Effective date: September 2026
Last updated: September 2026
Black Africanness RCIC (“BA-RCIC”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a not-for-profit professional network of Black Canadian immigration professionals.
This Privacy Policy explains how BA-RCIC collects, uses, shares, protects and retains personal information through our website, Associateship application and administration, professional directory, communications, webinars and other organizational activities.
We aim to collect only information reasonably needed for identified organizational purposes and to handle that information responsibly and transparently.
1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
Depending on how you interact with BA-RCIC, we may collect:
- name and contact information;
- account and login information;
- professional designation and licence information;
- professional standing information;
- province and company information;
- areas of immigration practice;
- languages spoken;
- professional biography;
- website and professional social-media links;
- optional country or community connections;
- optional birth month;
- optional federal voting-eligibility information;
- Black identity declaration for Associateship eligibility;
- information provided in contact forms or correspondence;
- information required to administer Associateship, payments, events, complaints or governance matters;
- technical website information such as IP address, browser/device information, cookies and similar operational information where processed by the website or service providers.
We do not need your full date of birth for birthday recognition and do not intend to collect it for that purpose.
2. ASSOCIATE APPLICATIONS
BA-RCIC’s governance requirements provide that Associates must identify as Black and must be appropriately licensed and in good standing with their applicable professional regulatory body.
We collect information through the Associateship application to:
- assess eligibility;
- verify professional identity and standing;
- administer applications and Associateship;
- communicate with applicants and Associates;
- support professional networking and collaboration;
- provide Associate programs and benefits;
- support BA-RCIC’s governance and organizational responsibilities.
Providing information that is identified as optional is not a condition of Associateship unless BA-RCIC later identifies and communicates a specific governance requirement.
3. PROFESSIONAL VERIFICATION
When reviewing an Associateship application or continuing professional eligibility, BA-RCIC may verify relevant information using professional regulator records and publicly available professional information.
Consistent with our governance process, this may include reviewing professional registration and standing and relevant publicly available professional websites, social-media information or other public information where reasonably relevant to the application.
BA-RCIC does not represent that every application review constitutes a comprehensive background investigation.
4. SPECIFIC ASSOCIATE INFORMATION
Birth Month
Associates may optionally provide their birth month. BA-RCIC may use this information to recognize Associate birthdays and administer birthday-related Associate benefits or activities. Birth month is not intended for the public Associate directory.
Country or Community Connections
Associates may optionally identify countries or communities with which they have a connection. BA-RCIC may use this information to support professional networking and referrals, including helping identify professionals who may have relevant cultural or country-specific familiarity.
Providing this information does not mean BA-RCIC has verified that an Associate is an expert on a country or is appropriate for a particular client or matter.
Languages
Associates may optionally identify languages they speak. BA-RCIC may use this information to support professional networking and referrals. Unless otherwise stated, language information is provided by the Associate and is not independently verified by BA-RCIC.
Federal Voting Eligibility
Associates may optionally indicate whether they are eligible to vote in Canadian federal elections.
BA-RCIC uses this information in aggregate to better understand the federal electoral reach of our Associate community and to support advocacy and government-engagement activities.
Individual responses are kept private and are not displayed in the public Associate directory. BA-RCIC does not collect political-party preferences, voting choices or voting history through this field.
Black Identity
BA-RCIC is a professional network for Black immigration professionals. The Black identity declaration is used to assess Associateship eligibility under BA-RCIC’s governance requirements.
Individual responses are treated as private membership information and are not displayed as a registration response in the public Associate directory.
Professional Standing
BA-RCIC collects professional designation, licence number and good-standing information to assess and administer professional eligibility for Associateship.
5. PUBLIC ASSOCIATE DIRECTORY
BA-RCIC maintains a professional Associate directory.
Membership application information is not automatically intended for public disclosure.
Public professional profiles may include information such as:
- name;
- professional designation;
- company;
- province;
- languages selected for display;
- areas of practice;
- professional biography;
- website or professional social-media links;
- professional contact information where the Associate has chosen to make it public.
Private membership information—including Black identity declarations, Federal Voting Eligibility, Birth Month, internal application/review information and other information not identified for publication—is not intended for the public directory.
Information published in the directory may be viewed by members of the public and may be indexed or cached by search engines. BA-RCIC cannot guarantee immediate removal from third-party search-engine caches after information is removed from our website.
6. COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTACT FORMS
When you contact BA-RCIC through our website or by email, we may collect your name, email address, optional phone number, message and other information you choose to provide.
We use this information to respond to enquiries and conduct organizational communications.
Please do not send unnecessary confidential client information, passwords, financial credentials or other highly sensitive information through the general website contact form.
