Privacy policy & accessibility

Privacy policy

Dairy Farmers of Ontario Commitment to Your Privacy

Dairy Farmers of Ontario (“DFO”) understands the importance of your Personal Information, respects your right to privacy and will ensure your Personal Information is collected, used and disclosed only in the manner in which you have consented.

This Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Information you provide or submit to DFO through our website Milk.org, in person, over the telephone, through various programs required by policy or regulation, and through on-farm observations or otherwise and is intended to inform you of the types of Personal Information DFO collects, how it is used and disclosed and how you may correct errors in the Personal Information you provide to us.

We ask that you please read this policy carefully in order to understand our policies and practices concerning the collection, use and disclosure of your Personal Information.

DFO’s Collection of Personal Information

Personal Information refers to any personally identifiable information about you. It does not include aggregate data where the identity of an individual cannot be determined. 

Personal Information collected by DFO may include your name, licence number, business name, home address and telephone number(s) or email address which are necessary for you to participate in certain promotions, educational activities, events, contests, or programs required as part of DFO’s licensing and statutory compliance or to receive information about DFO and its products or services. DFO may also collect certain demographic information (such as age, gender, occupation, education, etc.) on an optional basis from time to time.

DFO’s Use of Personal Information

DFO’s use of Personal Information is limited to the purposes described in this Policy, unless we expressly tell you otherwise. We do not otherwise sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any Personal Information we have obtained from you.

I. Consumers

DFO may use your Personal Information for the following purposes:
(a) to develop and manage our relationship with you; (b) to manage and facilitate the use of our website and other social media, which may include the use of cookies and other similar technologies; (c) to respond to your requests for products, information or services; (d) to improve our products, services and websites and better understand your needs; (e) to conduct market research, studies, analysis and surveys; (f) to communicate with you and include you in advertising or marketing campaigns and other promotional activities and mailings; (g) to send you information, including our newsletter, recipes, health and nutrition tips, educational materials, invitations to special events, and contests; (h) requirements imposed by law to carry out and satisfy DFO legitimate business functions;

II. Producers

DFO collects, uses and may disclose personal information about certain Producers. The purpose for which DFO collects such Personal Information will be identified at or before the time the information is collected and may include:

  • administering and providing Producer services;
  • facilitating the dissemination of information and consultations directly or through the DPC;
  • informing and/or registering Producers for DFO events or programs such as the Annual General Meeting;
  • sending out newsletters and other relevant information;
  • processing and administering the above or other purposes as necessary;
  • to conduct research and analysis,
  • to send your information related to your DFO licence;
  • to assess your compliance with programs required by DFO or by regulation;
  • to visit your premises for the purposes of programs required by DFO or by regulation, to pick up your milk.
DFO’s Disclosure of Your Personal Information

Your information may be shared with service providers, academic institutions, agents or contractors of DFO in connection with services that these individuals or entities perform for DFO. These service providers help us operate our business, technology systems and applications, internal procedures, infrastructure and advertising and marketing. They provide services to us such as data hosting, contest administration, email deployment, marketing, and processing, managing or analysis of personal information. DFO’s third party service providers are required to use, maintain and disclose your Personal Information only on DFO’s behalf and in accordance with DFO’s instructions and to limit access to and/or use of Personal Information to what is required to provide their services.

Your Personal Information may be collected, used and shared by us and the applicable third party. You should review the privacy policies of any such third parties to understand how they may use or disclose your Personal Information. By providing us with your Personal Information, you agree that DFO may disclose such Information to our marketing partners or other third parties for the purposes described in this Policy. Subject to applicable legal, regulatory compliance requirements and/or contractual restrictions, you may also opt-out of any such communications or withdraw your consent to such disclosure as described in the section Withdrawal of Consent below.

DFO will not disclose any of your Personal Information to any other persons, except (i) with your prior consent or (ii) as may be required or permitted such as where DFO is obliged to disclose such information by law, an order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other government tribunal; to protect the rights, privacy safety or property of others; or where the information is in the public domain.

Consent of an individual is required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where consent is not required by privacy legislation. 

By providing your Personal Information to us, you consent and agree that DFO may collect, use and disclose it in accordance with this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted or required by law.  We will seek your consent to use or disclose Personal Information after it has been collected where we wish to use or disclose the information for a purpose not previously identified in this Policy.

Consent may be given expressly or may be implied, depending on the circumstances.  In some cases, the web site or other media may prompt you to give your consent to the collection of certain personal information. In some circumstances, by clicking “I have read and I agree” (or similar language) you are giving DFO permission or consent to collect, use and disclose your Personal Information as described above in this Policy.  

