as complete as is necessary for the purposes for which the personal information was collected, used and maintained in an active file. Upon notification by a client that the personal information requires correction or updating, Nahwegahbow Corbiere will make the necessary amendments to the client’s active file where applicable. Moreover, if during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes.

Security of Personal Information
Nahwegahbow Corbiere takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:

• Premises security;
• Restricted access to personal information stored electronically;
• Deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access;
• Internal password and security policies;
• Obligation of each lawyer to maintain client confidentiality under Rules of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Upper Canada;
• All employees, contractors and third parties that have access to personal information collected by Nahwegahbow Corbiere will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement that is in keeping with this Policy.

Access
You may ask for access to any personal information we hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests that require archival or other retrieval costs may be subject to our normal professional and disbursement fees.

Can I be Denied Access to My Personal Information?
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute.

We may deny access when

• it is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is protected by solicitor-client privilege); or
• the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process (for example, process may be covered by confidentiality agreement between the participants).

If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why. Nahwegahbow Corbiere does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold about you.

Can I Request Anonymity?
Whenever it is legal and practical, we may elect to deal with general inquiries on an anonymous basis (for example, by accessing general information on our website).

How Long Do You Keep My Personal Information?
We keep your personal information as long as is reasonably necessary for us to complete our dealings with you, or as may be required by law, whichever is longer.

Web Site
Our website contains links to other sites, which are not governed by the privacy policy. We may also collect personal information on our website (www.nncfirm.ca). We only collect the information you provide to us voluntarily by sending us an e-mail message, completing forms or using the links contained on the website.

Nahwegahbow Corbiere collects and uses your name, address, telephone number, email address and other information you submit on or through the website for the purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries (and applications for positions), and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you.

In providing Nahwegahbow Corbiere with any personal information on or through this website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these stated purposes. On our website, like most other commercial websites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.

Communicating with Us
You should be aware that email is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.

Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. Please review our website for updates.

Request for Access
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to our Privacy Officer:

Dianne Corbiere
109-5884 Rama Road
Rama, ON L3V 6H6

Phone: (705) 325-0520
Fax: (705) 325-7204
E-mail: privacyofficer@nncfirm.ca

Inquiries / Complaints
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal information has, is or will be handled by Nahwegahbow Corbiere or if you would like to register a complaint, please contact our Privacy Office at the address above.