Building Owners and Managers Association of Ottawa

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PRIVACY POLICY

1. Introduction

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Ottawa (BOMA Ottawa) is an association that represents and promotes the interests of the commercial real estate industry. In the course of providing our services, BOMA Ottawa may collect Personal Information and we have prepared this policy to inform you about our ongoing commitment to ensuring that the Personal Information obtained during the course of our activities remains accurate and confidential.

2. What is Personal Information?

We consider "Personal Information" to mean any information, recorded in any form, about an identified individual or an individual whose identity may be inferred or determined from such information, other than business contact information (e.g. name, title, business address). This Policy does not cover aggregated data from which the identity of an individual cannot be determined. BOMA Ottawa retains the right to use aggregated data in any way that it determines appropriate.

3. Why BOMA Ottawa May Collect Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa may use the Personal Information provided verbally or in writing (including via electronic media) by members and other third parties in order to:

  1. Process membership applications and payments;
  2. Organize conferences, seminars, workshops, courses and other programs or events of interest to our members and other relevant parties;
  3. Process applications and payments for BOMA courses, conferences and other products and services;
  4. Provide a range of commercial real estate publications and information to our members and others who request such information;
  5. Permit affiliated organizations, such as BOMA Canada and/or BOMA International to provide products, services and information to our members;
  6. Publish and maintain an annual membership directory that is distributed to all members of BOMA Ottawa;
  7. Provide an online membership directory on our Web site;
  8. espond to inquiries or comments from our members;
  9. Meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
  10. Such other purposes consistent with these purposes.

The personal information we ask for will depend upon which services you may obtain.

4. How BOMA Ottawa Collects and Uses Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa only collects, uses and discloses Personal Information for purposes that would be considered reasonable in the circumstances and only such information as is required for the purposes of providing services or information to our members and others. We use only fair and lawful methods to collect Personal Information.

BOMA will only collect and use Personal Information about an individual that is provided directly by the individual to whom it relates. We will not collect or use Personal Information that may be obtained or disclosed to us from other sources.

Our use of Personal Information is limited to the purposes described in this Policy and BOMA Ottawa does not otherwise sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any Personal Information it has obtained.

Occasionally BOMA Canada and/or BOMA International will request your contact information in order to make you aware of one of their products, services or events. In such instances, BOMA Ottawa would provide the following information: member name, e-mail address, general member information (including employer's name and member's work telephone number, and BOMA position(s) held). You may withhold your consent to this disclosure of your information at any time by advising the BOMA Ottawa office by email or letter.

BOMA Ottawa maintains a website that will contain your contact information and publishes an annual Membership and Service Directory. Our regular news and newsletters and our website broadcasts the activities of BOMA Ottawa and contains the contact information of BOMA Ottawa's Executive, Board of Directors, Committee Chairs and Committee members. The Membership and Service Directory is distributed in hardcopy and electronic format amongst the BOMA Ottawa membership. It is not made available to the general public.

BOMA Ottawa may display your contact information on the website and in other association publications, as well as publishing your contact information in the Membership and Service Directory, for the use of our members only. You may request that your information not be disclosed in this manner by advising the BOMA Ottawa office in writing of your request.

The contact information provided to BOMA International & BOMA Canada and published on both the website and in the Membership and Service Directory contains only the names, employer names, employer phone numbers and email addresses of each member of BOMA Ottawa.

5. When BOMA Ottawa May Disclose Your Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa may disclose your Personal Information to individuals or organizations:

  1. Who are our affiliated organizations (e.g. BOMA Canada and BOMA International);
  2. Who are our service providers; and
  3. Who are involved in maintaining, reviewing and developing our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems.

In the event sensitive Personal Information is provided to BOMA Ottawa, we will not disclose such Personal Information unless it is required in order to provide a member or another individual with our services.

Where BOMA Ottawa discloses Personal Information to organizations that perform services on its behalf, we will require those service providers to use such information solely for the purposes of providing services to BOMA Ottawa, its members or the person concerned and to have appropriate safeguards for the protection of that Personal Information.

Please note that there are circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Personal Information may be justified or permitted or where BOMA Ottawa is obliged to disclose information without consent. Such circumstances may include:

  1. Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or governmental tribunal;
  2. Where BOMA Ottawa believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group;
  3. Where it is necessary to establish or collect monies owing to BOMA Ottawa;
  4. Where it is necessary to permit BOMA Ottawa to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain; or
  5. Where the information is public.

Where obliged or permitted to disclose information without consent, BOMA Ottawa will not disclose more information than is required.

6. Consent

Unless permitted by law, no Personal Information is collected, without first obtaining the consent of the individual concerned to the collection, use and dissemination of that information. However, we will seek consent to use and disclose Personal Information after it has been collected in those cases where we wish to use the information for a new or different purpose and the individual concerned has not yet consented to such a use of their personal information.

By providing Personal Information to BOMA Ottawa you agree and consent that we may collect, use and disclose your Personal Information in accordance with this Policy. In addition, where appropriate, specific authorizations or consents may be obtained from time to time.

