PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2020

AIDE Canada (“AIDE”) is a national network that is committed to providing accurate, up-to-date, and useful information and resources to the people who need it. It’s a one-stop shop for information, tools, and resources about Autism Spectrum Disorder (“ASD”) and Developmental Disabilities (“DD”) across the lifespan, curated with the help of a team of researchers to make sure it is accurate, useful, and helpful to you and your loved ones.

Regardless of a person’s location, AIDE aims to connect Canadians nationwide to credible, reliable, and evidence-informed resources that are geared specifically towards individuals with DD and their families.

AIDE mobilizes current research, literature, and practical tools to support individuals with DD, and delivers this information in an unbiased and accessible way. Neuro-intellectually diverse people and their families are also an integral part of this network; our aim is to inform stakeholders from across Canada, and to break down myths and other misinformation regarding ASD and DD.

 AIDE is a project funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and is administered by the Pacific Autism Family Centre Foundation (“PAFCF”).

 This Privacy Policy applies to personal information collected through our website, online portal, peer network and other resources (the “Services”).

 In this Privacy Policy, “we/us/our” means the PAFCF.

What is Personal Information?

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” means information about an identifiable individual but does not include information used to contact an individual at a place of business, such as name, position name, title, business telephone number, business address, business email or business fax number, except as required by applicable law.

Consent to Privacy Policy Terms

By using our Services or registering to receive email communications from us, you acknowledge and consent to the use of this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Children

We take the privacy of children very seriously.  Children’s capacity to consent to disclosure of their personal information can depend on age, maturity and personal circumstances.

By using our Services you confirm that you are 13 years of age or older and have legal capacity to consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. 

If you are sharing the personal information of a child that is less than 13 years of age, you confirm that you are the legal parent or guardian of the child and that you have legal authority to provide consent on the child’s behalf.  If you share personal information about any child over 13 years of age, you confirm that you have legal authority, such as power of attorney, to provide consent on the child’s behalf. Sharing of personal information of anyone other than yourself (including a child) without legal authority is strictly prohibited. 

How Do We Collect and Use Personal Information?

When you visit, use or request our Services, we may collect personal information or other information that you choose to provide. 

Personal information that is collected from you may include:

1. Name
2. Contact information
3. Birth month, birth year and/or age
4. Geographical location
5. Diagnosis
6. Co-existing conditions
7. Treatment information
8. Payment information for purchase of resources
9. Your preferences for communications, including but not limited to newsletters or bulletins
10. Other information that you choose to provide, including but not limited to:
1. Information that you choose to provide by way of a comment, a “like” or a chat with PAFCF staff. 
2. Topics of interest that you identify.
3. Information that is necessary to manage your online profile (if you choose to create one) such as a valid email, password, and responses to challenge questions, including an image or avatar.
4. Feedback you choose to provide about the website by way of a feedback form or otherwise. 

If you choose to participate in a survey or questionnaire, we may collect personal information as part of that process.  AIDE may from time to time share information collected with researchers.  Such information will be anonymized before disclosure.

In addition, researchers may contact AIDE for assistance in connecting with families for the purpose of research, in accordance with applicable law. If you choose to participate in a research project, collection of your personal information will be governed by the privacy policies of the applicable researchers.

Personal Information that is Automatically Collected From You

When you use our Services, we may automatically collect and store certain personal information in server logs. This may include:

1. the type of operating system you use;
2. device event information such as crashes, system activity, hardware settings, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and referral URL;
3. cookies or other anonymous identifiers that may uniquely identify your browser;
4. your IP address (a series of numbers that are automatically assigned to your computer when you go online);
5. the date and time you visited our websites;
6. which of our pages you visited;
7. the order you visited our pages;
8. how long you spent on each of our pages;
9. the page you entered our sites on; and
10. the last page you looked at before you left our websites.

For example, if you leave comments on the AIDE website, we collect the data shown in the comments form, the date/time submitted, and also your IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. 

We may use your personal information to enhance your experience by providing content that is targeted to you, particularly if you have provided or established a preferred location or language. 

If you create a profile and make comments on the website, an anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy. After approval of your comment, your profile picture or avatar is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Our Purpose For Collecting Personal Information

We collect personal information for the following, non-limited purposes:

1. To facilitate our Services, including targeting of services to your specific needs and connecting families with support groups or other resources;
2. To act as a connection point between families and researchers;
3. To assist AIDE in developing strategies and policies around ASD and DD; and

Other purposes:

1. To monitor website usage and ensure that content on the website is presented in the most effective manner;
2. In relation to marketing, surveys or other email communications, where we have obtained consent to send such communications; or
3. As otherwise required or authorized by law.

Third Party Information Collection

In general, if we collect personal information, we will collect it directly from you. From time to time, we may be required to collect personal information from third parties, with your consent or in accordance with the law. 

How Do We Share Personal Information?

