CANMMP | PRIVACY POLICY
PRIVACY POLICY
Canadian Medical Mentorship Program (CanMMP)
Effective date: September 2, 2026
Last updated: September 2, 2026
Privacy contact: Privacy Lead, CanMMP | privacy@canmmp.ca
Privacy at a glance: CanMMP collects only the information reasonably needed to administer applications, make mentorship matches, communicate with participants, operate and improve the program, and understand website use. Sensitive background information is optional. Research participation and promotional emails require separate choices and are not conditions of mentorship.
1. Purpose and Scope
The Canadian Medical Mentorship Program ("CanMMP," "we," "us" or "our") is committed to protecting the personal information of students, mentors, applicants, volunteers, advisors, partners and website visitors. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and disclose it, how long we retain it, and the choices available to you.
This Policy applies to information collected through canmmp.ca, CanMMP application and evaluation forms, email communications, matching and program-administration activities, and related CanMMP services. It does not govern the independent privacy practices of external websites or services linked from our website.
CanMMP aims to follow applicable Canadian privacy requirements and generally accepted fair-information principles. Where a specific law provides greater protection, that law will govern.
2. Personal Information We Collect
We may collect the following categories of personal information:
Student applicants and participants
Name, email address and other contact information.
Medical school, province, year of study and educational status.
Specialty interests, career goals, mentorship goals and preferred areas of support.
Language, geographic, scheduling, and virtual or in-person meeting preferences.
Optional information about identity, socioeconomic circumstances, first-generation status, community background or lived experience.
Application responses, match history, participation status and communications with CanMMP.
Feedback, survey responses, concerns, complaints and program-evaluation information.
Mentor applicants and participants
Name, email address and other contact information.
Professional status, specialty, credentials, training stage, institutional affiliation and relevant experience.
Mentorship interests, areas of comfort or expertise, availability and preferred meeting format.
Language, geographic and student-stage preferences.
Optional information about identity, community background or lived experience.
Application responses, match history, participation status and communications with CanMMP.
Feedback, survey responses, concerns, complaints and program-evaluation information.
Website and communications information
Internet Protocol address, browser and device information, approximate location, referring page, pages viewed, timestamps and other usage information collected through cookies or similar technologies.
Messages, inquiries and correspondence sent to CanMMP.
Email-subscription choices and engagement information, where permitted and enabled.
Please do not provide identifiable patient information, personal health records, account passwords, government identification numbers or financial information through CanMMP forms or mentorship communications.
3. How We Collect Information
We collect personal information:
Directly from you when you complete a Google Form, survey or other application; contact us; subscribe to updates; or participate in the program.
From your mentor or mentee where reasonably necessary to administer the relationship, address a concern or confirm participation status.
Automatically through our website, analytics tools, cookies and similar technologies.
From an organization or individual who refers you to CanMMP, where you have authorized the referral or where otherwise permitted by law.
4. Why We Use Personal Information
CanMMP may use personal information to:
Confirm eligibility and review student and mentor applications.
Identify and facilitate compatible mentor-mentee matches.
Introduce matched participants and support ongoing mentorship relationships.
Communicate about applications, matching cycles, program expectations, events, surveys and operational updates.
Respond to questions, concerns, complaints, rematching requests or safety issues.
Administer, evaluate, safeguard and improve CanMMP.
Prepare de-identified or aggregate statistics about applications, matching, participation, outcomes and impact.
Conduct or support research and publications where the applicable consent and oversight requirements have been met.
Send newsletters or promotional communications where the recipient has separately opted in or where otherwise permitted by law.
Understand website performance, detect technical problems and improve usability.
Comply with legal, regulatory, professional or safety obligations and protect the rights and security of participants and CanMMP.
5. Consent and Your Choices
CanMMP seeks consent at or before collecting, using or disclosing personal information, except where otherwise permitted or required by law. We will explain the relevant purposes in this Policy and, where appropriate, through a shorter notice presented on the applicable form.
Information reasonably necessary for eligibility review, matching, program communication, administration, safety and basic evaluation is required to participate. If you do not provide or later withdraw consent for an essential use, CanMMP may be unable to process your application or continue your participation.
Questions about identity, socioeconomic background, first-generation status and lived experience are optional. Choosing not to answer them will not make you ineligible. Where you provide this information, CanMMP will use it only for the purposes explained at collection, including matching preferences, equitable program access, evaluation or separately authorized research.
Research participation and promotional email subscriptions are separate from core program participation. You may decline either without affecting eligibility for mentorship, and you may later withdraw your consent, subject to information already lawfully used or incorporated into completed analyses.
6. Matching and Information Shared Between Participants
Authorized CanMMP team members may review application information to assess eligibility, make matches and administer the program. Access is limited to individuals who reasonably require the information for their role.
Once a match is confirmed, CanMMP may share information reasonably necessary for the mentor and mentee to connect and understand the basis of the match. This may include names, email addresses, school or professional role, specialty interests, general mentorship goals, preferred language, location and meeting preferences.
CanMMP will not intentionally share optional sensitive background information with the matched participant unless the applicant has been informed and has consented to that disclosure, or the applicant has clearly included the information in a profile intended to be shared.
After an introduction, mentors and mentees communicate directly. Participants are expected to respect confidentiality and professional boundaries, but CanMMP cannot control how information is handled on a participant's personal device or account. Participants should share only what they are comfortable disclosing.
