The privacy and security of personal information (also referred to as personal data herein) is important to the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN), and we want to ensure that we protect and respect the privacy of personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws. This Privacy Policy explains the way CWSHIN collects, uses and discloses personal information in its possession and control, including with respect to users of the www.cwshin.ca website (the Site). This Privacy Policy may be supplemented by specific policies, procedures and practices.

What is personal information?

Privacy laws apply to "personal information." Personal information is any information that can be used to identify, distinguish or contact a specific individual.

Why does CWSHIN collect personal information?

In carrying out our activities, CWSHIN may collect personal information from producers, veterinarians and other individuals with whom we interact, for the following purposes:

• To participate in cooperative programs operated in conjunction with other provincial and federal pork associations, practicing veterinarians, producers and other stakeholders;
• To participate in cooperative programs operated in conjunction with other provincial or federal regulatory or supervisory authorities;
• To assist provincial and/or federal authorities in the event of an emergency such as an animal disease outbreak;
• To identify, establish and maintain relationships with and communicate with individuals;
• To protect individuals and other organizations and us against error and fraud;
• To better understand how CWSHIN may improve its services, to develop and conduct its business and operations, and for other internal business purposes;
• To provide individuals with information on current and future information or developments with respect to CWSHIN; and
• To comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements or to protect CWSHIN’s legal rights and property;

(collectively, the Authorized Purposes).

CWSHIN may collect personal information for other purposes where it has a legal duty or right to do so. CWSHIN does not collect personal information for any other purposes, unless it has the consent of the individual to whom it relates.

How does CWSHIN collect personal information?

We collect information only by lawful and fair means, and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible, we try to collect your personal information directly from you with your knowledge and consent (for example, via our website, e-mail, telephone or in person). Occasionally, we may collect personal information from third party sources with the knowledge and consent of the individual or where otherwise authorized by law.

The type of information that CWSHIN may collect from individuals includes, for example, name, email address, address, phone number, legal description of a producer’s land, description of that producer’s buildings and equipment, producer number, district, on-farm food safety, animal care and facility inspection reports, production and marketing activities, and other information individuals choose to provide. Depending upon the circumstances, we may need to collect additional personal information.

Personal and other information collected from the Site

1. Personal information

   With respect to the Site, we may collect personal information from users of the Site in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to, when individuals visit our site, fill out a form, and in connection with other activities, services, features or resources we make available on the Site. For example, users may be asked for, as appropriate, name, email address, mailing address or phone number. Users may, however, choose to visit our Site anonymously. We will collect personal information from users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personal information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in certain Site-related activities.

   CWSHIN uses SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to establish an encrypted link to ensure that all data passed between the web server and users' browsers remain private and integral. The Site has an SSL Certificate which will be renewed annually. Notwithstanding the foregoing, sharing personal information with us through the Site may not be secure – please use discretion and do not share sensitive personal information in this manner.

2. Anonymous technical information

   We may collect anonymous technical information about users whenever they interact with our Site. This may include the browser name, the type of computer and technical information about users' means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized and other similar information. We use this anonymous technical information for purposes such as diagnosing problems with our servers, improving the operation and content of our website, and compiling aggregate and statistical information.

   We will not attempt to link or match such anonymous technical information with any personal information unless we have an individual’s consent, we (or our service providers) have detected or reasonably suspect any unlawful use of our services or a security breach, or we have a legal duty or right to do so.

3. Web browser cookies

   Our Site may use "cookies" to enhance user experience. Cookies are small text files placed on computers that can collect and store a variety of information. A user's web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. Permanent cookies are stored indefinitely on a user’s hard drive unless manually deleted, while temporary cookies are automatically deleted from the user’s browser upon logging out of a website. Users may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.

4. Other service providers

   The Site uses web analytics service providers (please see below) which collect and process information in relation to your use of the Site. There is more information about how these services providers collect, use and process data, and how you may deactivate their services, on their websites:

   • Google Analytics: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/
   • Facebook Conversion Tracking: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/
   • Twitter Conversion Tracking: https://twitter.com/privacy?lang=en

When does CWSHIN use or disclose personal information?

CWSHIN only uses or discloses personal information as reasonably required to facilitate the Authorized Purposes listed above.

There are a variety of circumstances where we may need to disclose some personal information about individuals. For example, we may disclose the personal information of individuals to:

• a third party where such disclosure is required in order for us to participate in cooperative programs operated in conjunction with other provincial or federal regulatory or supervisory authorities;
• a third party which is a not-for-profit organization and whose mandate includes advancing the interests of persons who are producers and/or the industry that the producers are part of;
• a third party where such disclosure is required in order to assure a continuous supply of the regulated product for the market or to monitor the transportation of any regulated product;
• a third party where such disclosure is required in order to deal with any application initiated by a producer;
• a third party where such disclosure is required as a result of any positive or negative inspection report in relation to a producer’s facilities or in connection with any quality assurance, disease, health or animal welfare concerns impacting on the industry;
• a third party who requires such information in order to assist us in our general administration and/or business operations (e.g. record keeping);
• a third party who requires such information in order to assist us in providing services to any producer or other stakeholder;
• a third party who requires such information and who is affiliated with or otherwise related to us;
• a public authority or agent of a public authority if, in our reasonable judgment, it appears that there is imminent danger to life or property and/or imminent threat to the life, health or security of an individual, the general public and/or livestock, as a result of an animal disease outbreak or otherwise which could be avoided or minimized by the disclosure of the information;
• third party service providers performing functions on CWSHIN’s behalf, including, for example, vendors that provide information technology services or provide analytics or assessment services;
• a third party where an individual has consented to such disclosure; or
• a third party where such disclosure is required or permitted by law.