Any personal information collected through AIDE may only be accessed, used and shared on a “need-to-know” basis by PAFCF staff (including contractors) for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

We do not permit any personal information we collect to be accessed, used or shared by companies, institutions, organizations and individuals outside of PAFCF unless one of the following circumstances applies:

1. To AIDE administrators. The Services may contain customized versions of proprietary software products owned by third parties and licensed to AIDE. Personal information may be shared with such third-party licensors but only when necessary for the operation, maintenance, upgrading, customization, or testing of such software. Personal information may be shared with third-party vendors, consultants or service providers who need to know this information in order to assist us with the purposes identified in this Privacy Policy.
2. For legal reasons. We will share personal information if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to:
   1. comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request;
   2. detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues;
   3. protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of PAFCF or the Project Committee of AIDE, and the users of AIDE; or
   4. otherwise for the purpose of obtaining legal advice.
3. For research. We may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly and with the autism or DD research community. For example, we may share information to show trends about the general use of the AIDE network.
4. With Consent. Other than as set out above, we will share personal information with companies, institutions, researchers, organizations or individuals outside of the PAFCF only when we have your express consent to do so.

Community or Online Chat

The AIDE website includes areas where you may connect with AIDE staff and/or other individuals and families. By participating in any chat, you consent to the disclosure of your personal information and/or confirm that you have legal authority to consent on behalf of a child as set out herein.

International Data Transfers

By disclosing your personal information or the personal information of a child that you have legal authority to disclose, you consent to the disclosure and processing of the personal information outside of your and/or the child’s jurisdiction or geographical location.  To the extent possible, personal information is maintained within Canada.  However, personal information may be processed or stored outside of Canada in accordance with applicable law. Such personal information may be subject to disclosure in accordance with the law of the applicable jurisdiction.

We will take all reasonable steps to protect your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Use of Cookies

We use cookies to provide you with a good user experience, tailor content and continually improve our website. For example, we can recognise and remember important information that will make it more comfortable for you to browse our website such as preferred settings.

What are cookies and similar technologies?

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that our website stores on your browser or the hard drive of your device or mobile device. Cookies perform various tasks (including remembering your preferences) and are an important part of improving your experience on our website.

Session cookies are deleted automatically when you close your browser and persistent cookies remain on your device after the browser is closed (for example, to remember your user preferences when you return to the site).  First-party and third-party cookies are used to track and record page views, and for targeting and behavioural preferences. Secure cookies are used to encrypt your data during a submission process, and to ensure safe transactions when ordering or purchasing materials.

Our website may also use other similar technologies, such as web beacons, pixel or gif tags, and action tags. Those technologies also collect information that assists us in improving our services, use of our website, advertising and customer communications.

For example, if you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices.

How to block cookies?

Most internet browsers are set up by default to accept cookies.  If you want to refuse or delete them (or similar technologies), please refer to the help and support area on your browser for instructions on how to block or delete cookies (for example: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari). Keep in mind that each browser has a different procedure for managing and configuring cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including necessary cookies), you may not be able to access all or parts of our website.

You can find more information about cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

Azure Analytics

We utilize Microsoft Azure Analytics Services, a web analysis service provided by Azure, to better understand your use of our website and services. Microsoft Azure Analytics Services collects information such as how often users visit the website, what pages they visit and referrals from other websites that contain a link to our website or our URL. Microsoft uses the data collected to track and examine the use of the website, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Microsoft services. Microsoft may use the data collected on the website to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Microsoft’s ability to use and share information collected by Microsoft Azure Analytics (Application Insights) about your visits to our website is restricted by the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

If you want to opt out of Analytics, please do not use our website.

Social Media

Our website may include social media features, such as the Facebook “Like” button and Widgets such as the “Share This” button.  These Features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our website and may use cookies.  Social Media Features and Widgets and your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the service.

Links to Third-Party Sites

This Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, the privacy practices of third-party websites that may be linked to or accessible through our website.  For example, articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

If you submit your personal information to any third-party sites, whether by way of review of articles or otherwise, your information is governed by their privacy policies. 

No endorsement of any third-party products or services is expressed or implied by any information, material or content referred to or included on, linked from or to, this website.

How Do We Secure Personal Information?

We are committed to protecting personal information in order to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification or disposal or similar risks.

We use reasonable technical and security measures to protect personal information, including implementation of SSL/TLS technology and security cookies.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure.  Although we do our best to protect personal information, we cannot absolutely guarantee the security of information. 

We will continually review and update our security policies and controls as technology changes to ensure ongoing personal information security.

Retention

Your personal information is retained for the period of time necessary to meet the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Email or Marketing Communications

If you wish to opt-out of email or marketing communications you may contact us at:  info@aidecanada.ca.

Accuracy of Personal Information

We use reasonable efforts to keep your personal information accurate and up to date. You are responsible for providing updates to your personal information as soon as possible.

Questions, Corrections or Requests for Access

You may request corrections to your personal information or request access in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Questions about this Privacy Policy, requests for access to or corrections of your personal information may be made in writing to the Privacy Officer at:

Privacy Officer
3688 Cessna Drive
Richmond, BC V7B 1C7
info@aidecanada.ca

Changes to Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is subject to amendment from time to time. Please review this Privacy Policy regularly to stay informed of any updates.  

Please also refer to this website’s Terms of Use.