Policies
Credits and Disclaimers
Balance & Dizziness Canada gratefully acknowledges the hours and efforts of its dedicated volunteers that support the work of the Society.
Balance & Dizziness Canada does not provide medical advice. This website provides broad general information for education purposes only and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. The content provided on this website, or through links to other websites, is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never rely on information on this website in place of seeking professional medical advice. Always ask your doctor or healthcare provider to help you in interpreting any information in this website or in the linked websites, or in applying the information to your individual case. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on our website.
If you think you have a medical emergency, get immediate help – call 911 or other emergency services right away. If you choose to rely on any information provided by Balance & Dizziness Canada, you do so solely at your own risk.
Balance & Dizziness Canada does not endorse, rank or recommend any of the health professionals, websites, organizations and other resources linked to from this website. Should you consider using services they provide, do so with your own due diligence.
While the content of the Balance & Dizziness Canada website is frequently updated, medical information changes rapidly and therefore some information may be out or date and/or contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. The Society cannot be held responsible, whether directly or indirectly, from any harm, injury, damages, loss inconvenience or liability whatsoever which might arise from use of this website or from your reliance on any information provided on this website.
By visiting this website, you agree to these terms and conditions, which may from time-to-time change or be supplemented. If you do not agree to the foregoing terms and conditions, you should not enter this website.
Privacy Policy
LAST UPDATE OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY – June 1, 2018
BEFORE USING OUR SITE, PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY.
This Privacy Policy is applicable to Canadian Balance and Dizziness Disorders Society ("the Society") and sets out our policy on the gathering and use of information on this website ("Site"). The Society is committed to providing safe websites for visitors of all ages and has implemented this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy. The Society complies with Canadian Federal and Provincial privacy laws and regulations including the Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act. Our website URL is https://balanceanddizziness.org.
There may be links from our Site to other websites; note that this Privacy Policy applies only to our Site and not to websites of other companies or organizations to which our Site may be linked. You must check on any linked sites for the privacy policy that applies to that site and/or make any necessary inquiries in respect of that privacy policy with the operator of the linked site. These links to third party websites are provided as a convenience and are for informational purposes only. The Society does not endorse, and is not responsible for, these linked websites.
Although you are not required to register to access our Site, you may be asked to provide us with personal information when you visit certain sections of our Site. Your use of our Site signifies your acknowledgement and consent to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy, please do not continue to use our Site. Your continued use of the Sites signifies your acceptance of these terms and any changes in effect at the time of use.
Collection of Personal Information
Personal Information is information about you that identifies you as an individual, for example, your name, address, email address, or telephone number.
We collect information that you voluntarily provide to us through emails, responses to surveys, search functions, questionnaires, feedback, membership forms, donation forms, Ask an Expert forms and the like. We may also ask you to provide additional information such as your email address, mailing address or phone number if you want to obtain additional services, information, participate in a survey or to resolve complaints or concerns.
During the membership and donation purchase process, donor and member data is collected by a data management application called Sumac. This data is stored in a database in Montreal, QC, is only accessible by this Society and is not shared with any other institution. Here is a link to Sumac's Privacy Policy.
Additionally, donation data is also collected by CanadaHelps.org through their donation form used on this Site. The CanadaHelp’s form is secure and complies with the highest level of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).
We use SiteGround as our hooting company. Here is a link to SiteGround's Data Processing Agreement which covers data stored on their servers, such as Web mail, backups, etc.
How Does the Society Use Information Gathered About Online Visitors?
Before forwarding us any personal information, please be advised that any information gathered on our Site may be used in the aggregate for research and development relating to our Site and/or for future site development and to send you promotional materials. In particular, we may use general information gathered about visitors to our Site for the following purposes: to monitor interest in our organisation and to assist us in tailoring the content of our Site to visitors' needs by collecting information about visitors' preferences through the tracking of page view patterns on our Site; and, in circumstances where you have indicated that you wish to receive additional information, to send you information about us and promotional material together with details of any campaigns or drives for donations or memberships that we may run from time to time.
Promotinal and Informational Offers
With the permission of an online visitor, information submitted at the time of registration or submission may be used for marketing and promotional purposes by the Society provided notice of this fact is made available online. If a visitor objects to such use for any reason, he/she may prevent that use, either by email request or by modifying the registration information provided. The Society uses reasonable efforts to maintain visitors' information in a secure environment. If you have submitted personal information and want to change it or opt-out, please contact us as described below.
