1. Scope and application

At Quantum Management Services Ltd., Quantum Technology Recruiting Inc., and Alternacare Inc. (collectively “Quantum” or “we” or “us”), we care to protect the privacy of our clients and their information. It is important for us to be transparent and offer you information regarding the types of Personal Information we collect, how we use that information, whom we disclose it to, and the grounds and purposes for such collection, use, and disclosure. We also want you to be informed about your privacy rights.

This Privacy Policy applies to clients who retain our recruitment services, including job seekers, candidates and temporary assignment employees, contractors who provide services, individuals who visit our websites, or a job applicant who applies for a career opportunity with us, and to our activities across Canada.

2. What is “Personal Information”?

“Personal Information” is any information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is reasonably capable of being associated with a particular individual. This includes such information as your name, contact details, birth date, background checks documents and personal health information as well as more technical information, such as your IP address, browser settings and device ID, but only when this information can identify you as an individual. Information that is anonymized in compliance with applicable laws and cannot be associated with an identifiable individual is not considered to be Personal Information.

3. What categories of Personal Information do we collect?

Depending on your interaction with us, we may collect personal identifiers, contact information, professional or employment information, background information, personal health, credit and financial information and Internet or other electronic network activity in a variety of ways detailed below under How do we collect your Personal Information. More specifically, we may collect the following type of information:

• Personal identifiers, such as name, date of birth, postal address history, phone number, email address, national identity numbers (e.g., Social Insurance Number), bank account number, username or (IP) addresses.
• Professional or employment-related information and other information, which may include some of the information described above, as well as your resume, your cover letter, your education and work history, references, compensation and benefits, disciplinary information, former employer’s feedback, and work eligibility information (e.g., temporary foreign worker permit).
• Personal Health Information, such as disability, physical limitations, or other relevant information related to your health.

• Credit and financial information, which may include detailed information about your credit and financial history.
• Criminal and judicial records, which may include criminal records and infractions.
• Internet or other electronic network activity information (i.e., technical information when you visit our websites), including when you log in to use our services. This information is collected via automated means, such as cookies, authorized token, web beacons and similar technologies, and may include your IP address, device ID, browser type, data about the web pages you visited on our websites, time and duration of a visit, information about your location, your language preferences, etc. To learn more about how we collect and use this type of information, see How do we use your Personal Information? below.

4. How do we collect your Personal Information?

We collect Personal Information in a variety of ways, including directly from you, through our websites and from third parties, more generally from the following general sources:

a. Directly from you

We may collect your Personal Information directly from you, such as when:

• you submit your resume information or use our services.
• you create an account, visit one of our websites, or contact us.
• you provide information requested by Quantum to complete your profile and provide services to you.

b. From third parties

We may collect Personal Information of job seekers, candidates, temporary assignment employees and contractors who provide services, from third parties with your consent, when this information is requested by prospective employers. For example, we may collect your education background, verify your references, and conduct criminal background, credit checks or similar types of checks and verifications on behalf of our clients who are prospective employers.

c.     Through our websites

We or our service providers, that help us maintain and operate our websites, may also automatically collect the following information relating to your access to and use of our website through cookies, authorization tokens, web beacons, and other technologies: your domain name; your browser type and operating system; your type of computer or mobile device; pages you view; links you click; your IP address; the length of time you visit or use the service, and how you use the service.

We may use various technological methods to track the patterns of users accessing and using our websites and applications, including the following methods:

Cookies: Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored in your browser on your computer or mobile device. We use cookies to enhance your experience on our websites. Users may have the opportunity to set their computers or devices to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. If you set your browser not to accept cookies, you may not be able to take advantage of the full features of our site.

Authorization Tokens: We may allow you to use certain third-party accounts (e.g., LinkedIn, Google) to authenticate and log into parts of our websites using those third-party accounts. If you authorize use to authenticate using a third-party service, depending on how that third-party services are configured we may receive user login credentials or an anonymous identifier or token.

Web Beacons: Web beacons are small pieces of data that are embedded in images on website pages. We may use these technical methods to analyze the traffic patterns on our site and service. These technical methods may involve the transmission of information either directly to us or to another party authorized by us to collect information on our behalf. We may also use these technical methods in HTML e-mails that we send to determine whether you have opened those e-mails or clicked on links in e-mails. The information from the use of these technical methods may be collected in a form that is anonymized.

Third-Party Analytics: We may use automated devices and applications, such as Google Analytics, to evaluate usage of our sites and services. We also may use other analytic means to evaluate our services. We use these tools to help us improve our services, performance, and user experiences. These entities may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services, generally, on an aggregated basis.  

