Effective January 1, 2004 St. Benedict's Monastery is required to comply with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA") in the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in the course of commercial activities.

(The Monastery owns and operates St. Benedict's Retreat & Conference Centre and any reference to the Monastery in this document includes St. Benedict's Retreat and Conference Centre).

Respecting the privacy of personal information has always been an important part of the Monastery's commitment to our family members, donors, retreatants, employees and community members. The Monastery values the trust of those who provide their personal information to us, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat this information.

During the course of our various projects, programs and activities, we may gather and use personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected. The privacy practices of the Monastery are designed to achieve this expectation.

In our regular course of business, we publicly acknowledge gifts from our benefactors but never share individual donor information other than the name and type of donation. We also respect the request for anonymity.

What is Considered Personal Information

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual, such as an individual's name, address, birth-date, e-mail address and phone number. The Monastery will not rent or sell any personal information to any third party. As a regular course of business such information may be provided to those companies that provide us with contracted services, such as mail houses and printers for a task. We will verify that these companies adhere to the requirements of PIPEDA.

Our Privacy Practices

Personal Information provided to us is kept in confidence. Paper information is kept under supervision or is secured in a locked or restricted area. The Monastery's staff is authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Personal information will only be collected and used by authorized staff consistent with the activities of the Monastery.

We collect and use personal information only for the purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the light of the circumstances. We take measures to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed.

Website and Electronic Commerce

At the Monastery, personal information maintained in electronic format is password and firewall protected to ensure privacy and to protect personal and other information entrusted to us. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.

Contact Information

Questions, relating to the Monastery's privacy practices or the treatment of personal information, should be sent in writing to:

Privacy Officer
St. Benedict's Monastery
225 Masters Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
R4A 2A1

or if you prefer you can phone her at (204) 338-4601 or e-mail to stbens@mts.net

Further information on privacy and rights in regard to personal information may be found on the Website of the Privacy commissioner of Canada at www.privcom.gc.ca or:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
112 Kent Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1H3