Privacy Policy

CSSA Fanciers Inc. Operating as the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association (CSSA) Effective date: [DATE BOARD ADOPTS] Website: canadianshelties.ca

CSSA Fanciers Inc. (“CSSA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the privacy of its members, applicants, website visitors, event participants, award applicants, volunteers, and others who provide personal information to the Association.

CSSA is a federally incorporated not-for-profit corporation operating as the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association and serving as the national parent club for the Shetland Sheepdog in Canada.

This Privacy Policy explains what personal information CSSA collects, why we collect it, how it may be used and shared, how it is protected, and the choices and rights available to you. CSSA manages personal information in line with applicable Canadian privacy laws and recognized privacy principles.

1. Responsibility for Privacy

CSSA is responsible for personal information under its control.

CSSA’s Privacy Officer is the person who oversees our privacy practices:

CSSA Privacy Officer Email: webmaster@canadianshelties.ca

Questions, access or correction requests, requests to withdraw consent, and privacy complaints may be sent to the Privacy Officer.

Access to personal information within CSSA is limited to officers, directors, committee and award chairpersons, volunteers, administrators, and service providers who need it for an authorized CSSA purpose.

2. Personal Information We Collect

What we collect depends on your relationship with the Association.

Membership Information

Membership applications and renewals may collect:

• name, mailing address, city, province or state, postal or ZIP code, and country;
• telephone number and email address;
• website address;
• membership category;
• Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) membership number and CSSA membership number;
• kennel name or prefix;
• tattoo or other dog identification information;
• information about involvement in breeding, exhibiting, conformation, obedience, or other dog activities;
• signatures and dates;
• information about CSSA member sponsors; and
• other information reasonably required to administer membership.

Where a joint membership is requested, information about the joint member is also collected. If you give us information about another person (such as a joint member, sponsor, co-owner, or breeder), you confirm that you are authorized to do so.

Junior Members and Junior Handlers

CSSA may collect a junior member’s or junior handler’s name, age, contact information, participation information, and other information reasonably required for the program. An application for a person under the age of majority in their province or territory must be signed by a parent or legal guardian, and is reviewed and approved by CSSA before the information is used. CSSA does not publish contact details of minors.

Award, Title, and Dog Registration Information

Applications for CSSA awards and recognition programs, including ROMC, ROMC-P, Versatility, VC, VCX, and similar programs, may collect:

• applicant and owner names and contact information;
• CKC membership numbers;
• registered dog names, registration numbers, and other identification information;
• ownership and breeder information;
• pedigrees;
• titles, awards, results, certificates, and supporting documentation; and
• other information needed to establish eligibility.

Award applications are reviewed by the responsible award chairpersons and stored in CSSA’s secure Google Workspace environment.

Forms, Reservations, and Communications

When you submit a website form, contact CSSA, sign up for an activity, or make a reservation (for example, National Specialty banquet reservations or membership inquiries), CSSA may collect your name, email address, telephone number, reservation or attendance information, membership information, the contents of your message, and other information necessary to respond.

Member Portal Information

CSSA provides members with a password-protected online member area. We maintain information needed to establish and administer your account, including your name, email address, username or other account identifier, membership status, and technical information needed for authentication and security.

Photographs and Event Information

Photographs are taken at CSSA dog shows, specialties, award presentations, meetings, and other activities. Photographs of dogs may also identify handlers, owners, judges, presenters, or others. CSSA may publish photographs together with names, dog names, awards, show results, or event information on its website, in newsletters, in historical archives, and in other official CSSA publications, to report on, recognize, document, and preserve Association activities and breed history. If you do not want your photograph published, or want one removed, contact the Privacy Officer (see section 5).

Website and Technical Information

When you visit canadianshelties.ca, we and our service providers automatically receive limited technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring pages, pages visited, approximate location derived from your IP address, and date and time of access. This is used for security, diagnostics, and operation of the website.

