Our Privacy Statement and Commitment

At Meritrust Financial Group Inc., our brokers and our clients are our business. As a financial services company, we are trusted with some of our clients’ most sensitive personal information. We must respect that trust and need our clients to be aware of our commitment to protect the information they provide in the course of doing business with us. We are committed to protecting the privacy of all personal information provided to us. Our privacy commitment applies to all of our branch operations in Canada.

 

What we will not do with your information

We do not disclose or share personal information with organizations outside of our relationship with you that would use it to contact you about their own products or services.
 

Personal Information We Collect

Meritrust Financial and its advisors and representatives collect personal information in a number of circumstances in the course of conducting our business. We obtain your personal information lawfully and fairly. We ask you for only the information we need. Under the Act, personal information is broadly defined as information (data) – oral, written or electronic – identifies him or her includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. name, address and telephone number

2. age, gender, family and marital status

3. identification numbers (such as social insurance number or driver's license)

4. financial and employment information

5. credit rating, payment records

6. previous insurance and claims experience

7. medical and health information

 

Your Consent

The consent for us to establish a file and collect and maintain personal information is to be signed by the client and placed in their file. We collect, use or disclose your personal information with your permission for the purpose identified, or as allowed or required under the law.

 

Protection of Personal Information

As the principals, management and employees of Meritrust Financial Group Inc., we are granted access to client information and must understand the need to keep the information protected and confidential. Our training procedures clearly communicated that we use the information only for the intended purpose(s).

​

We comply with PIPEDA in Canada, ALPIPA in Alberta, BCPIPA in British Columbia and ARPIPS in Quebec and CCIR & CISRO’s Fair Treatment Guidelines to protect personal information confidentiality.

 

Our ten privacy principles

 

1. Accountability

All employees of Meritrust Financial are accountable for protecting the confidentiality and security of all personal information under their control. We have designated an individual to oversee our compliance with the Act (PIPEDA in Canada, ALPIPA in Alberta, BCPIPA in British Columbia and ARPPIPS in Quebec) and ensure that our ten privacy principles are upheld.

 

   2. Identifying purposes

We will identify the purposes for which your personal information is being collected either before or at the time of collection. With your permission, your personal information may be collected, used and disclosed by Meritrust Financial for the following purposes:

• confirming your application information and assessing your eligibility for products and services;

• providing you with ongoing services, establishing and maintaining communication with you and responding to any inquiries you may have;

• assessing the suitability of the products or services for you or providing you with information on other products and services that may help meet your financial security needs;

• processing and adjudicating your claims and determining your eligibility for benefits.

For these purposes we may share your personal information within Meritrust Financial, with your financial advisor, broker, plan administrator, insurance companies, credit bureaus and with any other person, corporation or enterprise.

   3. Consent

We will explain the reason for and obtain your consent before using your personal information for any purpose other than those listed above. We will only collect, use and disclose your personal information with your consent, except where otherwise required or permitted by law. Your medical and health information will only be shared with your consent. Meritrust Financial does not sell, trade or rent its clients' personal information to any organization for any purpose.

 

It is your right to choose not to provide us with some or all of your personal information. You may even deny us or withdraw consent to the use or disclosure of your personal information for certain purposes. However, it is important to remember that we require certain aspects of your personal information in order to establish your eligibility for certain products and services, or to continue to provide you with these products and services.

 

    4. Limiting collection

We will limit the collection of your personal information to only those details that are necessary for the purposes identified.

 

    5. Limiting use, disclosure and retention

We will only use your personal information for the purposes for which it was collected, unless you have consented otherwise, or when it is required or permitted by law. Your personal information will only be retained for the time necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, and to meet any legal or regulatory requirements.

 

    6. Accuracy

We will keep your personal information as accurate, complete and up-to-date as possible to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. You can assist us in ensuring your records are current by providing us with any changes to your personal information, such as an address change. You have the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of your personal information and amend it as necessary.

 

    7. Safeguards

We will protect the personal information we collect from you with security safeguards. Unencrypted, electronically transmitted information is not 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us electronically or that you request us to transmit to you via public internet.

 

Our systems and procedures are designed to prevent loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction of your personal information. Only authorized employees and service providers of Meritrust Financial have access to your personal information. Our commitment to security extends to the contracts and agreements that we sign with external suppliers and service providers.

 

   8. Openness

We will make available to you information about our policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.

 

   9. Access

We will give you access to your personal information at your request, subject to any legal or business restrictions. There may be a nominal charge for doing so. This information will be provided to the individual within a reasonable time (no later than

30 days) from the date Meritrust Financial receives the individual’s written request. Instruction as below:

​

• Provide the address, email or information as to whom and where the request to access personal information needs to be sent

• Any request for access to information or request for amendment must be sent to the following address:

 

Privacy officer

Meritrust Financial Group Inc.

210-3190 Steeles Ave E., Markham, ON L3R 1G9

Email: compliance@meritrust.ca

 

   10. Challenging compliance

You may contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions with respect to our ten privacy principles at email address provided below.

 

Complaint and Concerns 

If you have a concern regarding one of our products or services, please let us know. If you deal with an advisor, he or she may be able to help. Alternatively, please contact our Client Care Department at admin@meritrust.ca.

 

If this does not resolve your concern, we have outlined additional steps you may choose to take. Please contact our compliance officer for details at compliance@meritrust.ca.

 

We create a complaint file for each case. You will receive an acknowledgement of your case along with an explanation of the complaint handling process and an estimation of when you can expect to hear back from us. Your complaint is examined and analyzed diligently and fairly.

 

We handle your complaint in a fair and timely manner. We focus on our clients’ needs and present exact solutions with those needs in mind. Clients’ satisfaction is essential for us.