This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit, use, or make a purchase from ActivateChiropractic.ca (https:// ActivateChiropractic.ca), owned and operated by Dean McClelland, herein referred to as “ActivateChiropractic.ca”, “our”, “we”, or “us”.  It was last posted on 21 April 2025.  In carrying out mandates under both the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), we collect personal information as defined by section 3 of the Privacy Act. We are committed to respecting the privacy rights of everyone whose personal information we have collected.  For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the word “you” (in addition to “your”, “user”, “visitor”, and “individual”) means any individual using our website or requesting one or more services provided by ActivateChiropractic.ca; while a subset of individuals who represent businesses or organizations and opt to purchase services from ActivateChiropractic.ca will be referred to herein as our “customers”.  Please also see our website Terms of Use to see how this policy applies to our website.

We collect personal information for various reasons.  We may also collect personal information for administrative reasons such as providing potential customers with quotations for services or other information that they ask for.  We can only use your personal information for the purpose for which it was obtained or for a use consistent with that purpose.

We only collect personal information that is directly related to one of our programs or activities. Wherever possible, such information will be collected directly from the individual to whom it pertains.  We collect information in order to deliver services that our customers purchase and to monitor and improve the user experience on our website. The data collected may include your name, email address, postal address, telephone number(s), billing information such as credit card numbers, and answers to security questions that help us to verify your identity and secure your account. It may also include marketing preferences, survey and contest responses, and information you provide through online chats, telephone calls, and support tickets with us.  The amount and the type of the information collected will be limited to that which is needed to fulfil the identified purpose(s). We only collect what we need.

We may for example, collect your name, contact information, and potential symptoms in connection with the completion of a contact form. We may also collect your IP address if you visit our website.  Sometimes we receive more personal information than is needed. For example, we sometimes receive a health card number on a user’s form submission. We strongly encourage you not to provide us with information beyond that which is necessary.  Our services are intended for business/organization use, and we do not knowingly market to or collect personal information from users under the age of 18.

We collect personally identifiable information in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: online order forms, online chats, telephone calls, market research surveys, and customer support requests.  Certain information about your computer hardware and software may also be automatically collected through tools such as Google Analytics. This information can include your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times, and referring website addresses.  We may also collect information from third parties as required in order to provide you with products and services.  Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through our blog or social media pages, this information may be collected and used by others.

We will not disclose your personal information without your consent. In this case, we will aim to disclose only the specific information that is needed under the circumstances and, wherever possible, will inform you about the disclosure.

Access to personal information within our organization will be restricted to those staff members who need the information in order to carry out their job duties. Those employees will maintain the information in the strictest of confidence and will not provide access to the information to anyone who is not authorized. The level of staff access to personal information will be granted on a need-to-know basis.

All people we hire under contract or other means to conduct business on our behalf will be required to respect the provisions of the Privacy Act as well as this Policy and related internal procedures. Violations of any part of the contractual agreement may result in termination of the contract.

In any organization, failure to protect personal information can increase the risk of a privacy breach. These privacy breaches can lead to things such as reputational harm, fraud or identity theft.  We will protect personal information from loss or theft, unauthorized access, use or disclosure, modification or destruction through appropriate administrative, technical and physical security measures and safeguards.

We secure the information we collect on servers in a controlled, secure environment.  We maintain safeguards to protect against unauthorized access, use, modification, and disclosure of this data.  Where possible, we use industry-standard SSL encryption when communicating your data. We also ensure that all customer pages have free access to SSL certificates.  However, no data transmission over the Internet or wireless network can be guaranteed 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control. Information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party, despite best efforts.  We protect our website with an SSL certificate and adhere to the security policies of our hosting provider and affiliate service providers (Amazon AWS Security, Google Security).

Additional information about our methods of protection:

• staff training on privacy and the protection of personal information,
• technical measures such as passwords, audit trails, encryption, firewalls and other technical security safeguards; and
• physical measures such as locked filing cabinets, restricted access to our offices and other areas where personal information is stored.

We will use contractual or other means to ensure a similar level of protection while personal information is being handled by a third party.

Wherever possible, we seek a user’s consent before we collect the user’s personal information. The form of consent may vary depending on the circumstances and the type of information being requested. Consent can be express or implied, and can be provided directly by the user or by an authorized representative.

Express consent is preferred. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent may be reasonably inferred from a user’s action or inaction. For example, a user may provide a name and email address to submit a contact form. When determining the appropriate form of consent, we take into account the sensitivity of the personal information, the reasons we are collecting it, and the reasonable expectations of the user. When using personal information for a new purpose, we will document that new purpose and ask for consent again.

During our investigations, it may not always be possible to obtain a user’s consent to collect, use, or disclose their personal information. Both the Privacy Act and PIPEDA allow for the disclosure of personal information during the course of an investigation if it is necessary to carry out that investigation.