7. Program Evaluation, Research and Public Reporting
CanMMP may use application, matching, participation and survey information for internal program evaluation, quality improvement, planning and service development. CanMMP may also create and publish de-identified or aggregate information, such as the number of applicants, match rates, general participation characteristics and summarized satisfaction results. We will take reasonable steps to avoid reporting small groups or combinations of characteristics that could reasonably identify an individual.
If CanMMP proposes to use identifiable or sensitive information for a research study or publication beyond ordinary program evaluation, we will provide a specific notice and seek separate express consent where required. Research will be submitted for independent ethics review where applicable. Declining research participation will not affect eligibility for or access to CanMMP mentorship.
Information that has been anonymized so that it can no longer reasonably be associated with an individual may be retained and used for evaluation, research, statistical or public-reporting purposes, subject to applicable law.
8. When We Disclose Personal Information
CanMMP may disclose personal information:
To the mentor or mentee with whom you are matched, as described above.
To authorized members of the CanMMP national or provincial team who require access for matching, administration, participant support, evaluation or privacy and safety functions.
To service providers that host, process, secure or analyze information on our behalf, including Google Forms, Google Workspace or Drive, email services, website hosting, analytics and cookie providers.
To professional advisors, investigators, ethics bodies or research collaborators where necessary and subject to appropriate confidentiality, consent and oversight requirements.
Where required or permitted by law, court order, regulatory requirement or professional obligation.
Where reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, misuse, a security incident, a serious safety concern or a violation of CanMMP policies, or to protect a person's rights or safety.
CanMMP does not sell or rent personal information. We do not provide identifiable participant information to partners, sponsors or funders for their independent marketing or recruitment purposes without express consent.
9. Service Providers and Processing Outside Canada
CanMMP uses third-party services to operate the program, including Google Forms and Google Workspace or Drive, as well as website hosting, analytics, cookie and email-service providers. These providers may process or store information in Canada, the United States or other jurisdictions.
When personal information is processed in another jurisdiction, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction and may be accessible to courts, law-enforcement agencies or regulators in accordance with local law. CanMMP remains responsible for information under its control and takes reasonable steps to select service providers and configurations appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
Third-party services operate under their own terms and privacy documentation. We encourage participants to review those materials when using an external form, meeting platform or linked website.
10. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary for website operation or that help us understand traffic, performance and visitor interactions. Analytics information may include device and browser details, approximate location, referring pages, pages viewed and interaction timestamps.
Where required, visitors will be offered a choice before non-essential analytics cookies are activated. You may also manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect website functionality.
11. Safeguards
CanMMP uses reasonable administrative, technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. These may include limiting access by role, using secured organizational accounts, applying appropriate authentication practices, restricting file permissions, training team members and reviewing access when roles change.
No method of Internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. Although we work to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. Participants should not send unnecessary sensitive information through ordinary email.
12. Retention and Disposal
CanMMP generally retains identifiable application, matching, communication and evaluation information for up to five years after the later of your last substantive interaction with CanMMP or the formal conclusion of your mentorship relationship. We may retain information for a shorter period where it is no longer reasonably needed, or for a longer period where required by law, necessary to resolve a complaint or security matter, or governed by a separately approved research protocol.
At the end of the applicable retention period, information will be securely deleted, destroyed or anonymized, subject to reasonable backup and technical-deletion cycles. De-identified or aggregate information may be retained for longer where permitted by law. Minimal records required to document consent, withdrawal, unsubscription or a privacy request may also be retained where reasonably necessary.
13. Access, Correction, Withdrawal and Deletion Requests
You may contact CanMMP to ask whether we hold personal information about you, request access to or correction of that information, withdraw consent for an optional use, or request deletion. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request.
Some requests may be limited by applicable law, the rights and privacy of other individuals, information already used in a completed analysis, or legitimate legal, safety, complaint-handling or recordkeeping requirements. Where we cannot fully comply, we will explain the reason where appropriate.
Withdrawing consent for newsletters or research will not affect core program eligibility. Withdrawing consent for uses essential to matching or program administration may require CanMMP to close an application or end participation.
14. Email Communications
CanMMP may send operational messages necessary to administer an application or mentorship relationship, including application confirmations, match information, program expectations, safety notices and evaluation requests.
Newsletters, promotional announcements and other non-essential communications will be sent only where consent has been obtained or where otherwise permitted by law. You may unsubscribe using the mechanism in the message or by contacting mentorship@canmmp.ca. Unsubscribing from promotional messages will not prevent necessary program-administration communications while you remain an applicant or participant.
15. Privacy Incidents, Questions and Complaints
If CanMMP becomes aware of a loss, unauthorized access, disclosure or other privacy incident, we will assess the circumstances, take reasonable containment and remediation steps, and provide any notices required by applicable law.
Questions, requests or complaints about this Policy or CanMMP's handling of personal information may be directed to:
Privacy Lead
Canadian Medical Mentorship Program (CanMMP)
Email: privacy@canmmp.ca
We will review privacy concerns fairly and respond within a reasonable period. You may also have the right to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or an applicable provincial privacy regulator.
16. Changes to This Policy
CanMMP may update this Privacy Policy as the program, technology or legal requirements evolve. The revised Policy will be posted with a new effective date. Where a change materially affects how previously collected personal information will be used or disclosed, we will provide additional notice and seek consent where required.
17. Accountability
The CanMMP Privacy Lead is responsible for overseeing this Policy and CanMMP's personal-information practices. CanMMP team members who handle personal information are expected to follow role-appropriate confidentiality, access and security requirements.