Privacy Statement – Clear Financial

Last Updated on: August 14, 2018

Our Commitment to You:

At Clear Financial Corporation (“CFC”, “we”, “our”, “us” and “Company”) we value our relationship with individuals with whom we interact and we are committed to implementing safeguards to preserve your privacy and keep your personal information accurate, secure, confidential and private. This Privacy Statement explains what happens to any personal data you provide to us, we collect from you, or we gather from visitors to www.clearfinancialcorp.com (the “Website”), the uses we make of that information and how we protect, use and disclose your personal information and your rights to access your information. If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement or wish to request access to personal information about you in our possession or control, please contact our Data Protection Office using the contact information set out below.

BY USING THE WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE CFC PRIVACY STATEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE PRIVACY STATEMENT, YOU MUST DISCONTINUE ALL USE OF THE WEBSITE IMMEDIATELY.

Changes to this Privacy Statement:

To ensure that our Privacy Statement is kept up to date, we reserve the right to change it from time to time. If we make any changes to this Privacy Statement, we will change the last “updated on” date of this Privacy Statement as indicated above. Notice of changes to this Privacy Statement will be posted on our Website, www.clearfinancialcorp.com, and may also be distributed through statements, newsletters and/or other communications. Please review our Website periodically for any changes to this Privacy Statement.

Notice to All Users of the Website:

Anonymous Browsing and Use of the Website:

Visitors to our Website, who are not CFC customers, Brokers or Dealers, may browse the Website anonymously. Below, we describe the types of data that our Third Party Network Administrator collects on our behalf from all Website visitors and the purpose of such collection.

Information and Uses– when someone visits the Website, our web servers automatically gather information that allows the Website to communicate with the visitor’s computer during the visit. We also track the number of visits to the Website and which parts of the Website visitors select. We use that information for statistical purposes that help us improve and administer the Website. That information does not include personal information that would permit us to identify or locate individual visitors.
IP Address– CFC employs software programs that monitor network traffic. These programs record the Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses of computers that visit the Website. They also record the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, and the browsers and operating systems used by visitors. We do not attempt to link this information to the identities of individual users.
Hyperlinks– The Website has links to third party Websites that CFC does not own or maintain. Links to other Websites or other resources which are not created or controlled by CFC (“Linked Sites”) are intended for convenience only. Linked Sites are wholly independent from CFC therefore CFC has no control over any products, services, materials, or other information contained in or available through these third party Websites. We make no representations or warranties about the privacy practices of those Websites. Therefore, access to any third party Websites through the Website, regardless of whether the third party Website is a Linked Site or not, is entirely at your own risk and it is your responsibility to take all protective measures to guard against viruses or other destructive devices, programs. CFC makes no representation or warranty regarding, nor endorses, any Linked Sites or the information appearing thereon or any of the products or services described thereon.
Cookies, Web beacons and related technologies – Portions of the Website use statistical tools that may be operated by third party providers (collectively, the “Analytical Tools”). The Analytical Tools may use “cookies” and/or web beacons. A cookie is a small piece of information that a Website transfers to the hard drive of a visitor’s computer for record-keeping purposes. A web beacon, also known as a “clear GIF” (a common format for image files), is an invisible file located on web pages that you visit. They are often used in combination with a cookie to track navigation of a Website. If you visit a page on the Website that contains a web beacon, it communicates with your computer to determine, among other things, whether you have been to that page before or viewed a particular advertisement.

A cookie is used to help a Website distinguish a user’s browser as a previous visitor and thus save and remember any preferences that may have been set while the user was browsing that Website. Cookies can also be used to collect information about how Websites are used and help to manage online advertising by enabling us to understand which ads bring users to our Website and tailor offers on this and other Websites on which we advertise.

Cookies do not contain information that identifies you personally. A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive, pass on computer viruses or capture your e-mail address or other personal information. Some of the Analytical Tools may use both session cookies and permanent cookies in connection with the Website.

The information generated by the cookies and/or web beacons about your use of the Website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored on servers located outside of Canada including, but not limited to, the United States, by the applicable third party provider of an Analytical Tool. This information will be used for the purpose of evaluating your use of the Website, compiling reports on Website activity for Website operators and providing other services relating to Website activity and Internet usage. The third party providers of Analytical Tools may also transfer this information to other third parties where they are required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on their behalf.

You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Website.

