Privacy Policy

Last updated – November 20, 2024  

Introduction

Deloitte was appointed by the court as the Administrator (“Administrator” or “we”) for the First Nations Drinking Water Settlement (the “Settlement”). The role, duties and responsibilities of the Administrator are outlined in the Settlement Agreement.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we gather about you, what we use that information for, and who we give that information to in the course of our duties as Administrator.

Privacy laws in Canada generally define “personal information” as any information about an identifiable individual, which includes information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person.

Why do we need to collect your personal information?

Deloitte was appointed as the Administrator for this Settlement to execute the Claims Process. This means we need to collect your personal information for various purposes in support of managing this process, including:

• Processing Claims and deciding entitlement to compensation.
• Making compensation payments to individuals.
• Responding to inquiries about Claims and Claim Forms.
• Carrying out other duties and responsibilities as the court or the Settlement Implementation Committee may, from time to time, direct.

We may also collect a limited amount of personal information through the use of cookies (small text files stored in a user’s browser) on this website. This information is necessary for the functioning of this website and also to understand website usage and to support troubleshooting. Learn more about the Administrator’s use of cookies.

What personal information will we collect about you?

When you submit a Claim, the Administrator only collects as much personal information from you as necessary to process your Claim in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. This information may include, but is not limited to, for example:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Home address
• Social Insurance Number
• Indian Status Card Number
• Community/First Nation of Membership
• Bank account details for compensation payment
• Details about the period of time an Individual Class Member was Ordinarily Resident on a reserve during a Long-Term Drinking Water Advisory
• Details about symptoms, health conditions and treatments associated with an Individual Class Member’s Claim for Specified Injuries
• Additional personal information and supporting documentation to determine eligibility for compensation, if applicable

When you visit www.FirstNationsDrinkingWater.ca to get information about the Settlement, you can view the website without revealing your name, phone number or email address. We may collect a limited amount of personal information as you navigate through the website. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies.

How will we collect this personal information?

Most personal information we collect about you comes directly from you when you:

• Submit a Claim Form
• Communicate/correspond with the Administrator
• Phone the Contact Centre (calls are recorded)
• Provide copies of your identification and other records in support of your Claim

The limited personal information collected through cookies will occur automatically as you navigate through the website.

How will your personal information be used?

The Administrator uses personal information that you provide and that is collected about you strictly for the purposes of executing its duties under the Settlement Agreement.

Personal information collected through cookies will be used to help us understand usage and improve website delivery.

How will your personal information be disclosed?

As required under the Settlement Agreement, your personal information may be shared with several key stakeholders involved in executing the Settlement Agreement. These include:

• First Nations where you are a member or lived
• Government of Canada
• Class Counsel
• Third-Party Assessors
• The Settlement Implementation Committee
• The Joint Committee
• The First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water
• Other person(s) who filed a claim on behalf of you or the person who is representing you
• Auditors and the Court, as required.

Your personal information will also be aggregated and shared as required under the Settlement Agreement.

How will your personal information be protected?

We use a range of physical, electronic, and administrative measures to ensure that we keep your personal information secure, accurate and up to date.

These measures include, but are not limited to:

• Education and training to relevant staff to ensure they are aware of our privacy obligations when processing personal information
• Administrative and technical controls to restrict access to personal information on a ‘need to know’ basis
• Technological security measures, including firewalls, multi-factor authentication, encryption and anti-virus software
• Physical security measures, such as staff security passes to access our premises
• An appointed Chief Privacy Officer to oversee privacy matters

Although we use appropriate security measures once we have received your personal information, the transmission of data over the internet (including by e-mail) is never completely secure. We endeavor to protect personal information, but we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to us or by us.

How long will your personal information be kept?

As required under the Agreement, your personal information will be retained for two (2) years after the Administrator completes the last payment of compensation under the Settlement Agreement. Then, the Administrator will destroy all Class Member information and documentation in its possession.

A report related to the Administration of Claims will be shared with the Government of Canada and kept in accordance with its own retention requirements under the Privacy Act.

How can you access and correct your personal information?

You have the right to access your personal information and correct any details that are inaccurate or have changed.

It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current because we may need to contact you if we need additional information to process your Claim. Please keep us informed if you change your address, phone number, email, or other personal information. You can do this by contacting us at 1-833-252-4220.

How can you cancel your Claim?

If you decide to cancel or withdraw your Claim from the Settlement, contact us by phone at 1-833-252-4220 or by email at FirstNationsWater@deloitte.ca.

What if you have questions or concerns about how your personal information is handled?

We have procedures in place to receive and respond to complaints or inquiries about our handling of personal information, our compliance with this Privacy Policy, and with applicable privacy laws. To discuss our compliance with this Privacy Policy, or if you have general questions related to the Class Action, eligibility, the Claims Process, or to be connected to Class Counsel, please contact the Administrator at 1-833-252-4220.

What about privacy on Settlement Social Media platforms?

We do not recommend that you share any personal information on the Settlement Facebook page or any other social media platforms. The community manager will remove social media posts or private messages that contain personal information. See our Social Media Community Guidelines for more information.

In some circumstances and only with your permission, the community manager may share questions or concerns posted on Facebook with the Administrator. The Administrator, at its sole discretion, may respond to you directly using the contact information we have on file for you (e.g., phone number or mailing address).

Please visit the Meta Privacy Center for information and advice about social media privacy.

Will this Privacy Policy change over time?

It is our policy to post any changes we make to the Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you through a notice on the Website home page.

We include the date the Privacy Policy was last revised at the top of the page. You are responsible for periodically visiting this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

Cookies Notice

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device by the websites that you visit. Cookies are then sent back to the website on each subsequent visit, or to another webpage that recognizes that cookie. We use cookies to make the website work, or to work more efficiently, understand website usage and support troubleshooting. Cookies help us gather information like your domain name, your internet service provider, your operating system, the date/time you visit, the pages you access, and the kinds of information you search for on this website. This information helps us provide a more personalized and responsive user experience.