Templeman LLP recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. Templeman’s lawyers have a professional obligation to keep confidential all information we receive within a solicitor-client relationship. Templeman is committed to protecting any personal information it holds. This Privacy Policy outlines how Templeman manages your personal information and safeguard your privacy.

YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
From January 1, 2004, all businesses engaged in commercial activities must comply with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (the “Act”), www.privcom.gc.ca, and the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information, which it incorporates. These obligations extend to lawyers and law firms, including Templeman. The Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.

Templeman is responsible for the personal information it collects and holds. To ensure this accountability, Templeman has developed this policy, and trained its lawyers and support staff about its policies and practices.

WHY DOES TEMPLEMAN NEED PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Templeman provides legal services and products to a wide range of clients. In doing so, it produces direct marketing materials concerning its services and developments in the law.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced.

If Templeman did not collect and use your personal information its lawyers could not provide you with legal services.

HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Templeman collect information only by lawful and fair means and not in an unreasonably intrusive way. Wherever possible Templeman collects your personal information directly from you, at the start of a retainer and in the course of itsrepresentation.

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

• your insurance company;
• your real estate agent in a property transaction;
• from a government agency or registry;
• your employer, if we are acting for you, at its request; and,
• your accountant.

CONSENT
In most cases, Templeman will ask you to specifically consent, if it collects, uses, or discloses your personal information. Normally, Templeman asks for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, it may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with Templeman.

USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
Templeman uses your personal information to provide legal advice and services to you, to administer (time and billing databases) and to include you in any direct marketing activities. If you tell Templeman that you no longer wish to receive information about itsservices, or about new developments in the law, Templeman will not send any further material.

Templeman does not disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services. For example, Templeman does not provide its client mailing lists to other law firms.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Under certain circumstances, Templeman will disclose your personal information:

• when Templeman is required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena;
• when you have consented to the disclosure;
• when the legal services we are providing to you requires Templeman to give your information to third parties (for example a lender in a real estate mortgage transaction) your consent will be implied, unless you state otherwise;
• where it is necessary to establish or collect fees;
• if Templeman engages a third party to provide administrative services to it (like computer back-up services or archival file storage) and the third-party is bound by Templeman’s privacy policy;
• if Templeman engages expert witnesses on your behalf;
• if Templemanretains other law firms in other jurisdictions, on your behalf; and,
• if the information is already publicly known.

UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION
Since Templeman uses your personal information to provide legal services to you, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date.

If during the course of the retainer, any of your information changes, please inform a member of Templeman’s staff so that any necessary changes can be made.

IS MY PERSONAL INFORMATION SECURE?
Templeman takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that your personal information is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure. Among the steps taken to protect your information are:

• premises security;
• restricted file access to personal information;
• deploying technological safeguards like security software and firewalls to prevent hacking or unauthorized computer access; and,
• internal password and security policies.

ACCESS TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
You may ask for access to any personal information Templeman holds about you.

Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests which require archive or other retrieval costs may be subject to Templeman’s normal professional and disbursement fees.

CORRECTING ERRORS
If Templeman holds information about you and you can establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, Templeman will take reasonable steps to correct it.

CAN I BE DENIED ACCESS TO MY PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. Templeman’s may deny access when:

• denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of legal professional privilege by one of our clients);
• information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings against you;
• when granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people’s privacy;
• when to do so would prejudice negotiations with you;
• to protect the firm’s rights and property; and,
• where the request is frivolous or vexatious.

If Templeman’s denies your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, Templeman will explain why.

Templeman does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information the firm holds upon you.

CAN I REQUEST ANONYMITY
Whenever it is legal and practicable, Templeman may offer the opportunity to deal with general inquiries without providing your name (for example, by accessing general information on our website).

CREDIT BUREAUS
To help Templeman make credit decisions about clients, prevent fraud, check the identity of new clients and prevent money-laundering, Templeman may on occasion, request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.

COMMUNICATING WITH US
You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting Templeman to send personal or confidential information.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Since Templeman regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, Templeman may change our Privacy Policy from time to time.

REQUESTS FOR ACCESS
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to Templeman’s Chief Privacy Officer at

200 – 205 Dundas St. East P.O. Box 234 Belleville, Ontario K8N 5A21. 613.966.2620

If you are not satisfied with Templeman’s response, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada can be reached at

112 Kent Street, Ottawa Ontario K1A 1H3 1.800.282.1376.

EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES
If you apply to Templeman for a job, Templeman needs to consider your personal information, as part of the review process. Templeman normally retains information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless you ask Templeman not to retain the information. If Templeman offers you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with the firm’s privacy procedures for employee records.

WEBSITE
The firm’s website contains links to other sites, which are not governed by this privacy policy.

On the firm’s website, like most other commercial websites, Templeman may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize the firm’s web service. Templeman may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information.