Last updated: November 10, 2025
GBS/CIDP Foundation of Canada (the “Organization”, “we,” “us,” “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the confidentiality and security of your Personal Information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose your Personal Information when you use our website (the “Website”). If you are unsure whether this Privacy Policy applies to you, please contact our Privacy Officer for more information.
Privacy Policy Effective for Canada
It is our policy to comply with the privacy legislation within each jurisdiction in which we operate. Sometimes the privacy legislation and/or an individual’s right to privacy are different from one jurisdiction to another. This Privacy Policy covers only those activities that are subject to the provisions of Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable.
This Privacy Policy has a limited scope and application. Consequently, the rights and obligations contained in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all individuals or in all jurisdictions. If you are unsure if or how this Privacy Policy applies to you, please contact our Privacy Officer for more information.
What is Personal Information?
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is information about an identifiable individual, including but not limited to, name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and Internet Protocol (“IP”) address (“Personal Information”).
What Personal Information Do We Collect?
You can visit our website without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself, including your e-mail address. Our web server may collect information related to your visit to our website, including the IP address and domain used to access our website, the type and version of your browser, the website you came from to access our website, the page you entered and exited at, any website page that is viewed by that IP address and what country you are from. We use this information to monitor our website’s performance (such as number of visits, average time spent, page views) and for our practical purposes such as working to continually upgrade our website.
We collect and maintain different types of personal information in respect of the individuals with whom we interact. This includes contact and identification information, such as your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, and any other contact or other information that you choose to provide by:
- using the “contact us” chat portion of this website;
- registering to volunteer for the Organization through this website;
- registering or providing Personal Information as a patient or caregiver of, or any other person related to, GBS/CIDP; or
- making a donation through the “Donate Now” or “Donate Securities” portion of this website.
- registering for an event
- applying for a research grant
- nominating an individual for the Walter Keast Award
If you have asked us to put you on an e-mail mailing list, we may e-mail you our newsletter, volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, fundraising campaigns, surveys, and research opportunities. You may cancel your consent to such communications at any time by contacting info@gbscidp.ca.
As a general rule, the Organization collects personal information directly from you. In most circumstances where the personal information that we collect about you is held by a third party, we will obtain your permission before we seek out this information from such sources (such permission may be given directly by you, or implied from your actions).
Where permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, we may collect information about you without your knowledge or consent.
We reserve the right to disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, respond to claims, or protect the rights, property or safety of our company, employees, customers, or the public.
Information Obtained Automatically – Cookies (If Applicable)
“Cookies” are small files placed on your computer by a website that you visit. They are stored there so that the web server can remember certain pieces of information about you and make your visit easier. A cookie captures the IP address of the device you use to access our website. The IP address on its own may not identify you but can do so when combined with other data automatically collected when you visit our web page, such as the name of the page you visited and the date and time of your visit. The Organization collects your IP address to investigate any unusual access by our users.
You have the option to either accept or refuse these cookies and know when a cookie is being sent to your device. If you choose to refuse our cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of this Service.
You can set your Internet browser to send you an alert before a cookie is placed on your device. You may adjust your browser settings to reject cookies. Disabling cookies when you visit our website will have no discernible impact on your browsing experience.
How Does the Organization Share & Transfer My Personal Information?
The Organization does not sell, share, or disclose your Personal Information with third parties except as described in this Privacy Policy. We may share your information with third-party service providers who assist us in providing our services. These third parties are obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed.
We may process, store, and transfer your personal information in and to other countries with different privacy laws that may or may not be as comprehensive as Canadian law. In these circumstances, the governments, courts, law enforcement, or regulatory agencies of that country may be able to obtain access to your personal information. Whenever we engage a service provider, we require that its privacy and security standards comply with this Privacy Policy and applicable Canadian laws.
Data Retention
Personal Information is retained as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. In some circumstances, a change in or withdrawal of consent may severely limit our ability to provide products or services to, or acquire products or services from, you. All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be in writing and addressed to our Privacy Officer.
We assume that, unless you advise us otherwise, that you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.
User Rights
You may change or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations and reasonable notice, by contacting our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below.
Service Providers
We may employ third-party companies and individuals due to the following reasons:
- To facilitate our service;
- To provide the service on our behalf;
- To perform service-related services;
- To collect donations or funds for the Organization; or
- To assist us in analyzing how our service is used.
We want to inform users of this service that these third parties have access to your Personal Information. The reason is to perform the tasks assigned to them on our behalf. However, they are obligated not to disclose or use the information for any other purpose. The Organization may also have access to any such Personal Information (or any other data) obtained, collected or used by such third-party service providers.
Security
We value your trust in providing us your Personal Information, thus we are striving to use commercially acceptable means of protecting it. But remember that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure and reliable, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security. You use the service and provide us with your information at your own risk.
Links to Other Sites
This service may contain links to other sites, including but not limited to links to third-party payment sites for collecting donations or funds. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that site. Note that these external sites are not operated by us. Therefore, we strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of these websites. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.
Children’s Privacy
These services do not address anyone under the age of 13. In the case we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with extremely sensitive personal information without parental consent, we immediately delete this from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with extremely sensitive personal information, please contact us so that we will be able to do necessary actions.
Governing Law
This Privacy Policy will be governed by and construed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time by making an updated version available on our website, and your continued use of the service indicates your agreement to the revised terms. You are advised to review this page periodically for any changes, and if you do not agree to the terms of this or any revised policy, please cease using the service immediately.
This Privacy Policy is effective as of November 10, 2025
Contact Us
If you have any questions or suggestions about our Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact us. We have appointed a Privacy Officer, as amended from time to time without notice, to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy. The contact information for our Privacy Officer is as follows:
Privacy Officer
Attn: Donna Hartlen
Phone: 647-560-6842
E-mail: dhartlen@gbscidp.ca