3. Why CSSA Collects Personal Information

CSSA collects, uses, and discloses personal information only for reasonable purposes connected with its activities, including:

• processing membership applications and renewals, maintaining membership records, and determining eligibility and status;
• communicating with members, including notices of meetings, elections, voting, and other governance matters;
• maintaining member directories and membership lists as described in section 6;
• processing award and title applications and verifying CKC registrations, titles, eligibility, ownership, and supporting documentation;
• administering dog shows, specialties, banquets, reservations, and other events;
• maintaining records of CSSA awards, results, and breed history, and publishing appropriate award, show, dog, breeder, owner, and historical information;
• responding to inquiries and requests;
• administering the members-only area and giving members access to CSSA documents and resources;
• protecting CSSA systems and accounts from unauthorized access or misuse;
• analyzing website performance and general usage;
• meeting financial, accounting, governance, insurance, regulatory, and legal obligations; and
• other purposes explained to you at or before the time the information is collected.

CSSA does not require the collection of personal information that is not reasonably necessary for an identified purpose.

4. Consent

CSSA obtains your consent to collect, use, or disclose personal information where consent is required. Depending on the circumstances, consent may be given through a signed application, an online form, a checkbox, an electronic submission, or another appropriate method. When information is collected online, we will make reasonable efforts to explain the purpose and any material sharing at or before the point of submission.

You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal, contractual, and reasonable administrative or historical-record restrictions. Withdrawing consent may affect CSSA’s ability to provide a membership, award, service, or program that depends on the information. To withdraw consent, contact the Privacy Officer.

5. Publication of Awards, Results, and Historical Records

Certain CSSA programs provide public recognition and maintain an historical record of the Shetland Sheepdog in Canada. If you apply for an award, title, or similar recognition, relevant information may become part of CSSA’s public records. Depending on the program, published information may include the recipient’s or applicant’s name, the registered name of a dog, breeder and owner names, registration, title, pedigree, or achievement information, show results, award information, and photographs.

CSSA does not publish private telephone numbers, private mailing addresses, account credentials, or other information unnecessary for the public record.

Public award and historical records may be retained indefinitely because preserving breed, award, and Association history is a purpose for which they are kept. If you believe a published record about you is inaccurate, or you ask for a photograph to be removed, CSSA will consider your request in good faith and respond within 30 days; because of the historical nature of these records, some requests (such as removing a recognized achievement) may be declined, and we will explain why.

6. Membership Lists and Members-Only Information

CSSA maintains membership lists to conduct Association business. When you become a member you are informed that certain membership information is shared with other members. The member directory, available only in the password-protected members-only area, may display: [CONFIRM FIELDS, e.g. name, kennel name, city/province, email, telephone]. The names and roles of CSSA directors are public.

Information may also be shared among authorized officers, directors, and committee members where reasonably necessary for notices, voting, governance, and communications.

Membership information is provided for CSSA-related purposes only. It must not be sold, disclosed to non-members, harvested, or used for unrelated commercial solicitation. CSSA does not sell its membership list or personal information. CSSA may disclose membership information where required by law, including the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, which gives members certain rights to obtain the list of members for purposes related to the affairs of the corporation.

7. Disclosure to Service Providers and Others

CSSA uses third-party providers to operate its website, communications, forms, and document storage. These currently include:

• Hostinger, which hosts the CSSA website;
• Google Workspace, which provides CSSA’s email (including system emails sent from canadianshelties.ca), documents, spreadsheets, shared drives, and, where used, forms;
• Google Analytics, for website usage statistics (see section 9); and
• other providers required to operate CSSA services securely.

These providers may process personal information on CSSA’s behalf only as reasonably necessary to provide the service. CSSA remains responsible for personal information under its control and seeks providers with appropriate privacy and security protections.

CSSA may also share information with the Canadian Kennel Club to verify registrations, titles, and eligibility, and may disclose personal information where required or permitted by law.

8. Storage and Processing Outside Canada

CSSA’s website is hosted by Hostinger on servers located in the United States, including in Massachusetts. Google may store and process information in Canada, the United States, or other countries. As a result, personal information you submit may be stored or processed outside Canada, may be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, and may lawfully be accessed by courts, law-enforcement agencies, and national-security authorities there.

