The personal information we receive from our clients before and after they arrive in the region is important for our business relations. That’s why we apply rigorous practices to ensure our clients’ personal information and privacy is protected. We feel that everyone should exercise caution to protect themselves against harmful use of personal data.
What types of information do we collect about you and your family? What sort of data can we access and how do we use it?
Identification information:
- Name
- Your childrens’ birthdates for school or daycare
- Sex/gender/pronoun used for communications
- Contact information
- Email address
- Personal Information on your ID (driver’s licence, passport, social insurance number, work permit, immigration certificate) that you use to request documents required for your integration or to rent a car
Work-related information:
- Employer’s name
- Starting date and length of contract
Educational and training information:
- CV used in a job search for a recruit’s partner or a child of working age
- Certificates and diplomas used in a job search or for recognition of training equivalence
Health-related information:
- General medical information required to identify an appropriate specialist or healthcare facility in the region
Information related to social or family circumstances:
- Civil status to determine the services you require and the applicable package
- Immigration status in Canada and nationality
Financial information:
- Bank account number used during welcome visit to open an initial bank account
How do we gather information?
- By requesting that all recruits fill out a general information form
The employer-client who pays for our services can also send us information about you and your family to help us evaluate your needs. - During our conversations with you as part of the services we offer in our welcome visits and integration procedures. We’re available to help you, whether you want to obtain a health insurance card, a driver’s licence, rent a car, register your children for school or daycare, or find a job.
Who do we share your information with when required?
- Your landlord when you sign a lease
- When you rent a car with our car rental partners
- The job search company we refer you to (with your consent)
- Your employer, who has mandated Préférence Estrie to welcome you to Quebec
- To comply with a court order
- As part of an investigation into a breach of contract or law
- To prevent, stop or detect fraud
Keeping your personal information in our files:
- We keep the information form you filled out in a secure internal network database. This information stays in our database for 5 years and is then electronically destroyed. We keep no paper copies.
- Other personal information we gather during our business relationship with you is not stored anywhere.
- If any of our email messages contain your personal or sensitive information, these messages will be deleted once your file with Préférence Estrie has been closed.
Keeping your personal information safe from loss, theft, non-authorized access, use or communication is important to us.
- We ensure that our IT tools and infrastructures are secure and conform to recognized best practices, notably by using passwords and firewalls. We have an in-house professional to support us in IT security.
- Our paper files are kept in locked filing cabinets.
- Only the employees who must view your personal information for their work are allowed access to it.
- For your own protection, never tell anyone your passwords, codes and personal identification numbers (PIN). Our employees don’t have this information and won’t ask you for it. Avoid transmitting personal information in an email.
- You can contact the person responsible for the protection of personal information, our General Manager, Diane Turgeon at: diane.turgeon@preference-estrie.ca
Updated: 2023-08-28