We are committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information

Last update: February 2023

This Privacy Statement provides important information about how we handle your personal information and your choices for how you may access that information. Safeguarding your privacy is important to us.

There are many departments in The United Church of Canada, and this Privacy Statement applies to those websites that are linked to it.

This Privacy Statement may be supplemented by other consents you provide and by any terms or agreements you agree to as part of a purchase or your participation with the different departments of The United Church of Canada.

We encourage you review this Privacy Statement for updates. We will notify you of any changes by updating the effective date at the top of this Privacy Statement.

Privacy Statement topics

  1. To what information does this statement apply?
  2. What personal information do we collect and when?
  3. Why do we use and share your personal information?
  4. What are your choices about how we handle your personal information?
  5. Where do we keep your personal information?
  6. How long do we keep your personal information?
  7. How can you access or correct your personal information?
  8. How do you contact us regarding your questions or concerns about privacy?

1. To what information does this statement apply?

This statement applies to your personal information. Personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, such as your home address, telephone number, e-mail address, and details about your transactions with The United Church of Canada and method of payment.

Personal information does not include the name, title, business address, or business telephone for an employee of an organization.

2. What personal information do we collect and when?

We collect personal information from you in many ways, including when you

  • visit one of our websites
  • make a donation
  • participate in church activities
  • register for a program, webinar, or event
  • subscribe to one of our newsletters
  • request or purchase goods or services from the church

We may also receive your personal information through third parties. These third parties are usually corporations specializing in Internet-related services and products. The information we use from these third parties may assist us in calculating overall site traffic patterns, analyzing user trends, and administering our site. If you wish to limit the information that we receive from these third parties, please Contact Us and we will do our best to assist you.

The type of personal information we collect will depend on who you are— customer, website visitor, employee, volunteer, and so on— and our purpose for collecting the information. This may include

  • personal contact details such as your name, address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers
  • donation (gift) information and history
  • payment information such as credit or debit card information
  • transaction details, including details of the products or services you order or purchase from us
  • employment and volunteer information, including date of birth, gender, marital and dependent status, beneficiary and emergency contact information, government identification numbers, bank account details, payroll/wage and benefit information, performance information, insurance enrollment information, education and training, and other employment records

3. Why do we use and share your personal information?

We use and share your personal information to administer our services, including

  • Web hosting
  • event registration
  • donation and payment processing

We also use and share your personal information to better serve you by

  • administering our website and other online platforms
  • addressing customer service matters related to a product or service

We also use and share your personal information to address our business and legal needs, including to

  • measure the success or effectiveness of our products and services
  • protect our business and legal interests, such as to investigate, detect, or prevent fraud or harm to our systems
  • ensure the safety and security of our operations
  • fulfill other purposes you consent to or as permitted or required by applicable law

4. What are your choices about how we handle your personal information?

We collect, use, or disclose your personal information with your consent, except where not required by applicable privacy laws. Your consent may be expressed orally, in writing, or may be implied, and you may provide it to us or a third party.

You can refuse to provide personal information to us. You can also withdraw your consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. In either case, we may not be able to provide you with the information, product, or service you request. We will explain the implications to you at the time to help you with your decision. For further information or to withdraw your consent, please Contact Us.

In addition, you may opt out of receiving one or more of our e-newsletters and any promotional e-mails from the church at any time by following the Unsubscribe instructions contained in those e-mails, or you can Contact Us.

5. Where do we keep your personal information?

Your personal information may be transferred, stored, or processed by or on behalf of The United Church of Canada outside of your province or territory, or outside of Canada. The laws of those other places will apply to that information, including laws that require disclosing such information to government, courts, and/or law enforcement or regulatory agencies.

Regardless of where your personal information is processed or stored, we will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Statement and applicable privacy laws.

For further information about how and where we store your personal information, please Contact Us.

6. How long do we keep your personal information?

We are taking steps to ensure that your personal information is retained only as long as it is required to meet any potential obligations or legal or government requirements. Once the personal information is no longer required, it will be destroyed in compliance with federal and/or provincial/territorial retention rules. When this personal information is no longer required, methods to destroy it are carried out using the same care as is used for preserving this information, in compliance with our records retention schedules.

7. How can you access or correct your personal information?

Each person has the right to access their own personal information that is in the possession or control of The United Church of Canada.

To access this personal information, requests should be made in writing to The United Church of Canada, Privacy Officer, stating as specifically as possible which personal information is being requested.

The United Church of Canada has the right to refuse a request for access to personal information if

  • the information is protected by solicitor-client privilege
  • granting access would reveal confidential financial information
  • doing so could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or security of another individual
  • the information was collected for purposes related to the detection and prevention of fraud
  • the information was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process, or the information would likely reveal personal information about another individual
  • the information was collected in the course of a disciplinary process within The United Church of Canada that is ongoing as of the date of the request

If you demonstrate to us that your personal information in our records is inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct that information. Where appropriate, we will give the corrected personal information to third parties having access to your personal information.

8. How do you contact us regarding your questions or concerns about privacy?

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for overseeing what we do with your information and for monitoring compliance with this policy and privacy laws.

If you have concerns or questions about how we handle your personal information, or wish to make a formal access or correction request, please contact us by writing using the contact information that follows.

Contact us

privacy@united-church.ca
The United Church of Canada
Legal Department
3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4