Disclosure of Information
The Society will not disclose personal information that you provide on its Site to any third parties other than to a Society agent except: i) in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy, or ii) to comply with legal requirements such as a law, regulation, warrant, subpoena or court order, and/or iii) if you are reporting an adverse event/side effect, in which case the Society may be required to disclose such information to bodies such as, but not limited to, Canadian and/or international regulatory authorities. Please note that any of these disclosures may involve the storage or processing of personal information outside of Canada and may therefore be subject to different privacy laws than those applicable in Canada, including laws that require the disclosure of personal information to governmental authorities under circumstances that are different than those that apply in Canada.
Cookies
The Society, in common with many web site operators, may use standard technology called "cookies" on its site. Cookies are small data files that are downloaded onto your computer when you visit a particular website. You can disable cookies by turning them off in your browser; however, some areas of the Site may not function properly if you do so.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you have an account and you log in to this site, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select "Remember Me," your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
Analytics
The Society uses Google Analytics and the Monster Insights plugin with the EU compliance add-on to obtain anonymous analytics data. Google Analytics' Terms of Service include a privacy section.
Protection of Children Online
The Society considers the protection of children's privacy, especially online, to be of the utmost importance. The Society does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from children nor does it allow them to become registered users of, or to request information through, our Site or help-seeking information line.
Additional Terms
The following additional information applies to registration on our Site. Generally, you are not required to provide personal information as a condition of using our Site, except as may be necessary to provide you with a product or service that you have requested. However, some parts of our Site may be restricted to certain individuals such as health care professionals or our members and the Society may require these individuals to register upon entry by providing us with certain information, such as a username and password.
Protection of Information
Our Commitment to Security
The Society has put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect online. The Society applies security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, such as retaining information in secure facilities and making personal information accessible only to authorized employees or contractors, volunteers or Board members on a need-to-know basis.
Our website is encrypted using SSL (secure socket layer).
As payment gateways the Society uses PayPal, Bambora and CanadaHelps. None of these payment gateways share your personal financial details with us.
Storage of Information
Personal information that you share with the Society on our Site is stored on secured database servers at third-party data centres (in whatever country they may be located).
Policy Change
If the Society alters its Privacy Policy, any changes will be posted on this page of our Site so that you are always informed of the information we collect about you, how we use it and the circumstances under which we may disclose it.
Acceptance of Our Privacy Policy
By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of the Society's Privacy Policy, and you adhere to the terms and conditions posted on the Site. By submitting your information, you agree that it will be governed by the Society's Privacy Policy.
To be removed from our database or to direct questions or concerns about your data to us, please email info@bcbalanceanddizzines.org.
Payment Policies
Return and Refund Policy
Donations and the purchase of memberships are final*.
*A refund for a donation may be made if the donor has made an error, e.g., a misplaced decimal point, and reports the error within 30 days of the donation. In such cases refunds or amendments will only be done with the approval of the Board.
Tax Receipt Policy
Official tax receipts for basic membership fees and donations are issued annually.
Editorial Guidelines for Sharing Your Story
- Balance & Dizziness Canada publishes personal stories that contribute to our mission of supporting, inspiring and educating those affected by balance and dizziness disorders.
- We choose stories that complement our goal of providing up-to-date, evidence-based information about balance and dizziness disorders to help people have a solid understanding of their condition and advocate for themselves.
- Stories about diagnoses and treatments that are not evidence-based or that discredit current scientific knowledge or healthcare professionals will not be published.
- Stories will be selected (or not selected) for publication at the sole discretion of the Society.
- All stories are subject to being edited for length, clarity, grammar and content.
- To make sure your voice and message are accurately represented, we will send you a draft to approve before publication, if any edits were made.
- By submitting a story, you authorize Balance & Dizziness Canada to publish it. Accepted stories or extracts may appear on our website, Facebook page, Twitter feed or in our print media. And you have the option of remaining anonymous, if you prefer.
- Read more about sharing and submitting your story.
Terms of use
- Copyright © Balance & Dizziness Canada.
- Individuals may print a copy for their own use.
- Professional members of Balance & Dizziness Canada may distribute copies to their personal clients and co-brand them with their contact information.
- Written permission is required from Balance & Dizziness Canada for all other uses.
Constitution & Bylaws
As an incorporated not-for-profit society, the Canadian Balance and Dizziness Disorders Society complies with the provisions of the BC Societies Act. The Act requires us to have a constitution and bylaws that set out the rules that govern our activities.
