HEELIS, WILLIAMS, LITTLE &ALMAS LLP

PRIVACY POLICY

At HWL&A respecting the privacy and confidentiality of our clients has always been a fundamental component of the practice of law. To that end, we have prepared this review to assist you in understanding what this commitment means to us as a firm and what measures we have established to ensure that the information you have shared with us is held in the strictest confidence.

We have developed this policy in accordance with recently enacted legislation. Of course, we reserve the right to amend the policy as may be necessary to adhere to legislative developments which may arise. We invite you to review our policy and contact us if you have any concerns or questions with respect to the management of your personal information.

This policy relates to personal information of our clients. It does not protect business contact information as such information is expressly exempt from the relevant legislation. Personal information may best be defined as information that relates to an identifiable person. While not an exhaustive list some examples of personal information include: home address, phone number, Social Insurance Numbers, driver’s license numbers, etc.

Under our privacy policy HWL&A is accountable to its clients for the manner in which it collects, uses or discloses your personal information. Our privacy policy officer is Joe McCallum an associate with the firm. Joe may be reached at:

jmccallum@14churchstlawoffice.com
(905) 687-8200
(905) 684-4844

14 Church Street, P.O. Box 1056,
St.Catharines, Ontario.
L2R 7A3

Any questions in relation to our privacy policy or practices should be directed to Joe so he may be of some assistance.

Given the variety of services our firm offers it is not possible to list all of the potential purposes for our collection of personal information within the confines of this policy. You can be confident that prior to our collecting your personal information we will identify and explain the purpose for such collection. As a general comment we collect your personal information in order to enable us to provide you with appropriate professional legal services. You are free to consent to our collection of your personal information or you may decline to consent. Please be aware that our ability to assist you normally relies upon our obtaining personal information from you.

In accordance with this privacy policy we shall limit the scope of personal information that we collect to that which is necessary to provide you with professional and appropriate legal services. In the event that further personal information is required we shall explain why it is being sought and ask for your further consent to such additional collection and use.

While we hold your personal information we shall only use it in accordance with the purpose that was discussed with you at the time it was collected. Should we identify another purpose for which your personal information may be used we will advise you of same and ask for your consent with respect to using your information for that new purpose.

While we are in possession of your personal information we may be required to disclose it to certain third parties in an effort to assist you. We shall ensure that all third parties to whom we disclose your personal information honour the requirements of this policy. Furthermore we shall advise all third parties that they are not to use your personal information for any purpose other than that to which we have agreed.

When we are no longer in need of your personal information we shall ensure that it is destroyed in an appropriate, secure manner. Please be aware that there may be legal or professional requirements that necessitate our retaining your personal information in excess of what may appear to be a reasonable time period.

Under the terms of our privacy policy we have taken precautions to ensure that your personal information is secure while it is in our possession. Of course, our offices are protected by locks, vaults and security systems. While our computer system is also secured through appropriate software we must advise that no firm is able to guarantee the secure transmission of information sent electronically. Once we receive such information we undertake to secure it.

HWL&A is highly reliant upon our clients to ensure that the personal information we hold is accurate. As such, we ask that you pay particular attention to providing accurate personal information when it is first collected and that you advise us of changes as they occur. Should you wish to review your personal information that is in our possession we ask that you contact Joe McCallum. Should you disagree with any information contained in our records it shall be reviewed and appropriate action taken. If you disagree with our position with respect to amending your personal information you may file a written complaint for our consideration. In the event you are not satisfied with our position you are invited to contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at 1 800 282-1376.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for placing your continued confidence in HWL&A and assure you that we shall strive to protect the personal information which you have shared with us. If you have any questions relating to this privacy policy or any other aspect of our firm please feel free to contact us directly or visit our website at www.hwla.com.