Information on the governance of personal information

Personal information management

Collection and use of personal information

An employee of Option consommateurs may collect or use a consumer's personal information solely for the purpose of providing the requested service. An employee may not collect or use personal information for any purpose other than to provide the service requested by the consumer, unless such collection or use has been approved in advance by the Privacy Officer.

Disclosure of personal information

Any disclosure of personal information to a third-party organization or individual is prohibited, unless such disclosure is required by law or court order, or unless the individual concerned has given his or her consent.

Retention of personal information

Personal information retained by Option consommateurs is destroyed once the purpose for which it was collected has been fulfilled, in accordance with a retention schedule established by us.

An employee of Option consommateurs is prohibited from storing personal information in any location other than the one specifically designated for that purpose. 

Internal access to personal information

Access to the various databases of personal information is strictly restricted to those employees who require it in the course of their duties. The Privacy Officer is responsible for assigning and managing access to the various personal information databases.

Security of personal information

Option consommateurs deploys technical and administrative security measures to ensure a high level of protection for personal information.  

Employees receive training on the security of personal information. In the course of their work, employees must take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of personal information to which they have access.

An employee must promptly report to the Privacy Officer any situation of which he or she becomes aware in which personal information held by Option consommateurs may have been compromised. 

Public relations

Option consommateurs must respond within 30 days to any complaint, request for deletion or access to personal information made by a consumer, unless a legal provision prevents deletion or access.In such cases, we will communicate our reasoned refusal to the consumer.
Complaints and other requests relating to personal information must be transferred promptly to the person responsible for the protection of personal information, who must ensure that they are processed in a timely manner. 

Privacy incidents

We have established a management plan in the event of a privacy incident involving personal information held by Option consommateurs. 

Project pre-approval

Any new project involving the collection, use or disclosure of personal information is subject to prior approval by the Privacy Officer, during which a Privacy Impact Assessment will be carried out. The same applies to the communication of personal information outside Quebec, as well as to the collection or use of personal information for secondary purposes. 

Liabilities

In accordance with the law, Option consommateurs appoints a Privacy Officer. The current Privacy Officer is :

Christian Corbeil
General Manager
vieprivee@option-consommateurs.org  

Option consommateurs has also set up an Archiving and Cybersecurity Committee, which plays an advisory role in the governance of personal information.