Privacy Policy

At M.A. Consulting Corp. (“M.A. Consulting”) we understand the principles of trust, integrity, and the delivery of outstanding products and services. As a matter of our professional responsibility, we have committed to client satisfaction and maintaining their trust. This privacy policy sets forth the types of information we collect, how we may use or disclose that personal information, how we protect your personal information, and your rights regarding your personal information.

Objective & Scope of Privacy Policy

M.A. CONSULTING is committed to providing reliable, timely, and accurate income tax returns to its clients across Canada. Consistent with the Canada Standards Act Privacy code, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act(“PIPEDA”), and other applicable law, M.A. Consulting is dedicated to maintaining high standards of confidentiality with respect to the personal information it collects from its clients.

This Privacy Policy governs personal information collected from our clients for the purposes of completing and filing income tax returns. It does not cover aggregated data from which the identity of an individual cannot be determined or information that is available from a public source, such as a telephone directory.

This Privacy Policy applies to all M.A. Consulting employees and/or contracted independent parties. Using contractual or other arrangements, M.A. Consulting will ensure agents, contractors, and third-party service providers, who may receive personal information in the course of providing services to M.A. Consulting as part of M.A. Consulting’s delivery of services, protect the personal information in a manner consistent with the principles set out in this Privacy Policy.

Definitions

Client:  Any individual or party that has retained M.A Consulting’s services.

Collection  Any and all information obtained from the client for the purpose of providing the income tax return preparation and filing services by M.A. Consulting. Collection also includes any and all information obtained about the Client from other third-party sources such as the CRA for the purpose of providing income tax return preparation and filing services.

Consent:  The voluntary agreement with the collection, use, retention, and disclosure of information for the purposes for which M.A. Consulting’s services have been retained. Express consent is obtained explicitly, in writing, from the client.

CRA:    An acronym and refers to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Disclosure:  The making available of applicable personal information and/or business information about the Client to third party government agencies or organizations outside of M.A. Consulting’s organization.

Organization:  A business, association, partnership, person, or trade union.

Personal Information:  Any information about the Client, recorded in any form, that is identifiable to that individual either directly or by inference from the information, but does not include the name, title or address, or other information relating to the Client’s business or place of employment.

Transfer  The filing or otherwise transferring Personal Information and business information to or from a M.A. Consulting location, M.A. Consulting head office, or Canada Revenue Agency for the purposes consented to by the Client.

Use:  The tabulation of all information obtained from the Client and other third-party sources, as well as the preparation of all pertinent and relevant income tax and benefits reporting and filing all related and pertinent forms as required by Canada Revenue Agency (“Return”).

Collection, use & transfer of personal information:

Purpose: The purpose for the collection, use and transfer of a Client’s Personal Information by M.A. Consulting, its employees, and contracted employees, is to obtain all pertinent and necessary information for the preparation and filing of the Client’s Return as required by CRA pursuant to the Income Tax Act.

Collection: Personal Information will be collected, to the extent possible, directly from the Client. Where Personal Information is not available from the Client but may be obtained from a financial institution, government agency, or another third-party source, Personal Information will be collected from those sources with the client’s consent. Personal Information that is collected by, and about, the Client is limited to only that information that is required CRA and the Income Tax Act for the preparation and filing of the Client’s Return.

Use & Transfer: Personal Information that is collected in the preparation of a Client’s Return may be transferred to M.A. Consulting’s head office or any other M.A. Consulting location for final review for processing prior to electronic transfer to CRA. Personal Information is not otherwise used or disclosed to any third-party organizations for any reason outside the purpose stipulated above. Any data that is aggregated for statistical or business monitoring purposes, will be rendered anonymous so as not to be identifiable to the Client.

Consent:

When a Client signs the Information Return for Electronic Filing of an Individual’s Income Tax and Benefit Return, and signs the Client Authorization form, the Client consents and agrees to the following:

Accuracy:

M.A. Consulting endeavors to ensure that any Personal Information provided by its Clients, and in its possession, is accurate, current, and complete as is necessary for the purposes for which the Personal Information is used and transferred. The duty falls on the client to inform M.A. Consulting of any changes or errors. Upon notification by a Client that the Personal Information collected and used by M.A. Consulting requires correction or updating, M.A. Consulting will endeavor to make the necessary corrections promptly. Personal Information contained in files that have been closed, or from prior year income tax returns, is not actively updated or maintained.

Retention:

M.A. Consulting retains Personal Information as long as M.A. Consulting believes it is required to retain such information for the purpose of filing completed Returns and having such Returns available in the event that such information is required by Client to respond to a request by CRA. After a Client’s Return has been filed with CRA, the said Return and all Personal Information contained therein is stored at the M.A. Consulting site where the Return was prepared or at M.A. Consulting’s main database to enable M.A. Consulting to respond to any inquiries from Client or CRA and for no other purpose.

This information is usually stored for a period of seven years.

Security:

M.A. Consulting endeavors to maintain physical, procedural, and technological security at its offices, head office, and information storage facilities to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, inadvertent disclosure, or modification of Personal Information.

M.A. Consulting further protects Personal Information by restricting access to Personal Information to those employees that have authorized access in order for M.A. Consulting to provide its services to its Clients. M.A. Consulting has a policy under which employee misuse of Personal Information is treated as a serious offense for which disciplinary action may be taken.

Regarding electronic transmission of Personal Information in the form of the Client’s completed Return, there is no method of transmitting or storing data that is completely secure. Although M.A. Consulting uses all available technological security in the transmission of Client’s Returns, all Internet transmissions are susceptible to possible loss, misrouting, interception, and misuse.

Access to personal information:

M.A. Consulting permits a Client to access and review the Personal Information it holds about the Client upon receipt of a written request to M.A. Consulting.

Where Personal Information will not or cannot be disclosed, the Client making the request will be provided with reasons for the non-disclosure.

To protect against fraudulent requests for access, M.A. Consulting will require sufficient information or proof of identification from the Client before granting access or making corrections to the Client’s Personal Information.

Where a request for access to a Client’s Personal Information is granted, M.A. Consulting will endeavor to provide the information in question within a reasonable time following receipt of the written request and confirmation of the Client’s identity. M.A. Consulting may charge a nominal cost to the Client making the access request to cover photocopying or mailing costs, if necessary.

Amendment to M.A. Consulting privacy policy and procedure:

This Privacy Policy is in effect as of January 1, 2021. M.A. Consulting recognizes that legal interpretation of PIPEDAand future federal or provincial privacy legislations may impact its privacy policies and procedures. The Chief Privacy Officer will review and revise this Privacy Policy from time to time, and notification of any revisions will be posted on M.A. Consulting’s Internet web site, as well as communicated to M.A. Consulting’s locations. Privacy Policy changes will apply to the Personal Information collected from the date of posting of the revised Policy Statement to M.A. Consulting’s Internet web site.

Complain process:

Any concern or complaint by a Client about an M.A. Consulting location’s or employee’s management of the Client’s Personal Information should be directed to our office, in writing. All complaints received by our office will be investigated promptly and the Client will be advised of the results of the investigation. Where corrective or disciplinary action is indicated by the Chief Privacy Officer’s investigation, M.A. Consulting will undertake to take such corrective and/or disciplinary action promptly.

You may contact us at the following:

M.A. Consulting Corp.

1585 Markham Road, Suite 212

Toronto, Ontario, M1B 2W1, Canada