Protecting your privacy is important to The Palyul Foundation of Canada. As part of our commitment to privacy protection, we have implemented this Privacy Policy, which explains our privacy practices. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time to better serve your needs. Notice of any changes will be provided on our web site. You can be sure that our Privacy Policy satisfies all of the requirements of applicable privacy law, including Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPED Act”) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

This Privacy Policy governs the way we manage your Personal Information. If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy, please contact us at info@palyulcanada.org.

Whenever you provide us with Personal Information, whether in writing, over the telephone, or online, you will be referred to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our Policy, please contact us at the address given at the end of this Policy, we would be pleased to address your concerns.

What is “Personal Information”?

“Personal Information” is information about you as an individual. Examples include your name, mailing and e-mail addresses, age, birthday telephone number, picture and voice recording. Your personal preferences, such as your favourite colour or flavour of ice cream, could also qualify as Personal Information if connected with other information that identifies you. This Privacy Policy describes the types of Personal Information that we collect, how we collect it, why we collect it and what we use it for.

“Non-identifiable Information” is information that cannot be associated with, or traced back to, a specific person. Non-identifiable information includes: anonymous aggregated information, information about your visits to our Websites which is not linked to you, information about your computer’s operating system and web browser software. Your computer and its operating systems, browsers, and memory contain vast quantities of transaction data and records of your use of it. This Personal Information could be gleaned from these systems by outsiders if you do not take steps to protect your system. It is our policy not to associate this information with visitors, even though we verify some kinds of technical information to ensure that our Websites are optimized to serve our visitors.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

We collect Personal Information in the following circumstances:

• When you subscribe to our e-mail newsletter;
• When you register for one of our events;
• When you stay overnight or for longer term in our retreat facilities; or
• When you contact us to make requests or comment on our services.

Newsletter Subscriptions

When you subscribe to our online newsletter, you are required to provide the following Personal Information so that we can deliver the newsletter to you electronically: your first, last name, and e-mail address.  Subscribers can cancel a newsletter at any time by following the “unsubscribe” instructions at the bottom of the newsletter or by using the information at the end of this Privacy Policy. Personal Information is deleted from our database immediately when a subscriber cancels their subscription.

Event Registrations

From time to time, we will hold special events which require registration of personal information. You must be 18 years of age or older to register for one of our events. When you register, we will ask you for your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address so that we can reserve your space at the event and contact you in case there is a change. If food is being provided, we will ask if you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies.

Through the usage of the Event Tickets Plus plugin for our events, the following information may be collected and stored in our website’s database.  Events Tickets Plus does not collect or store any personal data.

• Attendee information: extra information such as food allergies, medical conditions or prior training or experience
• Ticket information: number / sku (via check-in page)
• Ticket purchaser information: name and email address
• Ticket purchaser billing address

Overnight Accomodation

When you stay overnight in our guest house as part of a personal retreat or a visit, we will ask you for additional personal information such as dietary restrictions or allergies, health concerns, and an emergency contact.

Solitary Retreats

When you stay overnight in our guest house in a personal or solitary retreat, we will collect additional personal information such as an emergency contact, dietary restrictions or allergies, and medical information such as prescriptions or an existing medical condition.  The reason we collect this information is that we are located in a remote location where the nearest hospitial and medical assistance are over an hour away.  We need to be informed should a medical emergency arise during your stay.

Payments for Events and Accommodations

We accept payments through e-transfers to temple@palyulcanada.org or PayPal. When processing payments, some of your data will be passed to PayPal, including information required to process or support the payment, such as the purchase total and billing information.

Please see the PayPal Privacy Policy for more details.

Contacting The Palyul Foundation of Canada

If you telephone, write or e-mail us to comment on one of our services or web site, we will retain the information for our records for 6 months. Disclosure of your name and Personal Information is voluntary in this circumstance.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We will not disclose your Personal Information unless required by law. We must provide your Personal Information in response to a search warrant or other legally valid enquiry or order, or to an investigative body in the case of a breach of an agreement or contravention of law, or as otherwise required by law.   We do not share, sell, rent or trade in Personal Information. Your consent to our use of Personal Information can be withdrawn at any time by following the directions at the end of this policy.

How long we retain your data

• Contact form entries are stored for six months
• Records of event registrations and attendance are stored for six months.
• Personal retreat applications and guest house accomodation data are stored for six months.
• Google analytics data is stored for 26 months.

Security and Safeguards

We know how important privacy is to you. That is why we protect and safeguard your Personal Information. Our security policies govern the protection of the information on our information systems, the way we protect our Websites from malicious attack, and the way in which we dispose of information no longer needed. We screen and train our employees and volunteers carefully to ensure that they will always have the highest regard for you and your privacy, and we restrict access to your Personal Information to only those with a need to know.

We make best efforts to keep our servers in a safe environment and protect our information technology infrastructure from abuse. Security on the Internet is a continuously evolving problem and we hire experts who keep up with the latest trends. If you receive any electronic communication which purports to be from a member of the The Palyul Foundation of Canada that you have any questions or concerns about, please contact us. Spam, improper use, and pirating of domain names and email addresses is a growing problem, so we appreciate hearing about incidents in order that we may investigate them and provide you the best customer service.

Contact Us With Concerns, to Update Your Personal Information, to Opt Out or To Complain

We have tried to anticipate and meet all of your expectations with respect to the treatment of your Personal Information and the privacy of your online experience with us. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us at the address below.

This is the address to contact if you:

Have questions or concerns about our treatment of your Personal Information;
Wish to update or access your Personal Information;
Want to withdraw your consent to the collection and use of your Personal Information; or
Wish to cancel a newsletter subscription.

Please contact us at mailto:info@palyulcanada.org or by writing to:

The Palyul Foundation of Canada
c/o Orgyan Osal Cho Dzong
Buddhist Monastery and Retreat Centre
1755 Lingham Lake Road
Madoc, Ontario K0K 2K0
Phone: (613) 955-7433