Notice to CFC Brokers, Dealers and Customers Using the Website:

Those Website visitors who choose to update their personal and financial information through this Website must provide us with certain personal information in order to help us identify you when accessing the login to the secure site. Such users will no longer be anonymous to us. The information below describes the kinds of personal information that we collect and how and why we collect it. As used in this Privacy Statement, personal information means information about an identifiable individual, whether or not in recorded form, within the meaning of applicable privacy laws.

The type of personal information we collect will depend on various factors such as the nature and purpose of our interaction, the type of products or services you may request or use, and any applicable legal and regulatory obligations. This information may include:

contact information that allows us to communicate with or contact you (for example: your address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail or other electronic address.)
identification information that allows us to confirm your identity or to meet legal and regulatory obligations (for example: your name, date of birth, occupation and government-issued identification)
financial information that allows us to determine your creditworthiness or eligibility for or appropriateness of our products or services (for example: employment and financial history with others, income, assets, liabilities, net worth and credit reports)
transactional information about how you use our different products or services or otherwise do business with us (for example: whether credit is extended, the amount of credited extended, purchase and payment history)
relationship information that helps us to improve service and understand more about you (for example: language and communication method preferences and/or what types of products, services or offers you may like).

Most of the personal information is collected directly from you, whether in person, over the telephone, by corresponding with you via email, fax, text message or the internet, or by other means. For instance, we may collect personal information from you: when you voluntarily make an application to or become a customer of the Company, when you create an account using one of our mobile applications, when you request information from or otherwise communicate with us, and/or through your use of the products and services we provide. Some information may also be collected from other sources such as credit bureaus, financial institutions, law enforcement, employers, media, social media, government agencies and registries, or public records.

We may monitor or record communications between you and our representatives (e.g., telephone calls) in order to enhance and maintain customer service quality, to protect you and the Company, to confirm your decisions and our discussions with you, and/or for training purposes.

The following are CFC’s governing Privacy Statement principles:

Principle #1: Accountability – The Company is responsible for personal information under its control and has a designated Data Protection Officer who is accountable for our compliance with this Privacy Statement and applicable privacy laws. The Data Protection Officer is a member of our management team and their responsibilities include compliance with privacy governance, dispute resolution, education and communication activities. The contact information for our Data Protection Officer is noted below.

Our responsibility regarding personal information applies to personal information in our possession or custody, as well as personal information that we may transfer to a Third Party Service Provider for processing or to provide services on our behalf. We use contractual or other appropriate means to require Third Parties who provide processing or other services on our behalf to maintain a level of privacy protection comparable to our own policies and practices.

Your personal information may be processed or stored in the location in which we, our service providers, and other parties with whom we share information under this Privacy Statement operate (which may include locations outside of Canada). In such event, your personal information may, while in another country, be subject to the laws of that country and may be accessible to courts, law enforcement and government or regulatory agencies in that country in accordance with such laws.

Principle #2: Identifying Purposes – We will identify the purposes for which your personal information is collected at or before the time of collection.

Why We Collect Your Personal Information – Unless additional purposes are identified to you before or at the time of collection, we may collect, use and disclose personal information about you throughout our relationship for some or all of the following purposes:

to verify your identity and information provided by you, such as your employment or credit history
to evaluate your creditworthiness and eligibility and, if your application is approved, to open, administer and operate your account
to provide you with secure access to CFC’s Broker, Dealer or customer online portal
to provide you with ongoing service related to your requests for products, services or other information
to assign, whether as security or otherwise, any or all of CFC’s right, title and interest in respect of this Agreement (including any amounts owing under the Agreement) and all documentation relating thereto
to provide customer service and communicate with you in respect of the Agreement, including responding to your enquiries
to enable us and, as applicable, our third party service providers to provide you with products and ongoing services
to understand your needs and what products or services may be of interest to you
to respond to your requests for products, services or account information
to communicate with you by various methods including email, text (SMS) and telephone (should you consent to such communication)
to verify your instructions and decisions
to help manage and improve your relationship with us
to investigate complaints
to help protect you and us against fraud and error
to comply with laws and regulations, including tax, regulatory and legal reporting requirements
as otherwise permitted or required by law

In addition, when you apply for or accept any of our financial products or services, and as long as you have a loan or credit product or service with us, personal information may be exchanged with credit reporting agencies, credit bureaus, credit insurers, financial institutions and other entities with whom you may have financial dealings to assess and update creditworthiness, manage credit risk, determine eligibility for financial products and services, deter fraud, report defaults and maintain the integrity of the credit-granting process.