In other cases, your consent is understood or implied such as when you respond to a survey, request information or updates from the web site or elsewhere.

Consent may also be given orally when information is collected in person or over the telephone.

Children

DFO complies with all applicable laws and regulations concerning marketing and advertising to children and requires children under the age of majority to obtain the consent of their parent or legal guardian before providing any personally identifiable information to us.

You may at any time withdraw or change your consent to DFO’s collection, use or disclosure of your Personal Information, or request DFO remove it from DFO’s files, (subject to legal, regulatory compliance requirements and/or contractual restrictions).

You may, at any time, ask DFO not to send you further marketing materials about our products and services. Also, if you do not wish to receive further invitations to events, or information about contests, or other promotions, you may unsubscribe or contact us as set out in the Contact Information section below and ask that we not contact you for these purposes. You may also notify DFO that you do not wish us to use your Personal Information for any purposes that are not required at any time by contacting DFO in any of the ways described below.

DFO will only send email, text or other electronic messages to you if you have some form of business relationship with DFO, or you have asked for or otherwise agreed to receive emails, texts or other electronic messages from DFO. Any electronic message that you receive from DFO will identify DFO as the sender, enable you to contact DFO directly and provide for a means of unsubscribing from further electronic messages.

DFO’s Websites

When you visit DFO’s websites, unless you tell DFO who you are or reveal any other personal information, DFO does not collect or store any information about you. The only information DFO collects and stores is non-personally identifiable information such as the name of your Internet service provider, or computer operating system you are using, the type of the Internet browser you used, the domain name of the website from which you linked to our site and the pages you request. DFO uses this non-personally identifiable information to generate aggregate statistics regarding DFO’s web site activity and to improve your experience on our websites.

Cookies

A “cookie” is a small data file written to your computer’s hard drive containing information that a website creates when you visit it, such as your IP address, browser type, or domain name. We use cookies to customize delivery of our website content so that we can see which areas are popular and which may need improvement. DFO does not share Personal Information obtained through cookies with any third parties except as provided in this Policy. You may set your Internet browser preferences to notify you when you receive a cookie or decline acceptance of cookies. If you decline acceptance of cookies, however, you may experience less than optimal performance of our website.

How Long Does DFO Keep Your Personal information?

DFO retains your Personal Information as long as is required for the purposes identified when you provided the Personal Information and for any new purposes identified and consented to by you. DFO destroys, deletes or converts such information into an anonymous form when it is no longer required.

DFO Protects Your Personal Information

DFO protects your Personal Information using security systems appropriate to the sensitivity of the information provided to us. In ongoing efforts to safeguard your Personal Information from unauthorized collection, use, loss, misuse, disclosure or modification, DFO has put in place a number of safeguards including contractual, organizational, structural and technological security standards. We also restrict employee access to Personal Information to those who require such access to provide products, services or information.

Although we take precautions against possible breaches of our security systems, no company can fully eliminate the risks of unauthorized access to your personal information and no website is completely secure. We cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss or breaches of our security systems will never occur. 

Access to Your Personal Information

You have the right to access and review the Personal Information we hold about you.

DFO endeavours to ensure that any personally identifiable information provided to us is accurate, current and complete for the purposes for which the information is used. You may review, update or correct any of your Personal Information held in DFO’s files and your consents regarding its use and disclosure at any time by contacting DFO’s Privacy Officer in any of the ways indicated below.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding DFO’s policy and procedures, if you wish to change your consent to DFO’s use and disclosure of your information, or if you wish to review, update, correct or have DFO delete your information from files, please contact:

Privacy Officer
Dairy Farmers of Ontario
6780 Campobello Road
Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 2L8

Telephone:  (905) 821-8970
Email: questions@milk.org

We will not charge you for verifying or correcting your Personal Information and will endeavour to provide the information in question within a reasonable time. If we will not or cannot disclose information, we will provide the individual making the request the reasons for non-disclosure.

If we are unable to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, you may contact the Privacy Commissioner of Canada:

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada
30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 1H3

Changes to our Privacy Policy

DFO reserves the right, at any time, to modify this Policy at DFO’s sole discretion, and you agree to be bound by any such modifications, which shall be effective immediately DFO upon DFO posting the revised Policy on DFO’s web sites.

In some instances, DFO may collect, use and disclose personal information about certain Producers. The purpose for which DFO collects such Personal Information will be identified at or before the time the information is collected and may include:

  • administering and providing Producer services;
  • facilitating the dissemination of information and consultations directly or through the DPC;
  • informing and/or registering Producers for DFO events or programs such as the Annual General Meeting;
  • sending out DFO communications and other relevant information;
  • board elections;
  • processing and administering the above or other purposes as necessary.