In most cases and subject to legal and contractual restrictions, you are free to refuse or withdraw your consent at any time upon reasonable, advance notice. It should be noted that in certain circumstances services and products can only be offered if you provide Personal Information to BOMA Ottawa. Consequently, if you choose not provide us with any required Personal Information, we may not be able to offer you the services or products requested. We will inform you of the consequences of the withdrawal of consent.

7. The Accuracy And Retention Of Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa endeavours to ensure that any Personal Information provided and in its possession is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which we use that information. If we become aware that Personal Information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, BOMA Ottawa will revise the Personal Information and, if necessary, use its best efforts to inform third parties which were provided with inaccurate information so that those third parties may also correct their records.

We keep your Personal Information only as long as it is required for the reasons it was collected. The length of time we retain information varies, depending on the service and the nature of the information. This period may extend beyond the end of a person's relationship with us but it will be only for so long as it is necessary for us to have sufficient information to respond to any issues that may arise at a later date.

When your Personal Information is no longer required for BOMA Ottawa's purposes, we have procedures to destroy, delete, erase or convert it into an anonymous form.

At present, the principal place in which BOMA Ottawa holds Personal Information is in the City of Ottawa.

8. Protection of Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa endeavours to maintain appropriate physical, procedural and technical security with respect to its offices and information storage facilities so as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Personal Information. This also applies to our disposal or destruction of Personal Information.

BOMA Ottawa further protects Personal Information by restricting access to it to those employees and other individuals that the management of BOMA Ottawa has determined need to know that information in order that we may provide our services.

If any employee of BOMA Ottawa misuses Personal Information, this will be considered as a serious offence for which disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including termination of employment. If any individual or organization misuses Personal Information – provided for the purpose of providing services to or for BOMA Ottawa – this will be considered a serious issue for which action may be taken, up to and including termination of any agreement between BOMA Ottawa and that individual or organization.

9. Access To Your Personal Information

BOMA Ottawa permits the reasonable right of access and review of Personal Information held by us about an individual and will endeavour to provide the information in question within a reasonable time, generally no later than 30 days following the request. To guard against fraudulent requests for access, we may require sufficient information to allow us to confirm that the person making the request is authorized to do so before granting access or making corrections.

We will provide information from our records in a form that is easy to understand. BOMA Ottawa reserves the right not to change any Personal Information but will append any alternative text the individual concerned believes to be appropriate.

BOMA Ottawa reserves the right to decline to provide access to Personal Information where the information requested:

  1. Would disclose (i) Personal Information, including opinions, about another individual or about a deceased individual; or (ii) trade secrets or other business confidential information that may harm BOMA Ottawa or the competitive position of a third party;
  2. Would interfere with contractual or other negotiations of BOMA Ottawa or a third party;
  3. Is subject to solicitor-client, litigation or other legal privilege;
  4. Is not readily retrievable and the burden or cost of providing would be disproportionate to the nature or value of the information;
  5. Does not exist, is not held, or cannot be found by BOMA Ottawa;
  6. Could reasonably result in (i) serious harm to the treatment or recovery of the individual concerned, (ii) serious emotional harm to the individual concerned or another individual, or (iii) serious bodily harm to another individual;
  7. May harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative or regulatory functions of a body authorized by law to perform such functions; or
  8. May be withheld or is requested to be withheld under applicable legislation.

Where information will not or cannot be disclosed, the individual making the request will be provided with the reasons for non-disclosure.

BOMA Ottawa will not charge you for verifying or correcting your information, however, to the extent permitted by applicable law, there may be a minimal charge imposed if you need a copy of records.

10. Web Site


Our Web servers track general information about visitors such as their domain name, time of visit, IP address and which pages are being accessed. This information is used only in aggregate form, to better serve visitors by helping us to:

  1. Manage our site;
  2. Diagnose any technical problems; and
  3. Improve the content of our websites.

In browsing the Web, you will encounter a technology known as "cookies". "Cookies" are files or pieces of information that may be stored in a computer's hard drive when an individual visits a Web site. Most Internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you do not wish to accept cookies, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. "Session" cookies are temporary bits of information that are erased once a visitor exits its Web browser window or otherwise turn its computer off. Session cookies are used to improve navigation on websites and to collect aggregate statistical information. "Persistent" cookies are more permanent bits of information that are placed on the hard drive of a visitor's computer and stays there unless it is deleted. Persistent cookies store information on a visitor's computer for a number of purposes, such as retrieving certain information previously provided (e.g., passwords), helping to determine what areas of the Web site visitors find most valuable, and customizing the Web site based on visitor preferences. Our Web site uses session cookies only.

We do not share Personal Information obtained through cookies with any third parties.

Some portions of our Web site are accessible only to members and require a valid username and password. Such Personal Information will only be used for authentication purposes and other purposes as stated in this Policy.

We have no control over the content of third party Web sites that individuals may access through hyperlinks at our Web site. We encourage everyone to read the privacy policy of every Web site they visit.

11.Resolving Your Privacy Concerns

In the event of questions about: (i) access to your Personal Information; (ii) our collection, use, management or disclosure of Personal Information; or (iii) this Policy; please contact BOMA Ottawa's Executive Director by sending an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or calling (613) 232-1875.

BOMA Ottawa will investigate all complaints and if a complaint is justified, we will take all reasonable steps to resolve the issue.

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