Privacy policy

The MCC only collects, uses and discloses personal information for purposes that would be considered reasonable in the circumstances and only such personal information as is required for the purposes of providing our services.

Personal information is collected directly from the person concerned, his or her authorized representatives or from other medical training, licensing, regulatory or credential verification organizations. We use only fair and lawful methods to collect personal information.

Our use of personal information is limited to the purposes described in this Policy or otherwise identified to you at the time of collection. We do not otherwise sell, trade, barter, exchange or disclose for consideration any personal information we obtain.

The MCC collects and uses your personal information for the following purposes only:

• To determine your eligibility for our products and services
• To process your application to, and manage, the various MCC examinations
• To verify your medical credentials and compile your credentials information
• To link your identity to your medical credentials
• To maintain a record of various credential documents against which to compare other applicants’ documentation
• To process payments for services
• To set up, manage and offer other products and services that meet your needs
• To provide you with ongoing service
• To meet our legal and regulatory requirements
• To investigate and adjudicate insurance claims
• To understand your needs
• To analyze the suitability of our products or services for you
• To contact you to promote our products and services and solicit your feedback on our products and services
• To deliver targeted advertising, marketing or information to you which may be useful to you, based on your use of our website and services
• Other purposes consistent with the above purposes

We will only ask for personal information that we need and when we ask you for additional personal information, we’ll let you know why we need it.

The MCC may disclose your personal information to:

• Individuals or organizations who are our service providers
• Individuals or organizations who are involved in maintaining, reviewing and developing our business systems, procedures and infrastructure including testing or upgrading our computer systems
• Other licensing, regulatory, educational, training, credentials verification authorities, hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities and organizations that utilize the services of physicians, government agencies (local, provincial, federal or foreign), law enforcement agencies or other third parties and organizations, and their representatives, who in the opinion of the MCC have a legitimate interest in such information
• Any other person or organization you authorize us to disclose to pursuant to any document you have executed and delivered to the MCC

Where the MCC discloses personal information to organizations that perform services on its behalf, we will require those service providers to use such personal information solely for the purposes of providing services to the MCC or the person concerned and to have appropriate safeguards for the protection of that personal information.

The MCC uses the credential verification services of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, a member of Intealth, which is based in the United States. Therefore, some of your personal information may be retained in the United States where privacy laws may offer different levels of protection from those in Canada and your personal information may be subject to access by and disclosure to law enforcement agencies under American legislation such as the USA Patriot Act.

Please note that there are circumstances where the MCC is permitted or obliged, under applicable privacy legislation, to disclose personal information without consent. Such circumstances include:

• Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or governmental tribunal
• Where the MCC believes, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group
• Where it is necessary to establish or collect monies owing to the MCC
• Where it is necessary to permit the MCC to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain
• Where the information is public

A record is kept each time personal information is disclosed, noting the nature of the disclosure, the date and the identity of the party to whom the disclosure was made, provided that individual records of disclosure are not maintained for regular or routine actions such as transfers of personal information to businesses acting as agents of the MCC, and other medical licensing bodies and medical associations.

Except as permitted under applicable privacy legislation, this Policy or any documents that you have executed and delivered to the MCC that reference this Policy, the MCC won’t collect, use or disclose your personal information without your consent.

By providing personal information to the MCC you agree and consent that we may collect, use and disclose your personal information in accordance with this Policy and any documents that you have executed and delivered to the MCC that reference this Policy.

You can refuse to consent to our collection, use or disclosure of personal information about you, or withdraw your consent to our further collection, use or disclosure of personal information at any time by giving us reasonable notice provided your refusal or withdrawal of consent does not limit our ability to provide our services, to comply with applicable law with respect to the personal information in our possession or limit any rights we have under this Policy or any documents that you have executed and delivered to the MCC that reference this Policy. In certain cases, your refusal to consent could prohibit eligibility for MCC examinations and/or the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) – independent of your application or registration and credentialing requests.

If you do not want the MCC to contact you by email, mail or by phone or share your personal information with other MCC partners, such as faculties of medicine, you may make the necessary arrangements through the offices of the MCC subject to any rights we may have to disclose your personal information under applicable law, this Policy or any documents that you have executed and delivered to the MCC in connection with this Policy.

