Privacy

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At Second Opinion Investor Services Inc., an important part of our commitment to you is respect for your right to privacy. We are completely committed to protecting your Personal Information.

At Second Opinion, we have policies and procedures to protect your Personal Information. Keeping your information and affairs in strict confidence is a cornerstone of our business and an integral part of our commitment to clients. As part of this commitment, we have established Ten Privacy Principles to govern our actions as it relates to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. We invite you to review these principles, which have been built on the values set by Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Our Ten Privacy Principles are:

Principle #1: Accountability
Principle #2: Identify the Purpose
Principle #3: Obtain Consent
Principle #4: Limit Collection
Principle #5: Limit use, disclosure and retention
Principle #6: Be accurate
Principle #7: Use appropriate safeguards
Principle #8: Be Open
Principle #9: Give individuals access
Principle #10: Provide Recourse

Second Opinion may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. Please visit http://www.secondopinions.ca for the most up to date version.

Principle #1: Accountability

Each Second Opinion employee is responsible for maintaining and protecting client information under their control. In fulfilling this mandate, each Second Opinion office must designate an individual who is accountable for compliance with this Privacy Policy. Furthermore, Second Opinion’s Privacy Officer oversees each office’s compliance with Privacy Legislation and this Privacy Policy.

Our Privacy Officer can be contacted at:

Privacy Officer
Second Opinion Investor Services
4141 Yonge Street, Suite 303
Toronto, ON
M2P 2A8

Principle #2: Identify the Purpose

The purpose for which client information is collected must be identified before or at the time the information is collected. The purposes for which information is collected, used or disclosed by Second Opinion must be those that a reasonable person would consider are appropriate in the circumstances. Specifically, when you become a client of Second Opinion we ask for your Personal Information so we may:

  • Understand your financial resources and needs
  • Determine your suitability/eligibility for our services
  • Conduct the services in which you hired us for
  • Comply with Privacy Legislation and any Code of Ethics of professional organizations in which our employees are members, including the Certified Financial Planner Code of Ethics

At Second Opinion we are dedicated to informing you of why your Personal Information is collected and how it will be used. When Second Opinion collects, uses, or discloses personal information for a purpose not previously identified, we will contact the individual to whom the personal information relates and ask for permission, except in accordance with Section 7 of the Act.

Principle #3: Obtain Consent

Second Opinion will obtain the consent of the individual for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information at or before the time the information is collected, used, or disclosed, except where not required to do so by law.  Consent can be either express or implied.

Clients may, at any time, withdraw their consent as long as:

  • you provide reasonable notice
  • we are not legally required to collect, use or disclose your information
  • withdrawing consent does not impede our ability to fulfill our contract with you

We will commit to explaining the implications of withdrawing consent.


Principle #4: Limit Collection

Second Opinion only collects personal information in a fair and lawful manner. We are committed to collecting only the information necessary to provide the services our clients have hired us for and all employees can explain to you the specific purpose your information is being collected for. Depending on the service clients hire us for we limit collection to the following:

  • Name, Age, Gender, Marital Status, and Ethnic Origin
  • Financial details, including but not limited to occupation, income, bank and investment statements
  • Health details, only as they pertain to assessing disability and life insurance needs as well as longevity risk
  • Any other information a reasonable person would deem to be necessary in order to complete the service

Information not to be collected by Second Opinion staff include Social Insurance Numbers, drivers license numbers, health card numbers, credit cards numbers, and any other personal information which is not specifically needed in order to complete our service. If an employee cannot explain exactly why information is needed than it must not be collected.

Principle #5: Limit use, disclosure and retention

The personal information we collect is only used, disclosed or retained for its original intended purpose, unless we have your consent or the information is required to meet legal requirements. Personal information will generally only be used by Head Office and the Regional Office in the area it was collected.

Second Opinion will only disclose personal information for reasons that a reasonable person would consider appropriate. This includes disclosure to a remote and secure third-party data storage firm.

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected.  After that point in time, unless consent is given for us to keep it longer, the information will be erased, destroyed, or made anonymous in a secure manner.

Principle #6: Be accurate

We are committed to maintaining the accuracy of your personal information and ensuring that it is as complete and up-to-date as necessary in order to fulfill our duties to you. However, we also rely on you to inform us when your personal information changes by notifying the office where you do business. If we do not agree to make the amendments that you request, you may challenge our decision as described by Principle #10.

Principle #7: Use appropriate safeguards

Second Opinion will take reasonable measures to protect all personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification by security safeguards that are appropriate to the level of sensitivity of the information. This protection will be provided no matter what format the information is collected and stored. We will use the following measures:

  • Physical measures, such as locked filing cabinets, locked doors, alarms, and restricted access to our offices. Access to our Head Office will be supervised by a 24 hour third-party security service.
  • Technological measures, such as passwords, firewalls, and encryption.
  • Organizational measures, such as staff training on security safeguards and our privacy policies and procedures, confidentiality agreements between us and our associates, and only providing your personal information to our employees on a “need-to-know” basis.
  • Any other measure that we deem necessary in order to safeguard your personal information. Our Privacy Officer will review these safeguards on a regular basis.


Principle #8: Be Open

Second Opinion has made this Privacy Policy open to the public via our website. Clients may submit a written request for a printed copy of this Privacy Policy and will receive it free of charge. Second Opinion will also maintain a Privacy Officer who will be available to answer your questions regarding this Privacy Policy and our procedures for adhering to this Policy.

Principle #9: Give individuals access

Upon written request to our Privacy Officer, and within 30 days of receiving such a request, clients will be given access to their personal information we have on file. We will explain how it was used and who, if anyone, it was disclosed to and for what purpose. Where appropriate, we will also amend or correct any wrong information and destroy or make anonymous information that we are no longer required to keep.

Principle #10: Provide Recourse

Complaints regarding this Privacy Policy, including delays in responding to a request, incomplete or inaccurate responses, and suspicion of improper collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information are to be forwarded, in writing, to our Privacy Officer. Our Privacy Officer will reply with our requirements for making a formal complaint and will investigate all formal complaints received. If a complaint is found to be justified we will amend our Privacy Policy and procedures. If we cannot reach a satisfactory solution to your complaint we will provide basic information on your avenues of recourse.

Our Privacy Officer can be reached at:

Privacy Officer
Second Opinion Investor Services
4141 Yonge Street, Suite 303
Toronto, ON
M2P 2A8