Privacy Policy

Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd. (“Ripples”) operates www.ripplesofbetrayal.ca and may operate other websites. It is “Ripples’” policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect while operating our websites.

This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from www.ripplesofbetrayal.ca, or other websites owned by “Ripples”.

THIS POLICY IS SEPARATE FROM THE CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT AND PERTAINS SOLELY TO HOW THE WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY COLLECTS DATA AND HOW “RIPPLES” USES THAT DATA.

Compliance

“Ripples” is compliant with both Federal and Provincial privacy legislation (including PIPEDA, Personal Protection of Information and Electronic Documents Act and PHIPA, Personal Health Information Protection Act). Privacy of personally identifying as well as potentially personally identifying information is an important principle to “Ripples” and its staff. It is committed to collecting, using, and disclosing potentially personally identifying as well as personally identifying information responsibly and only to the extent necessary to provide its services and products. “Ripples” is also open and transparent as to how it handles all personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying, information to respect the privacy of its clients.

Gathering of Personally Identifying Information

Certain visitors to “Ripples” websites choose to interact with “Ripples” in ways that require “Ripples” to gather personally identifying information. The amount and type of information that “Ripples” gathers depends on the nature of the interaction. For example, “Ripples” asks visitors who sign up for the Community service at www.ripplesofbetrayal to provide an email address, username and password. Those who engage in transactions with “Ripples” are asked to provide additional information, including as necessary the personal and financial information required to process those transactions. In each case, “Ripples” collects such information only insofar as is necessary or appropriate to fulfill the purpose of the visitor’s interaction with “Ripples”. “Ripples” does not disclose personally identifying information other than as described below*. Also, visitors can at their discretion refuse to supply personally identifying information, with the caveat that it may prevent them from engaging in certain website-related activities.

Information Collected and Secured

“Ripples” will not release or share a client’s personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying, information (e.g. name, address, telephone number, reason for seeking services, etc.) to anyone without the client’s written permission or knowledge. (For limits to confidentiality*, where this may not apply, see below). “Ripples” may from time to time, with clients’ permission, send information to clients that may be of use to clients, for example, tips to manage symptoms, information about new services, etc. If clients prefer not to receive this type of information, they may inform their counsellor or the office manager, or they may electronically unsubscribe on Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd. websites, for example www.ripplesofbetrayal.ca . Note that “Ripples” staff are committed and trained to maintaining the privacy of clients’ personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying, information.

Protection of Certain Personally Identifying Information

“Ripples” discloses personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying information, only to those of its staff that:

need to know that information in order to process the users’ requests on “Ripples’” behalf, or to provide services available at “Ripples” websites, and
that have agreed not to disclose it to others.

Those that have access to client information and client files, for the purposes of delivering professional, responsible, and ethical service, are the client’s counsellor, the counsellor’s supervisor, the office manager, and the owner of Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd. By using “Ripples” websites, you consent to the transfer of such information to them. “Ripples” will not rent or sell personally identifying, nor potentially personally identifying, information to anyone. “Ripples” and its counsellors will only disclose personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying information, under the following circumstances noted below*.

*Sharing or Disclosing Client Information to Others

Personally identifying, as well as potentially personally identifying, client information is not shared with third parties unless there is written permission and consent provided by clients to share this information. There are some limits to confidentiality and in these circumstances, client information can be shared with the appropriate parties without consent from a client. These circumstances are as follows:

Your counsellor is legally obliged to share information with a third party when he/she has concerns that you are at risk of seriously harming yourself or someone else.
Your counsellor is legally obliged to report actual or suspected cases of abuse of children (anyone under the age of 18) or other vulnerable peoples.
Your counsellor is obliged to comply with provincial and federal legal requests/subpoenas for client information.

“Ripples” may also disclose personally identifying as well as potentially personally identifying information in good faith when it believes that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect the property or rights of “Ripples”, third parties or the public at large.

Communication

If you are a registered user of a “Ripples” website and have supplied your email address, “Ripples” may occasionally send you an email to tell you about new features, solicit your feedback, or just keep you up to date with what’s going on with “Ripples” and its products and services. “Ripples” takes all measures reasonably necessary to protect against the unauthorized access, use, alteration or destruction of potentially personally identifying and personally-identifying information.

Website Visitors

“Ripples” also collects non-personally identifying information of the sort that web browsers and servers typically make available, such as the browser type, language preference, referring site, and the date and time of each visitor request. “Ripples’” purpose in collecting non-personally identifying information is to better understand how ripplesofbetrayal.ca visitors use its website. From time to time, “Ripples” may release non-personally identifying information in the aggregate, e.g., by publishing a report on trends in the usage of its website.

Additionally, other potentially personally identifying information like Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for logged in users and for users leaving comments on www.ripplesofbetrayal.ca blogs/website may be collected. “Ripples” only discloses logged in user and commenter IP addresses under the same circumstances that it uses and discloses personally identifying information as described above*, except that commenter IP addresses and email addresses are visible and disclosed to the administrators of the blog/site where the comment was left.

Aggregated Statistics

“Ripples” may collect statistics about the behavior of visitors to its websites. “Ripples” may display this information publicly or provide it to others. However, “Ripples” does not disclose personally identifying information other than as described above.

Cookies

A cookie is a string of information that a website stores on a visitor’s computer, and that the visitor’s browser provides to the website each time the visitor returns. “Ripples” uses cookies to help it identify and track visitors, their usage of a Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd. website, and their website access preferences. “Ripples’” visitors who do not wish to have cookies placed on their computers should set their browsers to refuse cookies before using “Ripples” websites, with the drawback that certain features of “Ripples” websites may not function properly without the aid of cookies.

Business Transfers

If “Ripples”, or substantially all of its assets, were acquired, or in the unlikely event that “Ripples” goes out of business or enters bankruptcy, user information would be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of “Ripples” in a Pond Counseling Ltd. may continue to use your personal information as set forth in this policy.

Ads

Ads appearing on any of our websites may be delivered to users by advertising partners, who may set cookies. These cookies allow the ad server to recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement to compile information about you or others who use your computer. This information allows ad networks to, among other things, deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. This Privacy Policy covers the use of cookies by “Ripples” and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.

Privacy Policy Changes

Although most changes are likely to be minor, “Ripples” may change its Privacy Policy from time to time, and at “Ripples” sole discretion. “Ripples” encourages visitors to frequently check this page for any changes to its Privacy Policy. If you have a www.ripplesofbetrayal.ca account, you might also receive an alert informing you of these changes. Your continued use of this site after any change in this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such change.

For more information, questions, concerns, or complaints about “Ripples” Privacy Policy or practices, you may contact the Privacy and Information Officer:

Beverly MacLeod, RPC Provisional

Owner of Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd.

Suite 369, 4246 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4S 3R9

306-515-3068

hello@ripplesofbetrayal.ca

If clients are not satisfied with Ripples in a Pond Counseling Ltd. responses to their privacy concerns, they may contact:

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada

112 Kent Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3

Phone: (613) 995-8210

Toll Free: 1-800-282-1376

Fax: (613) 947-6850

TTY: (613) 992-9190