If you are a member or visitor outside Canada, your information will be transferred to and handled in Canada and the United States as described in this Policy.

You may contact the Privacy Officer for more information about our service providers.

9. Cookies and Analytics

The CSSA website uses cookies and similar technologies. Some are necessary for security, login sessions, preferences, and authenticated member access. These cannot be switched off without affecting how the site works.

With your permission, CSSA uses Google Analytics to obtain aggregated information about website traffic, such as pages visited, approximate location, device type, and browser. Analytics cookies are not activated until you accept them through the cookie notice on our website, and you can change your choice at any time. CSSA does not use analytics data for advertising or to build individual profiles. Google may process analytics data in the United States. You can also limit or block cookies in your browser settings, or install Google’s opt-out browser add-on.

10. Online Payments

CSSA does not currently process payment-card information through canadianshelties.ca. [If dues or fees are paid by e-transfer, cheque, or similar methods, add: Payments made by those methods are handled by CSSA’s treasurer and limited to what is needed to record the payment.] If CSSA introduces online payments in the future, we will identify the payment provider and update this Policy first. CSSA does not intend to store full payment-card numbers on its own website.

11. Information About Minors

CSSA limits the information it collects about junior members and junior handlers to what is reasonably needed to administer the membership, activity, competition, recognition, or program. A parent or legal guardian must sign the application of any person under the age of majority, and CSSA takes particular care not to disclose minors’ contact information online.

12. Safeguards

CSSA uses administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including limiting access to those who need it, password-protected accounts and administrative systems, access controls for member-only information, encrypted (HTTPS) website connections, regular website and software maintenance, access-controlled Google Workspace storage, and the security measures of our service providers.

No internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed completely secure, but CSSA takes reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or misuse.

13. Retention and Destruction

CSSA keeps personal information only as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, meet legal, accounting, and governance requirements, and maintain historical records. Unless a longer period is required, CSSA’s general practice is:

• membership records: [7] years after membership ends;
• award application working files and uploaded supporting documents: deleted [within 12 months] after the application is finalized, other than the resulting award record;
• website and security logs: [12 months or less];
• general inquiries: [2 years].

Information no longer required is securely deleted or destroyed. Permanent corporate, governance, award, show-result, archival, and breed-history records may be kept indefinitely.

14. Accuracy and Correction

CSSA seeks to keep personal information accurate and current. Please tell us when your contact or membership information changes. You may ask the Privacy Officer to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.

15. Access to Personal Information

You may ask what personal information CSSA holds about you and, subject to legal restrictions, request access to it. CSSA may take reasonable steps to verify your identity first, and will respond within 30 days of a request. If CSSA refuses access to particular information, it will explain why where required by law. Send requests to the Privacy Officer at the address in section 1.

16. Privacy Incidents

CSSA will investigate suspected or confirmed unauthorized access to, use of, or disclosure of personal information and take appropriate steps. Where applicable law requires notice of a privacy breach, CSSA will notify the appropriate privacy regulator and affected individuals as required, and will keep records of incidents where required.

17. Electronic Communications

CSSA sends members emails about Association business, including notices of meetings, elections, and voting. Where CSSA sends other electronic messages, it does so in line with Canada’s anti-spam law, and each such message will identify CSSA and include a way to unsubscribe.

18. Questions and Complaints

Please direct questions, concerns, or complaints about CSSA’s privacy practices first to the Privacy Officer (section 1). CSSA will review complaints, investigate, and respond. Nothing in this Policy limits your right to contact an applicable privacy regulator, such as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, where that right exists.

19. Changes to this Privacy Policy

CSSA may update this Policy when its practices, technology, programs, service providers, or legal obligations change. The current version, with its effective date, is published on canadianshelties.ca. Where a change materially affects how personal information is collected, used, or disclosed, CSSA will provide additional notice or obtain new consent where required.