We will not use your personal information without your consent unless it is either for the same purpose for which the information was originally collected or compiled; or consistent with that purpose.

We are responsible for ensuring that all personal information is managed within a set life cycle.  We will retain personal information related to contact or request forms, as well as any accounting related information, for a minimum retention period of 7 years.  We may retain personal information longer in order to comply with specific legal requests or obligations. When personal information is no longer required, we will ensure it is deleted.

You may request access to review, update, and correct any inaccuracies in your personal information by contacting our Data Protection Officer by emailing us at dpo@ActivateChiropractic.ca.  Individuals do not always need to use the Privacy Act to access or correct their personal information (e.g. informal request).  However, users do have the right to formally request access or corrections to their personal information under the Privacy Act.  You have the right to request that we delete your personal data. We will honor the request to the extent possible under our legal and contractual obligations.  Please keep in mind that deleting your data may stop your services from working properly or at all.

We make every effort to ensure that information we use to make a decision that directly affects a user is as accurate, up-to-date and complete as possible. This also applies to personal information disclosed to third parties.  In cases of access outside of the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act (e.g. informal access request), we give individuals a reasonable chance to review their personal information, within a reasonable timeframe. If copies are requested, we provide them when possible.  Personal information may be unavailable because it has been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with information retention policies. To the extent possible, we will inform the individual of the reasons why the personal information no longer exists.

Usually, we will rely on the individual to ensure that factual personal information is accurate, up-to-date and complete. An individual may request a correction to their personal information if it was used in a decision that directly affected them. If an individual is able to prove that their personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, we will correct it.

We use “cookies” to help personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.  One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize your pages, a cookie helps us recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same website, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the features that you customized.

Some cookies are necessary for websites to work properly, such as the cookies which indicate you’ve successfully logged into your account. Some cookies, like the ones used by Google Analytics, help us see how visitors use our sites. Others are used to customize your advertising experience. If you visit our website with a browser that has cookies enabled, you are letting us know that you agree to us using cookies with your browser.  You can modify your browser settings to delete or block cookies. You will need to see the “Help” section of your browser for instructions on how to do this. You could also install plugins that block or manage cookies. If you do decide to limit your browser’s ability to use cookies, please remember that our website may not function properly.

Our customers may collect data from users who visit their pages, and our customers are responsible for ensuring they are complying with all legal and privacy regulations. We do not have a direct relationship with our customers’ visitors or users. If you would like to make any requests regarding personal information that has been collected by one of our customers, please contact them directly. This applies to any kind of request, whether to access, correct, amend, or delete information. If the customer asks us to remove any personal information we will respond within thirty (30) days.

You may be able to access other websites that have links on our website, where you can purchase products and services or register to receive materials or new product updates. In many of these cases, you will be asked to provide personal information such as your name, email address, or other contact information, or credit/billing information. If you complete an order or provide personal information to a website or service that is not provided by us, we have no control over the third party’s use of any personal information. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such linked websites may collect, use, disclose, secure, or otherwise deal with your personal information. We provide these links to other websites as a convenience to you. Please exercise care when visiting linked websites, which will have separate and independent privacy policies.

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Please check back regularly to make sure you are aware of any changes and to stay informed of how we are protecting your information.

We are responsible for the personal information that we collect, retain, use, disclose, and destroy in the course of fulfilling our mandate. We will continue to develop policies and practices to ensure that personal information is handled in strict accordance with the Privacy Act. Our Data Protection Officer is responsible for overseeing the implementation of those policies and practices, and will also act as the main point of contact for individuals seeking information or who have concerns about our handling of their personal information.

We are privileged and humbled to provide professional chiropractic services to the community in which we practice.  Dr. Dean McClelland is an accredited professional as recognized by the College of Chiropractors of Ontario.  As an active member of this college, we strive to meet or exceed the expectations set out in the governing Legislation, By-laws, Regulations, Standards of Practice(“SOP”), Policies and Guidelines of the aforementioned college. We strive to meet or exceed the Core Competencies and actively pursue Continuing Education as a foundation of our practice.  This includes the SOP on the Ownership, Storage, Security and Destruction of Records of Personal Health Information.  This, in conjunction with this Privacy Policy, should provide adequate assurances to any past, existing, or new patients or customers on the efforts taken to respect privacy related to personal information.

We welcome your comments regarding this Privacy Policy.  If you have any questions about this policy or about how we manage personal information, you may contact our Data Protection Officer at:

Data Protection Officer
ActivateChiropractic.ca
905-751-0050
dpo@ActivateChiropractic.ca

Where an individual is not satisfied with the actions we may have taken to rectify a matter, or with the explanations given, they will be informed of their right to file a Privacy Act complaint, and will be given direction as to how to do so. Please note that we do not investigate our own actions with respect to compliance with the Privacy Act. Any related complaints are independently investigated by the Ad Hoc Privacy Commissioner.