Joint Accounts – Where a customer holds a product or service jointly with another person (e.g., joint accounts, co-signed applications), we may share such customer’s information with such other person in connection with the product or service.

Business Transactions – If we enter into a business transaction involving personal information such as a sale or other disposition of all or part of our business or assets, we may share information with the other parties as required to fulfill the obligations of the transaction (e.g., as part of due diligence and/or on completion of the transaction). We will require that the other parties to the transaction protect this information by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information and limit their use to the purposes of the transaction and, if the transaction is completed, the purposes as set out in this Privacy Statement. In the event the transaction is not completed, we will require that the other parties return or destroy, and confirm complete return or destruction of, such personal information.

New Purpose – If a new purpose for using your personal information should develop, we will identify that purpose to you and request your consent before using it for such purpose, unless the new purpose is required or permitted by law.

Principle #3: Consent – The knowledge and consent of an individual are required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where permitted or required by law.

We will collect, use or disclose your personal information only with your knowledge and consent, except where required or permitted by law. Generally, we will seek your consent to use and disclose your personal information for identified purposes at the time of collection. In some circumstances, however, where we identify a new purpose after collection, we may seek your consent to use and disclose your personal information for such new purpose after it has been collected.

Consent may be express or, in some circumstances, implied, and may be given in writing (such as on an application), by using or not using a check off-box, electronically (via the internet), orally (in person or by telephone), or by your conduct, such as by voluntarily using a product or service. In determining the type of consent to obtain, we will consider all relevant factors, including the sensitivity of the information and your reasonable expectations.

Withdrawing Consent – Subject to certain legal or contractual restrictions, you may withdraw your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at any time upon giving us reasonable notice. We will inform you of the implications of doing so. For instance, withdrawing your consent may limit or prevent us from being able to provide or continue to provide you with certain products or services.

In certain circumstances your consent cannot be withdrawn. For example, you may not withdraw your consent where our collection, use or sharing is required by law. Also, as long as you have a loan or credit product or service with us, you may not withdraw your consent to our ongoing collection, use or disclosure of your personal information in connection with such product or service. Further, in order to maintain the integrity of the credit reporting system, we may periodically update your information with credit bureaus as long as you have a loan or credit product or service with us. Your consent to this exchange of information cannot be withdrawn during this time.

Electronic Marketing Communications; Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) –Subject to applicable law, from time to time, we may send you electronic communications notifying you of new and existing products or services, including special offers or promotions, that may be of interest to you. You may unsubscribe at any time from receiving our electronic marketing messages by clicking on the unsubscribe or opt-out link or following any other unsubscribe instructions included in any such message.

Please allow up to 10 business days for the change to take effect. Please note that this will not limit our right to send you certain communications relating to your account or your existing products, services or transactions with us, or as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law, and these transactional account messages and other non-commercial electronic messages will not be affected by your choice to unsubscribe or opt-out from electronic marketing messages.

Principle #4: Limiting Collection – The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the Company. Personal information will be collected by fair and lawful means.

Principle #5: Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention – We will not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required or permitted by law. We will retain personal information only for as long as necessary to achieve fulfillment of those purposes or as required by law. When your information is no longer required, we will destroy, erase or make it anonymous.

Principle #6: Keeping Personal Information Accurate – We will keep personal information as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.

While we take care to keep your personal information in our records as accurate, complete and up to date as necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used, we also rely on you to notify us when your information changes. If you wish to verify the accuracy and completeness of your personal information in our records, you may contact our Data Protection Officer using the contact information listed below.

Principle #7: Safeguarding Personal Information – We will protect personal information by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.

We will implement safeguards to personal information in our possession or control against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The safeguards used to protect personal information will vary depending on the sensitivity, amount, distribution, format and method of storage of the personal information. Such security measures include:

physical security, such as locked filing cabinets and restricted access to offices;
organizational security, such as security clearances, controlled entry in data centres and limiting access to relevant information on a “need to know” basis; and
technological security, such as limiting application access to specific roles, the use of passwords, personal identification numbers and encryption.

We will use care when disposing of or destroying personal information in order to prevent unauthorized access to the information.

Where the Company uses Third Party Service Providers who may have access to personal information under our control, we use contracts and other measures to require them to have policies and practices in place comparable to our own in order to protect the privacy, confidentiality and security of your personal information and to prevent such information from being used or disclosed for unauthorized purposes.

