Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

NorthPath Careers Inc. ("NorthPath," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information entrusted to us by our clients, prospective clients, and website visitors. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information in compliance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy legislation.

NorthPath Careers Inc. is a federally incorporated career consulting and immigration advisory firm (Federal Corporation #1154082-3) with offices in Ottawa, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information that is necessary to provide our career consulting, immigration advisory, and related professional services. The types of information we collect include:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Identity information: Full name, date of birth, nationality, and gender
• Contact information: Email address, phone number, mailing address
• Professional information: Resume, work history, education credentials, professional licences, and certifications
• Immigration documents: Passport details, visa information, immigration application materials, educational credential assessments, and language test results
• Financial information: Payment details for service fees (processed through secure third-party payment processors)
• Communication records: Emails, consultation notes, messages submitted through our contact form, and phone call records

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device and browser information: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device identifiers
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on our website, referring URLs, and interaction patterns
• Cookies and similar technologies: See Section 8 for details on our cookie usage

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Service delivery: To provide career consulting, immigration advisory, resume writing, credential recognition, career coaching, and related professional services
• Responding to inquiries: To respond to your questions, consultation requests, and contact form submissions
• Immigration applications: To prepare, submit, and manage immigration applications, work permits, and related filings with Canadian government agencies
• Client communication: To send service updates, appointment reminders, and relevant information about your case or engagement
• Legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and professional obligations, including those set by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) and the Law Society of Ontario (LSO)
• Service improvement: To improve our website, services, and client experience
• Billing and payments: To process payments and manage accounts

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under PIPEDA, we process your personal information based on the following grounds:

• Consent: We obtain your meaningful consent before collecting, using, or disclosing your personal information. Consent may be express (written or verbal) or implied, depending on the sensitivity of the information and your reasonable expectations.
• Contractual necessity: Processing that is necessary to perform the services you have engaged us to provide.
• Legal obligation: Processing required to comply with Canadian law, regulatory requirements, or court orders.
• Legitimate interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided these interests do not override your privacy rights.

5. Data Protection Measures

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect it, including:

• Encryption: All data transmitted to and from our website is encrypted using TLS/SSL protocols. Sensitive data at rest is encrypted using industry-standard AES-256 encryption.
• Secure storage: Personal information is stored on secure, access-controlled servers located in Canada.
• Access controls: Only authorized personnel who require access to perform their duties can access your personal information. All staff sign confidentiality agreements.
• Regular audits: We conduct regular security assessments and audits of our data protection practices.
• Incident response: We maintain a data breach response plan and will notify affected individuals and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada as required under PIPEDA in the event of a qualifying breach.

6. Third-Party Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

• Canadian government agencies: As required for immigration services, we submit personal information to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and other relevant government bodies as part of immigration applications, work permit processing, and LMIA applications.
• Credential assessment organizations: With your consent, we share educational documents with designated organizations such as World Education Services (WES) and International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS) for credential evaluation.
• Professional regulatory bodies: As required by our obligations to the CICC, LSO, and other regulatory bodies that oversee our professional conduct.
• Service providers: We may share limited information with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you (e.g., payment processors, email hosting providers), subject to strict confidentiality agreements.
• Legal requirements: When required by law, regulation, court order, or governmental request.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Specifically:

• Active client files: Retained for the duration of our engagement plus seven (7) years, in accordance with CICC and LSO record-keeping requirements.
• Inquiry records: Contact form submissions and general inquiries are retained for two (2) years.
• Financial records: Retained for seven (7) years as required by Canadian tax law.
• Website analytics data: Retained for twenty-four (24) months in anonymized form.

When personal information is no longer needed, it is securely destroyed or anonymized.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

8.1 Types of Cookies We Use

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly, including theme preferences (light/dark mode).
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website, enabling us to improve content and usability. These cookies collect information in anonymized form.

8.2 Managing Cookies

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. However, disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website. For more information on managing cookies, visit your browser's help documentation.

9. Your Rights Under PIPEDA

Under PIPEDA and applicable provincial privacy laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: You may request access to the personal information we hold about you. We will respond to your request within thirty (30) days.
• Right of correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to withdraw consent: You may withdraw your consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations. Please note that withdrawal of consent may affect our ability to provide certain services.
• Right to deletion: You may request the deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal and regulatory retention obligations.
• Right to complain: If you are not satisfied with our handling of your personal information, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact information below.

10. Children's Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete such information.

11. International Data Transfers

Your personal information is stored and processed in Canada. In limited circumstances, information may be shared with government agencies or credential assessment bodies outside of Canada as part of your immigration or credential recognition process. In such cases, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or applicable laws. When we make material changes, we will post the updated policy on this page and update the "Last updated" date above. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us