Location Information: We may determine the approximate location of your computer or device from your IP address. We collect and use this information to, for example, calculate how many people visit our website from certain geographic regions.‎

5. How do we use your Personal Information?

We may use your Personal Information for the following purposes or otherwise, with your consent or as permitted or required by law:

a.     General business purposes

We may use your Personal Information for general business purposes such as, but not limited to, providing our recruitment services, managing our business and websites, processing job applications, preventing or reducing commercial risk, as well as for purposes relating to information, system, or network security.

More specifically, we may use your Personal Information for the following general business purposes:

• Provide our recruitment services to you and to facilitate the recruitment process.
• Verify that you meet the requirements of positions sought.
• Follow-up on your application process.
• Make appointments and to remind you of upcoming appointments.
• Conduct surveys.
• Comply with legal, regulatory, and professional obligations.
• Protection of our commercial interests, collect debts and assert our legal rights and interests.
• Creating, administering, and maintaining your account.
• Updating your Personal Information.
• Payroll and payroll compliance.
• Answer your questions and enquiries.

b.      Research and development purposes

We may use Personal Information to understand and assess your interests and changing needs with a view to improving our services and developing new ones, as well as to evaluate potential improvements or other modifications to the functionality of our websites. For instance, we may use third-party web analytics services, such as Google Analytics, to help us analyze how visitors use our websites. When required by law, we will use anonymized information for these purposes.

c.       Marketing purposes

We may use your Personal Information to provide you with personalized content and services, such as tailoring our services, our digital client experience, and offerings.

We may also use your Personal Information to communicate with you in a variety of ways (for example, by email, telephone, text message or direct mail) about our programs, services or events that may be of interest to you. If you no longer wish to receive our commercial electronic messages, please follow the unsubscribe procedure included in each of these messages. For more information on this topic, see What are your privacy choices?

6. When do we share your Personal Information with other organizations?

Quantum may share and disclose certain categories of Personal Information to third parties in the following circumstances or as otherwise permitted by applicable laws:

• Prospective employers. Given the nature of our services after obtaining consent, we may share Personal Information about job seekers, candidates and temporary assignment employees such as professional experience and qualifications, as well as references, education verifications and background checks (including judicial, criminal, credit checks and similar type of information) with our prospective employer clients, upon this information being requested by them from time to time for potential and future assignments, for the purpose of evaluating the application and suitability for the role. These prospective employers are the ones determining which type of checks and results are relevant and necessary for the position that they are recruiting for and as such, job seekers, candidates and temporary assignment employees who retain our services understand that these employers will process such Personal Information received in accordance with their own privacy policies and procedures.
• Vendors, consultants, and other service providers. We use vendors and other service providers to assist us in providing our services. In certain circumstances, it is necessary to provide access to your Personal Information to vendors for specific purposes, including but not limited to, payroll processing and compliance, government inquiries, products, and services for categories such as IT, background verifications, candidate and employee training and testing, e-signature platform, employee rewards, etc. These third parties may only use the Personal Information as necessary to perform their functions and may only use the personal information for the purpose of providing the services.
• Without your consent. In certain circumstances, we may share Personal Information without your consent, when authorized by law, such as:
  
  • in situations involving an emergency or a threat to safety.
  • to comply with a warrant or other order from a court or a governing regulatory authority.
  • to collect money owed.
  • to investigate the breach of an agreement or applicable law (for example, investigating potential theft).
  • to determine or verify eligibility to receive health care or related goods, services, or benefits.
  • to provide requested information to a person conducting an audit, reviewing an application for accreditation, or reviewing accreditation.
  • to detect, suppress or prevent fraud.
  • when required in the context of a prospective or completed business transaction, such as a transfer of assets or shares or merger, in accordance with applicable legal requirements. For example, we may make your Personal Information available to advisors or (potential) buyers of our business if necessary for concluding the transaction and continuing operating the business.

7. What are your privacy choices?

For the most part, privacy legislation in Canada provides that if we notify you (for example, through the distribution of this Privacy Policy) of the purposes for which we intend to collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information, and those purposes are reasonable, we will have your implied consent to act in accordance with the Privacy Policy.  

You have choices about the way we handle your Personal Information.

a. Changing your communication preferences

You can always choose not to receive marketing or promotional messages from us by email by clicking on “unsubscribe” in any email you receive related to these activities.