ACCESSIBLITY

Dairy Farmers of Ontario is committed to ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration, and we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and meeting our accessibility requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Ontario’s accessibility laws. 

Policy:

Training

We will provide training to all employees and volunteers (paid and unpaid, full-time, part-time and contract positions), board members, and anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to customers on DFO’s behalf such as Dairy Educators. 

This training will be provided to staff in these positions upon hiring and as changes are made to our policy or procedures. 

Training includes:

  • Purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the Customer Service Standards

  • Our policies related to the Customer Service Standards

  • How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities

  • How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person

  • How to use the equipment or devices available on-site or otherwise that may help with providing goods, services, or facilities to people with disabilities. 

  • What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing our organization’s goods, services, or facilities. 

We maintain a record of the training provided including the dates on which the training was provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided. 

Assistive Devices

People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our goods, services, or facilities. 

We ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices we have on site that may be used by customers with disabilities while accessing our goods, services, or facilities. These devices include the wheelchair lift, accessible entrance door, and accessible washrooms on the ground floor. 

Communication

We communicate with people with disabilities in ways that consider their disability. We will work with the person with disabilities to determine what method of communication works for them. 

Service Animals

We welcome people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and third parties. 

When we cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, our staff may ask for documentation from a regulated health professional that confirms the person needs the service animal for reasons relating to their disability. 

Support Persons

A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises. 

Notice of Temporary Disruption

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for customers with disabilities, this organization will notify customers promptly. This clearly posted notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated length of time, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. 

Feedback Process

DFO welcomes feedback on how we provide accessible customer service. Customer feedback will help us identify barriers and respond to concerns. Feedback can be addressed to the Human Resources office by emailing accessibility@milk.org, in person or telephone. All comments will be reviewed by the Human Resources office staff and customers can expect to hear back within 14 days. 

Notice of Availability of Documents

Upon request, DFO will provide documents in an accessible format or with communication support. We will consult with the person making the request to determine the suitability of the format or communication support. We will provide the accessible format in a timely manner and at no additional cost.  

Employment

We notify employees, job applicants and the public that accommodation can be made during recruitment and hiring. We notify job applicants when they are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process that accommodation is available upon request. We consult with the applicants and provide or arrange suitable accommodation. 

We notify successful applicants of policies for accommodating employees with disabilities when making offers of employment.

We notify staff that support is available for those with disabilities as soon as practicable after they begin their employment. We provide updated information to employees whenever there is a change to existing policies on the provision of job accommodation that consider an employee’s accessibility needs due to a disability.

We will consult with employees when arranging for the provision of suitable accommodation in a manner that considers the accessibility needs due to disability. We will consult with the person making the request in determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication supports specifically for:

a) information that is needed to perform the employee’s job; and
b) information that is generally available to employees in the workplace

Where needed, we will also provide customized emergency information to help an employee with a disability during an emergency. With the employee’s consent, we will provide workplace emergency information to a designated person who is providing assistance to that employee during an emergency.

We will provide the information as soon as practicable after we become aware of the need for accommodation due to the employee’s disability.

We will review the individualized workplace emergency response information:
a) when the employee moves to a different location in the organization;
b) when the employee’s overall accommodations needs or plans are reviewed; and
c) when the employer reviews its general emergency response policies.

We have a written process to develop individual accommodation plans for employees.

We have a written process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodation to return to work.

Our performance management, career development and redeployment processes consider the accessibility needs of all employees.

Changes to Existing Policies

Any policies of this organization that do not respect and promote the principles of dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity for people with disabilities will be modified or removed. 

MULTI-YEAR ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

Establishment of Accessibility Policies

3. (1) Every obligated organization shall develop, implement, and maintain policies governing how the organization achieves or will achieve accessibility through meeting its requirements referred to in this Regulation.

Compliant – August 2013

DFO has developed and implemented policies governing how it achieves accessibility and meets its legal requirements. 

Accessibility Plan

4.1 (1) Establish, implement, maintain and document a multi-year accessibility plan, which outline’s the organization’s strategy to prevent and remove barriers and meet it’s requirements under this Regulation.
Post the accessibility plan on their website, if any, and provide the plan in an accessible format upon request. Review and update the accessibility plan at least once every five years. 

Compliant – October 2023

DFO established and implemented a multi-year accessibility plan in order to identify and remove barriers and meet its legal requirements.

Training

7. (1) Every obligated organization shall ensure that training is provided on the requirements of the accessibility standards referred to in this Regulation and on the Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities to
a) employees, and volunteers;
b) all persons who participate in developing the organization’s policies; and
c) all other persons who provide goods, services or facilities on behalf of the organization.
7. (5) Every large organization shall keep a record of the training provided under this section, including the dates on which the training is provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided.

