Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 1, 2025

Our commitment and the scope of this policy

The BC Psychiatric Association (BCPA, we, us or our) is a not-for-profit society in British Columbia. We respect the privacy of our members and website visitors. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect personal information in connection with our public website, members-only portal and related membership communications and services.

We handle personal information in accordance with British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and other applicable privacy laws. Our designated Privacy Officer is responsible for our privacy practices and can be contacted using the details below.

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Although PIPA excludes certain business contact information from its definition, we handle member contact details responsibly and do not treat member accounts or information about their use as public information.

Membership and payments through Doctors of BC

BCPA membership requires membership in Doctors of BC. Doctors of BC collects the applicable membership payments. BCPA does not collect fees or dues directly through this website and does not ask you to provide credit card or banking details for membership payments.

Where needed and authorized, we may exchange limited membership verification and contact information with Doctors of BC. This does not give us unrestricted access to your Doctors of BC records or payment credentials. Information you provide directly to Doctors of BC is governed by its own privacy policy, available at www.doctorsofbc.ca/privacy-policy.

Information we collect

We limit collection to information reasonably needed for the purposes described in this policy or explained when we collect it. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

Member and account information, such as your name, email address, username, authentication information, membership status and telephone number if provided.
Information you choose to send us, such as inquiries, correspondence, profile details and communication preferences.
Information you provide when participating in an available website feature or association activity, such as a member submission, event registration or survey. We explain any additional collection at that time.
Technical information generated when you use the website, such as your IP address, browser and device information, pages requested, access times, referring page and login or security events.

We generally collect information directly from you or through your use of the website. Where authorized by your consent or permitted by law, we may also obtain limited information from Doctors of BC to confirm membership eligibility and administer member access.

How we use information

We use personal information, as applicable, to:

Verify membership eligibility, create and maintain accounts, and provide access to member resources.
Respond to inquiries, provide requested assistance and manage our relationship with members.
Send association news, governance notices, event information and other relevant member communications.
Administer activities in which you choose to participate, with any additional purposes explained when information is collected.
Operate, maintain and improve the website, troubleshoot problems, and prevent unauthorized access, spam and misuse.
Meet legal obligations and maintain records reasonably needed for association administration.

We do not use personal information for unrelated purposes without obtaining any consent required by law. Where we use statistics that have been anonymized, we take reasonable steps to ensure individuals cannot be identified.

Cookies and website technology

The website uses cookies and similar technologies to support functions such as signing in, maintaining your session and remembering preferences. Cookies are small files stored by your browser. Some expire when a session ends; others may remain until they expire or are deleted. You can manage cookies through your browser, although disabling necessary cookies may prevent the members-only portal from working properly.

Technical records and cookie identifiers may constitute personal information, particularly when linked to a member account. We use them only for the purposes disclosed in this policy or in a notice accompanying the relevant feature.

Member submissions and visibility

If you contribute to a member news page, discussion area or another interactive feature, your contribution and the name associated with it may be visible to the audience identified for that feature. Content in a members-only area is intended for authorized users, but other users may copy or redistribute what they can see.

We will identify whether submissions are intended for public or member-only publication. We will obtain appropriate permission before publishing personal contact details in a directory or using a contribution beyond the disclosed audience, unless otherwise authorized by law.

Please do not submit patient-identifying information, clinical records or confidential information about another person through the website or ordinary email. The website provides association information and member services; it is not a clinical care or patient-record system.

When we disclose information

We do not sell or rent personal information or provide member lists to third parties for their independent marketing. We disclose information only with appropriate consent or as otherwise permitted or required by law, including:

To authorized directors, staff, volunteers or administrators who need it to perform their association duties.
To service providers assisting with website hosting, maintenance, security, email delivery or other association administration, to the extent needed for their work.
To Doctors of BC for the limited membership purposes described above.
To the intended audience when you authorize publication of a submission or profile detail.
Where a legal requirement applies, or where a specific legal exception permits disclosure, for example in connection with an investigation or an emergency.

We limit disclosures to what is reasonably necessary. We use contractual or other appropriate measures to require service providers handling information on our behalf to protect it and restrict its use to authorized purposes. BCPA remains responsible for personal information under its control.

Storage and safeguards

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, including restrictions on access. No website, email service or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure. Keep your account credentials private, use a strong password and contact us if you suspect unauthorized access. Do not send us your password.

If we become aware of a privacy incident, we will take appropriate steps to contain it, assess the risks and prevent recurrence. We will notify affected individuals and relevant authorities where required by law, and consider notification where appropriate to help reduce the risk of harm.

Consent and your choices

We obtain consent for collecting, using and disclosing personal information unless the law permits or requires otherwise. Consent may be express or, where appropriate under PIPA, implied when you voluntarily provide information for an obvious purpose, such as asking us to respond to an inquiry.

You may decline optional requests for information or withdraw consent on reasonable notice by contacting our Privacy Officer, subject to legal restrictions. We will explain any consequences. For example, we may be unable to maintain your portal access without information needed to identify you and verify eligibility. We will not require consent to unnecessary uses as a condition of access.

You may opt out of optional newsletters or promotional communications using an unsubscribe option where provided or by contacting us. Necessary account, security and association governance notices may continue where authorized by law. Visiting the website does not, by itself, authorize unrelated uses of your information.

Accuracy and retention

We take reasonable steps to keep information accurate and complete for its intended use. Please let us know when your contact or membership details change.

We retain personal information only while needed for the purposes for which it was collected or for legitimate legal or business requirements. Retention periods depend on the record and may extend beyond the closure of an account. If we use information to make a decision directly affecting you, PIPA generally requires us to retain it for at least one year after that use.

When retention is no longer necessary, we securely destroy the information or remove the means of identifying individuals. Backup copies may remain until their scheduled expiry and remain subject to safeguards and retention requirements.

Access and correction

You may write to our Privacy Officer to request access to personal information about you under our control, information about how it has been used and to whom it has been disclosed, or correction of an error or omission. Provide enough detail for us to locate the records. We may reasonably verify your identity before responding.

We will respond within the period required by PIPA, generally 30 days, excluding Saturdays and holidays as defined by law, subject to permitted extensions or other statutory adjustments. If we extend the response period, we will explain why, when to expect a response and your right to complain.

Access may be limited by lawful exceptions, such as protecting another person’s personal information or privileged records. Where possible, we will separate protected information and provide the remainder. If access is refused, we will provide the explanation and review information required by law.

We will correct errors where justified and notify other organizations as required by PIPA. If a requested correction is not made, we will annotate the information with the correction requested.

External websites and policy changes

Links to other websites, including Doctors of BC, are provided for convenience. Those organizations are responsible for their own privacy practices. Please review their policies before providing information.

We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The effective date will appear above. We will give appropriate notice of material changes and obtain any further consent required before using existing information for a new purpose.

Questions and complaints

For questions, access or correction requests, withdrawal of consent, or privacy complaints, contact:

Privacy Officer
BC Psychiatric Association
Email: privacy@psychiatrybc.ca
Mailing address: BC Psychiatric Association c/o Doctors of BC 115-1665 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, V6J 5A4

We will review privacy complaints and respond with the outcome and any appropriate corrective steps. You may also contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia about a complaint or review of our response. Information about that process is available at www.oipc.bc.ca.