We make reasonable efforts to prevent any loss, misuse, disclosure or modification of personal information, as well as any unauthorized access to personal information. Although we take steps to safeguard the personal information under our control, “perfect security” does not exist. We cannot guarantee the security of information posted or transmitted using the Website. It is possible that third parties may unlawfully intercept or access such information.

Principle #8: Openness Concerning our Privacy Practices – We will ensure that specific information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information is made readily available to individuals with whom we interact.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement or our privacy practices and procedures, please contact our Data Protection Office using the contact information below.

Principle #9: Access to Information – We will, upon request, inform an individual of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and will give such individual access to that information. An individual will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.

Accessing Your Personal Information – Upon request, we will tell you what personal information we hold about you, how that information has been used or is being made and to whom it has been disclosed.

We will also provide you, upon request, with a copy of records related to your personal information, except in certain situations (for example, if they contain references to other individuals, cannot be disclosed for legal, security or proprietary reasons, are subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege, or in other circumstances prescribed by law). In order to verify that the information is being released to the proper individual, you may be asked to provide suitable identification or to otherwise identify yourself. If we are unable to provide a list of organizations to which we have disclosed your personal information, we will provide a list of organizations to which we may have disclosed your personal information. If we deny your request for access, we will advise you of the reason for the refusal. If there will be a charge to access your information, we will inform you of the approximate cost prior to providing access. Requests for access should be directed in writing to our Data Protection Office using the contact information below.

Accuracy of Your Personal Information – You may challenge the accuracy and completeness of the personal information we hold about you. If you demonstrate to us that your personal information is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date, we will amend or delete the personal information as appropriate. If necessary, we will send the amended personal information to any third parties to whom we have disclosed inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information in order to permit them to revise their records. If we do not agree to amend or delete the personal information as requested by you, you may challenge our decision. We will make a record of this challenge, and, if necessary, disclose the challenge to any Third Parties to whom we have disclosed the personal information. If you would like to verify the accuracy and completeness of your personal information in our records, contact our Data Protection Office using the contact information below.

Principle #10: Challenging Compliance – An individual will be able to address a challenge concerning the Company’s compliance with this Privacy Statement or applicable privacy laws to our Data Protection Office.

The Company has policies and procedures with respect to receiving, investigating and responding to individuals’ questions and complaints relating to the handling of their personal information.

We will investigate all complaints. If we find that a complaint is justified, we will take appropriate measures, including, if necessary, amending our policies and practices. If you are not satisfied with the way the we have responded to your complaint, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy

Commissioner of Canada:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30, Victoria Street
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3
1-800-282- 1376
www.priv.gc.ca

Helpful tips on protecting your information:

Username selection– your Username is what other Third Party Service Providers use to identify you. In order to protect your privacy, you should choose a Username that does not resemble your real name.
Password reminder– it is a good practice to select a password for your account that is unique, a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, and isn’t predictable or easy to guess. For instance, “Rocky” may be your pet’s name and easy to remember, but “!Rocky2” would be difficult for someone to guess. Another good practice is to change your password periodically (g. every 90 days).
Communications– if you post any communications on the Website, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit may be read, collected, or used by other Third Party Service Providers and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We do not monitor or mask personally identifiable information that may appear in communications you post, so if you choose to include personal information you do so at your own risk.

Terms Used in this Statement:

Broker, Dealer – an approved party to the products and services offered by CFC.
Third Party Service Provider – a CFC approved partner who provides services on behalf of
Third Party Network Administrator – a CFC approved partner who provides services to the Website of Clear Financial Corporation.
Permitted or required by applicable laws and legal and regulatory requirements – this includes law, regulation, rules or requests in general customer compliance.
Personal information – information about an identifiable individual that you submitted as part of your relationship with CFC.

Note Regarding Children under the Age of Majority:

In order to use the CFC Website, you must have reached the age of majority in the province in which you are normally resident. Persons under the age or majority are not eligible to participate in Clear Financial Corporation’s products or services.

Provincial Law:

This Privacy Statement is drafted to help ensure compliance with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documentation Act (PIPEDA) and the CSA Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information. You may have additional privacy rights under applicable provincial law in addition to those outlined in this Privacy Notice.

Contacting CFC:

The individual at CFC that is responsible for this Privacy Statement and the information governed under it the Data Protection Officer. The Data Protection Office may be contacted at:

Data Protection Office
Clear Financial Corporation
1455 Lakeshore Road, Suite 205 South
Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7S 2J1
info@clearfinancialcorp.com