Any disclosure of your personal information will, where appropriate and reasonably possible under the circumstances, be made on a confidential basis.

We use contractual or other means to protect the disclosed information and to make sure that the information is used only for the purpose(s) for which it was disclosed.

We will not disclose your personal information to any third party for the purpose of enabling them to market their products and/or services to you without first seeking your expressed consent to do so.

We do not sell, trade, or rent personal information to others.

Consent: Is there a choice?

Individuals provide their consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by CWSHIN when they provide their information to CWSHIN or use its services.

Individuals can deny or withdraw their consent to CWSHIN’s collection, use and disclosure of their personal information at any time upon reasonable notice, subject to any legal or contractual requirements. However, if consent is denied or withdrawn, CWSHIN may not be able to provide certain services. For example, such withdrawal may limit your access to information and our ability to ensure that you receive your full benefits and entitlements under the programs operated by us.

How we protect your information

We adopt reasonable policies to protect personal information with security safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the information including, for example, appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of personal information or any username, password, transaction information and data in relation to the Site.

The protection of personal information is of paramount concern to CWSHIN, and CWSHIN is prepared to take appropriate and timely steps in the event of any incidents involving personal information in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

CWSHIN makes every reasonable effort to ensure that personal information is accurate and complete. This may involve requesting further information or updates from individuals. CWSHIN relies on individuals to notify CWSHIN if there is a change to their personal information that may affect their relationship with CWSHIN. Your assistance in keeping your personal information up to date is greatly appreciated.

CWSHIN retains personal information only as long as is reasonable to fulfill the purposes for which the information was collected, or for legal or business purposes.

Does CWSHIN provide access to personal information?

CWSHIN will provide individuals with access to the personal information CWSHIN holds about them in accordance with applicable laws. CWSHIN reserves the right to require that any request for access to personal information be made in writing. Generally, there is no cost for such access. However, CWSHIN reserves the right to charge such costs on a case by case basis in accordance with applicable laws. The individual will be notified in advance if charges apply.

CWSHIN will correct or amend the personal information in its files where it can be shown that the information is incorrect or incomplete.

Storage and processing

CWSHIN will store the personal information on its internal servers and/or with its services providers. CWSHIN’s service providers store and/or process personal information within Canada. CWSHIN has taken appropriate technical, organizational and legal steps to secure this information.

GDPR information

CWSHIN is committed to ensuring that it complies with the requirements of the GDPR (European General Data Protection Regulation). In order to comply with the requirements of the GDPR for European users, this Privacy Policy outlines the legal basis on which we process personal data and provides other information required by the GDPR. We process personal data when we have a lawful basis to do so in accordance with the GDPR. Generally, this means that we process personal data only where we have consent, where necessary to provide information or services, or where necessary to comply with our legal obligations. We may also process personal data where otherwise allowed by the GDPR for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy (for example, to communicate with you and to respond to your requests).

1. Your rights relating to your personal data

   Subject to some exceptions, the GDPR provides you with the following rights:

   1. Right of access: You have the right to information about whether and why we process your personal data and related information (for example, what personal data we are processing).
   2. Right of rectification: You have the right to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.
   3. Right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to delete personal data that we hold about you.
   4. Right to restrict or object to processing: You have the right to ask us to limit or stop our processing of your personal data in certain cases (for example, if the personal data we are processing about you is inaccurate or is for direct marketing purposes).
   5. Right to data portability: You have the right to ask us for a copy of personal data we hold about you and to transfer such data to another entity.
   6. Right to complain: We encourage you to contact us at the contact information below if you have any questions or concerns with our personal data practices. However, you also have the right to complain to regulatory authorities in your jurisdiction. Please contact us at the contact information below if you need information about the appropriate authority.
      You may exercise these rights or find out more about these rights by contacting CWSHIN at the contact information listed below.
      
      

2. Retention and storage of personal data

   CWSHIN is based in Canada and processes personal data in Canada. The European Commission recognizes Canada as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data. CWSHIN has taken appropriate technical, organizational, and legal steps to secure your information.

Third party websites

Users may find content on our Site that links to third parties. We do not control the content or links that appear on third party sites and are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from our Site. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website's own terms and policies.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

CWSHIN has the discretion to update this Privacy Policy at any time. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of each page. We encourage you to frequently check for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to review this Privacy Policy periodically and become aware of modifications.

Your acceptance of these terms

By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy and terms of service. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this Site, or your dealings with this Site, or to make a request for access to personal information to exercise any other rights outlined above, please contact:

Dr. Jette Christensen, Manager
Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The CWSHIN External Privacy Policy was last updated on and is effective as of February 26, 2019.