7. WEBINARS, EVENTS AND PAYMENTS
BA-RCIC may offer webinars, professional-development activities and other events.
Registration or payment may involve external providers such as payment processors or webinar platforms. Information submitted directly to an external provider is also subject to that provider’s applicable privacy practices.
BA-RCIC may receive information reasonably necessary to administer your registration, participation or payment.
8. DONATIONS
BA-RCIC may accept donations by e-transfer and may provide links to external donation services such as Zeffy.
When you use an external donation service, information you provide to that service is processed according to its applicable privacy practices. BA-RCIC does not represent that it receives or stores your payment-card information when payment information is submitted directly to an external provider.
9. WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
BA-RCIC uses third-party technology and service providers to operate its website and organizational activities.
Depending on the service being used, providers may include:
- website hosting and WordPress-related services;
- email-delivery providers;
- website analytics or statistics services;
- payment providers;
- donation platforms;
- webinar/event platforms.
These providers may process technical or personal information as necessary to provide their services.
BA-RCIC seeks to limit the information shared to what is reasonably necessary for the applicable purpose.
10. COOKIES AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Our website and its service providers may use cookies, session technology and similar tools for account access, security, website functionality and website statistics.
Technical information may include IP address, browser or device information, requested pages and related operational information.
BA-RCIC does not use the Associate application to collect political preferences or create advertising profiles.
11. EMAIL
BA-RCIC uses email systems and service providers to communicate with applicants, Associates and website visitors.
Email systems may temporarily retain technical delivery records and message information according to the applicable configuration and provider practices.
We seek to avoid placing unnecessary sensitive membership information in routine email notifications.
12. HOW WE SHARE INFORMATION
BA-RCIC does not sell Associate application information.
We may share or disclose information:
- with authorized BA-RCIC personnel or reviewers who need it to administer applications, Associateship or governance processes;
- with service providers that support our website, communications, events, payments or other operations;
- when an Associate has chosen to make professional information public;
- where reasonably necessary to investigate a complaint, protect the organization or others, or administer governance requirements;
- where required or permitted by applicable law.
Aggregate information that does not identify individual Associates may be used for organizational planning, advocacy and government engagement.
13. RETENTION
BA-RCIC seeks to retain personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose for which it was collected and for applicable governance, financial, dispute, security, administrative or legal requirements.
Pending applications may be retained while under review.
For declined or withdrawn applications, BA-RCIC’s target is to delete or anonymize unnecessary application information after approximately 12 months, unless the information is required for an unresolved dispute, security matter or other legitimate administrative or legal reason.
For active Associates, BA-RCIC retains information reasonably needed to administer Associateship.
When Associateship ends, BA-RCIC will remove or deactivate the public Associate profile within a reasonable administrative period and retain only information reasonably required for governance, financial, dispute, security, administrative or legal purposes.
Information no longer reasonably required should be deleted or anonymized according to BA-RCIC’s applicable administrative processes.
Information may remain for a limited period in system backups or provider infrastructure even after it is removed from active systems.
14. COMPLAINTS AND GOVERNANCE RECORDS
BA-RCIC’s governance processes may require us to receive and review complaints, professional-standing concerns or other organizational matters.
We may retain information reasonably necessary to investigate and document those matters and organizational decisions.
Access to this information should be limited to persons who require it for the applicable process.
15. SECURITY
BA-RCIC uses reasonable administrative and technical measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration or loss.
No website, email system or internet-based service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
16. ACCESS, CORRECTION AND DIRECTORY CHOICES
You may contact BA-RCIC to request:
- access to personal information BA-RCIC maintains about you where appropriate;
- correction of inaccurate information;
- updates to your professional profile;
- changes to optional public-directory information;
- information about BA-RCIC’s handling of your personal information.
Some information may need to be retained for governance, financial, dispute, security, administrative or legal reasons even after a request to remove information.
BA-RCIC cannot guarantee deletion from third-party search-engine caches or systems outside its control.
17. EXTERNAL SERVICES
Links on the BA-RCIC website may take you to websites or services operated by other organizations.
Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies and are not controlled by BA-RCIC.
18. CHILDREN
BA-RCIC’s Associateship services are intended for licensed immigration professionals and are not directed to children.
19. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
BA-RCIC may update this Privacy Policy when its website, organizational activities, service providers or privacy practices change.
The current version will be published on the BA-RCIC website with its effective or last-updated date.
20. CONTACT US
Questions or requests concerning this Privacy Policy or BA-RCIC’s handling of personal information may be directed to:
Black Africanness RCIC
London, ON, Canada · Virtual
Email: info@ba-rcic.com
Website: https://ba-rcic.com/