The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information.  This privacy policy outlines how we deal with your personal information.

Our website contains links to other sites which are not governed by the privacy policy.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information about an individual or information that allows an individual to be identified.  It does not include “business card information”, that is, name, business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

Why do we collect personal information?

We collect information about our members and others to:

• consider applications for membership, and appeals from denials of membership, and to make rulings on membership categories and status
• facilitate access to the DGC Health & Welfare Plan, which provides life, health and related insurance benefits to the members of the DGC and any other persons on whose behalf contributions are made by employers
• facilitate e-commerce transactions through our website, such as the payment of dues
• consider complaints filed under the DGC Constitution, and to conduct hearings and appeals regarding complaints
• provide training to our members
• provide information and assistance to the DGC District Councils regarding such matters as payment of dues by members, and membership status and membership categories of members
• provide credit and production information from DGC contracts for both members and non-members to the Directors Rights Collective of Canada (DRCC)
• provide information to you about developments and advise you of upcoming events
• generally, provide services to our members, including for the purposes set out in the DGC Constitution
• any other purpose to which you consent.

How do we collect personal information?

We may collect personal information directly from your application for membership, and in the course of your membership in the DGC.

Sometimes, we may also obtain information about you from other sources, for example:

• your District Council
• your employer.

We may also collect personal information on our website, or in connection with your use of our on-line payment tool.  We only collect the information you give us voluntarily by sending us an e-mail message, completing forms, or using the links contained on the website.  DGC collects and uses your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and other information you submit on or through the website for purposes for which you provided the personal information, to respond to your inquiries, and to provide you with updates and information that we think may be of interest to you.  In providing DGC any personal information on or through the website, you consent to the collection and use of that information for these purposes.

On our website, like many other websites, we monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimise our web service.  We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include identifiable personal information.

Cookies

When a visitor accesses our website, we may use a browser feature called a "cookie" to collect information, e.g. the type of Internet browser feature the visitor is using, the domain name of the website from which the visitor came, the date and duration of the visit, the number of visits, the average time spent on our website, pages viewed and number of cookies accumulated.  A cookie is a small text file which contains a unique identification number that identifies the visitor's browser, but not necessarily the visitor, to our computers at each visit.  Unless a visitor specifically informs us (e.g. by sending us correspondence from the website) we will not know who the individual visitors are.  In addition to the identified purposes described in our Privacy Policy, we may use this website information to measure the use of the website, and to improve it.  Visitors can reset their browsers to notify them when they have received a cookie or to refuse to accept cookies.  However, if a visitor refuses to accept cookies, he or she may not be able to use some of the features available on our website.

When would we disclose your personal information?

From time to time, under certain circumstances, the DGC may disclose your personal information:

• when we are required or authorized by law to do so (e.g., if a court issues a subpoena or an arbitrator issues a summons, or where a request is made pursuant to the Canada Corporations Act, which governs the DGC)
• when you have consented to the disclosure
• where it is necessary to collect dues
• if we engage a third party to provide administrative services to us (such as benefit administration services, computer backup services, archival file storage, and mailing services).  In these circumstances, we ensure that the third party has appropriate privacy policies
• when we seek the advice of legal counsel

How is consent given to collection, use and disclosure of personal information?

By submitting personal information to DGC, or its service providers and agents, you agree that we may collect, use and disclose such personal information in accordance with this privacy policy, and as permitted or required by law.  Subject to legal and contractual requirements, you may refuse or withdraw your consent to certain of the identified purposes for which we collect information at any time by contacting the DGC privacy officer identified below.  If you provide the DGC, or our service providers and agents, with personal information of another individual, you represent that you have all necessary authority and/or have obtained all necessary consents from such person to enable us to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set forth in this privacy policy.

Consent for the collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information may be obtained orally or in writing, and may be given or implied.

How do we use your personal information?

When we use your personal information to provide services to you, we will assume that you have consented to that use, unless you specifically advise otherwise.

The DGC does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products.

How do we protect your personal information?

The DGC takes all reasonable precautions to ensure your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure.  This includes the following steps:

• secure premises
• restricted access to personal information stored electronically
• technological safeguards like security software, encryption and firewalls to protect hacking or authorized computer access
• internal password and security policies
• training of staff to comply with this policy and to respect the sensitivity of personal information
• where personal information is sent to a third party for processing, we make sure that the third party has appropriate privacy policies in place.

Communicating With Us

You should be aware that e-mail is not a completely secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.

Updating your personal information

It is important that the information that you provide us be accurate and up to date.  If any of your information changes, it is your obligation as a member to let us know so that we can adjust our records.

DGC Census Data Collection

The information DGC collects is held in strict confidence and used only for completion of DGC business. We do not sell personal information to third parties or share member identifiable information outside of the organization except where required to complete the business of the organization, and then only with trusted partners equally committed and accountable for respecting and maintaining the privacy of DGC members.

The DGC is working to advance equity in recruitment, hiring, retention, and training in the screen-based industries. This data allows us to determine where employment gaps exist, and where we have gained and lost ground in closing these gaps. It also offers valuable insight into where we need to concentrate our efforts, and how we can ensure members are fully supported in their career development. 

To that end, the DGC members are asked to complete the voluntary online Census. Respondents may choose to answer all or some of the questions and can select more than one answer for each question. Members may update their information at any time. All data collected is confidential. You can decline to take the survey in its entirety, or choose to not answer any of the individual survey questions. If you wish, you can always submit a revised response on a later date. 

When you complete the survey, your confidential response is counted in our analysis of representation among DGC members. The information is used by DGC to determine programs and initiatives, and to develop strategies that ensure that the industry and our membership is representative of our diverse community. This information may be included in an anonymized and aggregate manner in DGC reports provided to the DGC Executive and posted on the DGC website. 

Information collected through the DGC Census will be maintained securely and will only be accessed by authorized DGC staff or officers. 

The DGC’s Commitment to Confidentiality outlines the protection of your privacy and how anonymity in reporting information is maintained. Our commitment to confidentiality is foundational to the integrity of the census data and you can be assured that: 

1. The census information you provide will be stored in a strictly confidential DGC Census database and will not be used for any other purpose. 
2. The information you provide on the census is accessible only to those individuals whose job it is to enter the data and / or to produce the DGC Census reports. No one else can access this information. 
3. The data you provide will be stored in a strictly confidential DGC Census database and will not be used for any other purpose. 
4. The only identification on the questionnaire is your membership number. The membership number will only be used to track completion and return rates and to link your response to other data about your position in order to be able to report on trends over time in various employment groups – for example, the proportion of Directors in the various designated groups. 
5. No information about groups of three or less is reported to ensure anonymity. Only summary reports will be released. No individual will be identified. 
6. You may update your information at any time by submitting a new survey response on the DGC Census site.

This Commitment to Confidentiality applies to and binds anyone who may be dealing with the DGC Census information or process. 

Changes to the Policy

The DGC reserves the right to modify or supplement this policy at any time.  If we make any changes, we will post the changes on our website and will make the revised policy and changes available upon request to the DGC Privacy Officer.

Requests for Access

If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to our Privacy Officer:

Marjorie Chu
Executive Assistant and Operations Manager
Directors Guild of Canada
65 Heward Ave., Building A, Suite A201
Toronto, ON, M4M 2T5
mchu@dgc.ca

DGC Census Data Collection