Please note that even if you have indicated your choice not to receive commercial messages from us, we may still communicate with you in connection with a service, in accordance with applicable law (for example, to send you a message in relation to our services or important information). In addition, it may take up to ten (10) business days to register a change of preference across all our records.

b. Changing your browser settings on your device

We use technology to enhance your experience and present you with offers, including personalised advertising. Through technologies such as cookies, our websites recognize you when you use or return to them and can provide you with a seamless experience. You can remove or disable some of these technologies at any time through your browser. However, if you do so, you may not be able to use some of the features of our websites.

Please refer to your browser instructions or help screen to learn how to block, delete and manage cookies on your computer or mobile device. You can also use the quick links below, depending on the type of browser that you are using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and/or Safari.

c. Restricting collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information

You may withdraw your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy at any time upon reasonable notice to us in writing, subject to legal or contractual restrictions.

The withdrawal of your consent may affect our ability to continue to provide you with the services that you receive or would like to receive because the continued use and disclosure of your Personal Information is a necessary part of making the product or service available to you. In some circumstances, legal requirements may prevent you from withdrawing consent.

8. How do we protect and govern your Personal Information?

We take appropriate measures and controls aimed at safeguarding your Personal Information. We maintain policies and practices which ensure the protection of your Personal Information and the prevention of unauthorized access, loss, misuse, sharing or alteration of Personal Information in our possession. We implement a combination of measures to protect your Personal Information, including:

• Internal policies and procedures that define the roles and responsibilities of our employees throughout the information life cycle and limits their access to such information on a “need-to-know” basis, only to those employees or agents who require access to fulfill their responsibilities.
• If information is collected or stored in electronic format, technical safeguards such as encryption, firewalls, antivirus / anti-malware software and similar measures.
• A designated Privacy Officer to monitor Quantum’s compliance with applicable data protection laws.
• Employee privacy and data security training.
• Procedures for receiving, investigating, and responding to complaints or inquiries regarding our information handling practices, including any security incidents involving Personal Information.
• Contractual protections and other measures to ensure that service providers with whom we share Personal Information maintain adequate privacy protections and standards. For example, we generally require our service providers to limit their use and retention of Personal Information to what is necessary to provide their services and to notify us in case of any actual or suspected security incident. We also try to monitor and audit their compliance with these requirements in various ways (e.g., on-site inspections (if feasible), surveys and interviews, proof of certification).

9. How long do we keep your Personal Information?

We keep your Personal Information only as long as it is reasonably needed or relevant for the identified purposes, or as permitted or required by law or provincial associations and colleges. We may keep certain Personal Information for an extended period even when you are no longer our client or consultant (for example, for required tax and financial record keeping, security, fraud prevention, and to manage business operations). Once no longer required, your Personal Information will be securely destroyed or anonymized, in compliance with applicable laws.

10. Cross-Border Transfers of Personal Information

Your Personal Information may be transferred, stored, accessed, or used in a jurisdiction outside your jurisdiction of residence (for example, outside your province or outside Canada) when applying for a job located in another jurisdiction than your jurisdiction of residence or in connection with our use of third-party service providers engaged by us. We use our best efforts to ensure that all our third-party service providers take reasonable security measures to protect your Personal Information (this includes technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your Personal Information) and to ensure that they only use your Personal Information for authorized purposes we have made known to you or which are otherwise permitted by applicable law. 

Where Personal Information is located outside of your province or outside Canada, it is subject to the laws of that jurisdiction which may differ from those in your jurisdiction and any Personal Information transferred to another jurisdiction will be subject to law enforcement, regulatory, and national security authorities in that jurisdiction. Subject to these laws, we will to the best of our abilities use contractual measures to maintain protections that are at least equivalent to those that apply in Canada.

11. Accessing and correcting your Personal Information

You may be entitled to access your Personal Information and request the rectification information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or no longer up to date, subject to limited exceptions set out in applicable laws.

To access and correct your Personal Information, please contact us in writing using the relevant contact information listed in the Contact Us section below.

12. Changes to the Privacy Policy

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes we make will become effective when we post a modified version of the policy on our websites. If the changes we make are significant, we will provide a more prominent notice and/or obtain consent when required by applicable laws. By continuing to use our services after the modified version of the Privacy Policy has been posted or you have been informed of such update, you are accepting the changes to the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the changes in our Privacy Policy, it is your responsibility to stop using our services. It is your obligation to ensure that you read, understand, and agree to the latest version of the Privacy Policy. The “Effective Date” at the top of the Privacy Policy indicates when it was last updated.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions or complaints about how we handle your Personal Information, please contact us as indicated below:

Person Responsible for Protection of Personal Information

Privacy Officer
2000 McGill College Avenue, Suite 1800
Montreal, QC H3A 3H3
HR@quantum.ca