Protection of Personal Information
Privacy
The Bank of Canada (the "Bank") is committed to respecting the personal privacy of individuals who purchase bonds by paper purchase applications/form(s). All Personal Information held or collected by the Bank of Canada is protected under the Privacy Act.
In this Privacy Notice, "Personal Information" has the same meaning as found in the Privacy Act, and means "information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form".
Collection and Use of Personal Information
Personal Information is obtained from you at the time of purchase of CSB products if you supplied it voluntarily. The Bank's collection of Personal Information through the paper purchase application form is for the purpose of facilitating bond purchases and redemptions, providing information as to your bond holdings and maintaining and improving our CSB or CPB related services to you.
The Bank uses information pertaining to purchases of CPB/CSBs for planning, forecasting and/or evaluation purposes. This information is anonymized at a summary level and does not contain Personal Information.
The Bank strives to provide you with the best possible service and accordingly may use your Personal Information to contact you to participate in surveys for market research purposes if you consent.
Sharing and Disclosure of Personal Information
Other than as described in this section, your Personal Information is not shared with anyone except within the Bank, or service providers. Such sharing is done in order to communicate with you (e.g., provide you with information), conduct market research, and respond to your requests.
The Bank uses a third party service provider who operates and maintains the bond registry and provides services to bondholders. The Bank, through its service agreement with the third party service provider, requires appropriate physical and technical security to protect your Personal Information and further requires its retention in Canada.
The Bank reserves the right to use other service providers in connection with the operation of the program as well as the provision of CSB or CPB related services and will do so in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and the Privacy Act.
There may be circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Personal Information by the Bank may be justified or permitted or where the Bank is obliged to disclose information without consent. In such circumstances, the Bank will not disclose more information than is required and only in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and the Privacy Act.
The Bank does not otherwise share, disclose, sell, trade, barter or exchange any Personal Information it has obtained.
Accuracy and Retention
The Bank endeavours to ensure that any Personal Information in its possession is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which the Bank uses that data. Information contained in files that have been closed is not actively updated or maintained.
The Bank retains Personal Information as long as the Bank believes it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected. The Bank has internal policies and procedures for the retention and subsequent disposition of Personal Information. Any disposition of information in records under the control of the Bank is subject to requirements imposed pursuant to the Library and Archives of Canada Act.
Security
The Bank is committed to ensuring the security of the Personal Information entrusted to it and in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Privacy Act and applicable Government of Canada security-related policies.
The third party service providers are required to maintain adequate physical, procedural and technical security, in a manner consistent with the Bank’s own security requirements, so as to minimize to the extent possible any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of your Personal Information.
Access to Personal Information by employees of the Bank or any service provider will occur only where the Bank determines there is a need for that employee to know that information in order to maintain the registry or to provide services to you.
Access and Privacy Administration
Canadian citizens or permanent residents may request access to their personal records held by the Bank, provided such information is under the Bank's control and can be provided. The Bank will provide advice on how to access your information and how to file complaints should you believe it necessary to approach the Privacy Commissioner. The Bank also prepares an annual report to Parliament, at the end of each fiscal year, outlining the volume of requests received and how the Bank has responded to those requests.
Pursuant to requirements under the Privacy Act, all information collected is described in Personal Information Banks. If you are interested in further information about these Personal Information Banks, please refer to the Bank of Canada’s chapter in InfoSource Publication
Questions or comments regarding this Privacy Notice, or the administration of the Privacy Act may be directed to the Bank's Access to Information and Privacy Office. If you are not satisfied with our response to your privacy concerns, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Amendment of This Notice
This Notice is in effect as of August 2017. You may wish to review this Notice periodically because the Bank will from time to time review and revise its privacy practices and this Notice. Any amendment of this Notice will be posted on this Site. Policy changes will apply to all information held by the Bank - whether collected prior to or after the date of posting of the revised Notice to this Site. As an owner of CSB products, you agree to the terms of such revised privacy notice.