While the MCC tries to ensure that the personal information we hold about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date, the MCC does not routinely update your personal information, unless required. Therefore, it is in your best interests to inform the MCC promptly of any changes in your personal information. The MCC will, from time to time, verify the personal information that you provide as part of its routine process of credentials verification. This may include verifying other elements of your personal information with associated stakeholders.

If you believe that personal information in your records may be inaccurate, we make it easy for you to access, verify and update it. If incorrect personal information has been provided to third parties, we will convey the corrected information to them, if necessary.

If we do not agree to change your personal information, you may challenge our decision. We will make a record of this challenge, and if necessary, disclose the challenge to third parties who also possess the personal information.

The MCC allows you to access and review your personal information held by us and will endeavour to provide the personal information in question within a reasonable time, generally no later than 30 days following the request.

You can view your information, including examination standings through your online account. To review other personal information that the MCC has about you, simply make a written request to our office. The personal information will be obtained from the candidate’s records at the MCC and will normally be provided within 30 days of your request. There may be a charge for retrieving a complete list of personal information, in which case you will be notified in advance and you may, at that time, withdraw your request.

If you have a sensory disability, on request, we will give you access to your personal information in an alternative format if available. If it is necessary and if we can reasonably do so, we will convert the personal information into an alternative format.

Examination materials, including but not limited to exam questions, your answers, and any Video Recordings of your examination are the sole and exclusive possession of the MCC and do not constitute personal information within the meaning of this policy.

Sometimes, the MCC will not provide you with your personal information that is within its control. For example, the MCC will not provide you with personal information in its control if:

• It would disclose personal information, including opinions, about another individual or about a deceased individual
• It would disclose exam content, trade secrets or other business confidential or proprietary information of the MCC or where such disclosure could undermine the integrity of any aspect of the examination process or any other function of the MCC or other matters within its authority
• It would interfere with contractual or other negotiations of the MCC or a third party
• It is subject to solicitor-client, litigation or other legal privilege
• It is not readily retrievable and the burden or cost of providing would be disproportionate to the nature or value of the information
• It does not exist, is not held, or cannot be found by the MCC
• It may harm or interfere with law enforcement activities and other investigative or regulatory functions of a body authorized by law to perform such functions
• It may be withheld or is requested to be withheld under applicable legislation

If the MCC denies your request for access to personal information, you will be told why, unless prohibited by law. You may challenge that decision.

Once you have the personal information, all you have to do is check it for accuracy and let us know if there are any corrections required. If appropriate supporting documentation is provided, we will correct our records or make note of any differences. If personal information has been provided to third parties, we will convey the corrected information or note any differences to them, if necessary.

To feel secure, you need to know who within the MCC is protecting your privacy.

Within the MCC, there is a Privacy Committee comprised of senior management. A Privacy Officer has responsibility for coordinating overall privacy protection and compliance with this Privacy Policy. The Privacy Committee is located at the Medical Council of Canada, 1021 Thomas Spratt Place, Ottawa, ON Canada, K1G 5L5.

Ultimately, senior management is responsible for protecting candidates’ personal information in its control. They delegate day-to-day responsibility to others within the MCC. Every MCC employee, as a condition of employment, takes responsibility for protecting the privacy, confidentiality and security of personal information. This obligation remains in effect even after an employee leaves the MCC.

Suppliers of services to the MCC, such as e-commerce and credential verification firms, are required to sign contracts obligating them to protect the privacy and confidentiality of personal information provided to them to enable them to perform their functions.

The MCC also has extensive controls to maintain the security of its operations and information systems. Physical access to those areas where personal information is gathered, processed or stored is restricted to authorized employees. Appropriate controls are in place over computer systems and data processing procedures and these controls are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance with our security and privacy policies.

The MCC destroys or erases any personal information when it is no longer needed. When personal information is destroyed or erased, the MCC takes care that there is no unauthorized access.

In short, our staff is committed and our systems are designed to protect your privacy and confidentiality.