Compliant – August 2013

DFO has developed and made available training material for all staff on Accessibility. 

Part II – Information and Communications Standard

Feedback

11. (1) Every obligated organization that has processes for receiving and responding to feedback shall ensure that the processes are accessible to persons with disabilities by providing or arranging for the provision of accessible formats and communications supports, upon request.

11. (3) Every obligated organization shall notify the public about the availability of accessible formats and communication supports

Compliant – August 2021

DFO’s new website allows for persons with disabilities to request for provision of accessible formats and communication supports by emailing accessibility@milk.org 

Accessible Formats and Communications Support

12. (1) Every obligated organization shall upon request provide or arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports for persons with disabilities, a) in a timely manner that takes into account the person’s accessibility needs due to disability; and b) at a cost that is no more than the regular cost charged to other persons. 

12. (2) the obligated organization shall consult with the person making the request in determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication support. 

Compliant – January 2021

DFO’s new website allows for persons with disabilities to request for provision of accessible formats and communications by writing to , emailing or calling Human Resources.

Accessible Websites and Web Content

14. (1) Designated public sector organizations and large organizations shall make their internet websites and web content conform with the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, initially at Level A and increasing to Level AA, and shall do so in accordance with the schedule set out in this section.

Compliant February 2021

DFO’s new website was designed in accordance with WCAG 2.0. Level AA.

Part III – Employment Standard

Recruitment, General

22. Every employer shall notify its employees and the public about the availability of accommodation for applicants with disabilities in its recruitment process.

Compliant – 2013

DFO includes a notice at the end of every job advertisement that accommodation for applicants with disabilities is available. 

Recruitment, Assessment or Selection Process

23. (1) During a recruitment process, an employer shall notify job applicants, when they are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process, that accommodations are available upon request in relation to the materials or processes to be used. 

Compliant – 2013

23. (2) If a selected applicant requests an accommodation, the employer shall consult with the applicant and provide or arrange for the provision of a suitable accommodation in a manner that takes into account the applicant’s accessibility needs due to disability.

Compliant - 2013

Notice to Successful Applicants

24. Every employer shall, when making offers of employment, notify the successful applicant of its policies for accommodating employees with disabilities.

Compliant - 2013

Informing Employees of Support

25. (1) Every employer shall inform its employees of its policies used to support its employees with disabilities, including, but not limited to, policies on the provision of job accommodations that take into account an employee’s accessibility needs due to disability.

25. (2) Employers shall provide the information required under this section to new employees as soon as practicable after they begin their employment.

25. (3) Employers shall provide updated information to its employees whenever there is a change to existing policies on the provision of job accommodations that take into account an employee’s accessibility needs due to disability.

Compliant - 2013

Accessible formats and communication supports for employees

26. (1) In addition to its obligations under section 12, where an employee with a disability so requests it, every employer shall consult with the employee to provide or arrange for the provision of accessible formats and communication supports for,
(a) information that is needed in order to perform the employee’s job; and
(b) information that is generally available to employees in the workplace.
(2) The employer shall consult with the employee making the request in determining the suitability of an accessible format or communication support.

Compliant - 2013

Workplace Emergency Response Information

27. (1) Every employer shall provide individualized workplace emergency response information to employees who have a disability, if the disability is such that the individualized information is necessary and the employer is aware of the need for accommodation due to the employee’s disability.

(3) Employers shall provide the information required under this section as soon as practicable after the employer becomes aware of the need for accommodation due to the employee’s disability.

Compliant - 2013

Documented Individual Accommodation Plans

28. (1) Employers, other than employers that are small organizations, shall develop and have in place a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.

Compliant - 2013

Return to Work Process

29. (1) Every employer, other than an employer that is a small organization,
(a) shall develop and have in place a return to work process for its employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations in order to return to work; and
(b) shall document the process.

Compliant - 2013

Performance Management

30. (1) An employer that uses performance management in respect of its employees shall take into account the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities, as well as individual accommodation plans, when using its performance management process in respect of employees with disabilities.

Compliant - 2013

Career Development and Advancement

31. (1) An employer that provides career development and advancement to its employees shall take into account the accessibility needs of its employees with disabilities as well as any individual accommodation plans, when providing career development and advancement to its employees with disabilities.

Compliant - 2013

Redeployment

32. (1) An employer that uses redeployment shall take into account the accessibility needs of its employees with disabilities, as well as individual accommodation plans, when redeploying employees with disabilities.

Compliant 2013