Introduction
This Privacy Policy Statement discloses the information privacy practices for the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce.

Information Collected About You
The Halifax Chamber of Commerce does not collect personally identifiable information about individuals except when such individuals specifically provide such information on a voluntary basis. Depending on what you request, such voluntary information may include your: email address, first name, last name, title, company, billing address, credit card number, expiry date and/or comments. The credit card number and expiry date are not retained and are used for transaction processing only and thereafter destroyed or rendered anonymous.

Chamber Web Site
In general, you can visit our website without telling us who you are and without revealing any information about yourself. There are times, however, when we may need information from you. These instances include registering for paying events, gaining access to the Members Only portion of the website, participating in the Member's Forum or filling out an application for membership in the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce.

To help provide better customer service, the Chamber may collect anonymous information, such as web page traffic from visits to our websites. This information is in an aggregate and anonymous form. The HCC does not use cookies to identify repeat users.

Use of Personal Information
When providing personal information for the purpose of registering for an event, applying for member benefits, applying for membership in the Chamber or seeking to participate on a Chamber volunteer committee, you have automatically given the Chamber consent to use that information for the purpose stated within that request. Only the minimum amount of information required will be collected from you and it will be used solely for that stated purpose. At no time will we ask you for information that is not needed to fulfill your request or ask for information without a stated explanation.

For example, if you are registering for a Chamber event, we would ask for information such as your name, company name and address, name(s) of attendee(s) and credit card information, if applicable. In this case, the information you supplied us would only be used in connection with the event you are being registered for.

Sharing of Information and Third Party Access
The Chamber of Commerce does not provide third party access to your personal information except to facilitate your own attempts to receive services from a selected Member Benefit and certain event sponsorship partners. In our commitment to keeping your information confidential, we will not sell, rent or lease our mailing lists to third parties, and we will not provide your personal information to any third party individuals or companies without your permission unless required to do so. We will, in keeping with our advertising policy, provide members with an opportunity to contact the membership via email, fax, or mail, for a nominal fee, to inform members of specific Member Benefits. However, your contact information will be protected, as distribution will be organized by Chamber staff, and no contact information will be provided to the third party.

The Chamber may be obligated to release personal information when we believe, in good faith, that such a release is reasonably necessary to comply with the law, enforce the terms and conditions on the Chamber's web site, or protect the rights, property, or safety of the Chamber, our visitors or others.

Your personally identifiable information is never disclosed beyond the organization without your consent and it is shared internally only when it is required as part of the performance of the duties of the individual seeking access.

If you choose to contact the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce by mail, fax, telephone or email, and provide personally identifiable information, the HCC does not use the information for any purpose other than to respond to your enquiries.

The Chamber of Commerce does not disclose credit card account information provided by its members, except to the appropriate banking institutions and/or clearinghouses in order to obtain debit authorization and payment. We will require and retain your credit card number and expiration date for credit card transaction processing. It will then be destroyed, erased or made anonymous.

Attendee lists for events may be provided to sponsor organizations and special guests from time to time. Such lists would include only the basic details - name, and company name. If you wish not to be included in such lists, please advise the Chamber of this. Failure to do so will be viewed as consent with such provision.

Changing and Removing your Personal Information
The Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce will allow you to update or correct previously submitted personal information that is erroneous or out of date through the member login feature. Upon your request, the Chamber will functionally delete your information from its databases.

Communications with the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce
You may receive communications from the Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce when you do one or more of the following: Apply for membership with the Chamber: When you sign up as a new member, you will receive an invoice and/or receipt for the membership dues. This invoice contains your name, company name and address, and the amount of your dues. In addition, You will receive periodic emails from the Chamber pertaining to Chamber events and activities, or information which is deemed to be of value to members. You will also receive notifications about updates to our website and Chamber Link newsletter, and the occasional survey to better inform the Chamber on how to serve your needs. Finally, we do distribute paid advertising for Chamber members (we do not pass along your email addresses to advertising companies - this is done in house), and if you wish to be removed from this list, please get in touch and we would be glad to remove you.

Register for a Chamber event: When you submit registration information for a Chamber event online, you will receive an invoice and/or receipt for the ticket cost(s). This invoice contains your your name, company name and address and the amount due/paid.

Security
The Sydney and Area Chamber of Commerce is committed to protecting your personal information and has taken measures to avoid the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. The appropriate physical, technical and administrative measures have been put into place to protect the quality and integrity of your personally identifiable information.

We welcome your questions and comments about our privacy policy. Contact our Executive Director at: mmacsween@sydneyareachamber.ca regarding any inquiries you have about our privacy policy and practices.