Privacy Policy

Effective Date: May 23, 2026

Introduction

Welcome to Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial. In this Privacy Policy, "DLC Homestead Financial," "we," "us," or "our" refers to Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial and any of our affiliated or subsidiary entities. Safeguarding your personal information is a core commitment of our business.

This Privacy Policy explains how we gather, utilize, share, and protect your personal data across all of our interactions, excluding our own employees. This policy applies to you if you are applying for our financial services, acting as a current client, representing a borrower or partner, working with us as a consultant or investor, browsing our website (https://homesteadfinancial.ca/), or applying for a career with us. It also outlines your individual privacy rights under Canadian law.

Our website is not designed for, nor directed at, children under the age of 18. We only collect information regarding minors when explicitly provided by a parent or legal guardian for specific service applications. If you are a parent and believe we have inadvertently collected data from your child, please reach out to us immediately using the contact details at the bottom of this page so we can securely delete it.

What is "Personal Information"?

For the purposes of this policy, "personal information" means any data—regardless of its format—that can be used to identify you directly or indirectly. Common examples include your name, home address, personal email, phone number, and birth date. Standard business contact details, such as your professional title, work address, and work phone number, are not considered personal information.

Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with DLC Homestead Financial, we may collect the following categories of information:

- Identity and Contact Details: Your first and last name, home address, personal phone number, email, and Social Insurance Number (utilized strictly for tax reporting and credit checks). We gather this when you contact us, meet with our brokers, or submit an application. For certain financial or estate planning products, we may also collect power of attorney details, beneficial ownership information, or data regarding dependents (only with parental consent).

- Financial Data: In order to provide our mortgage and financial services, we collect banking details, credit history, income, liabilities, asset documentation, proof of funds, tax records, and employment history.

- Medical Information: For specific products like life or disability insurance policies, we may need to collect health insurance identification and information regarding pre-existing medical conditions.

- Demographics: Details such as your gender and date of birth, which are required for certain product applications.

- Employment Background: If you apply to work with us, we collect your resume, educational history, and information gathered from reference or recruitment agencies.

- Social Media Interactions: If you engage with our Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other social profiles (such as liking a post or leaving a comment), we may receive information like your name and profile picture, depending on your platform's privacy settings.

- Geolocation, Technical Data, and Call Tracking: When you use our website, we automatically collect technical metrics such as your IP address, browser type, and general location to help us provide region-specific rates. Additionally, we use dynamic phone number insertion on our website to track incoming calls. This allows us to see how you found us, optimize our marketing, and improve client service.

- Audio and Visual Recordings: To ensure the safety of our staff and clients, we may utilize video surveillance at our physical office locations. We may also record customer service phone calls for training and quality assurance purposes.

- Background Checks: With your explicit consent, we may conduct credit and background checks when evaluating your service or job application.

- Routine Interactions: Any additional information you volunteer during general inquiries, transactions, or communications with our team.

How We Use Your Information

We use your personal data only when permitted by law, with your consent, or for the following key purposes:

- To evaluate applications: Assessing your eligibility for our mortgages, products, or services, which includes running necessary credit checks.

- To optimize our business and website: Analyzing website traffic, generating operational reports, and ensuring our digital platforms function smoothly.

- To manage security and fraud prevention: Monitoring our IT systems, preventing illegal activities, and verifying your identity to protect against financial loss.

- To communicate with you: Responding to your questions, chat messages, and inquiries. We also use this data to send newsletters, personalized offers, and marketing materials. You can opt out of promotional communications at any time.

- To process careers: Reviewing job applications, conducting reference checks, and keeping you informed about roles that fit your profile.

- To conduct research: We may strip your data of identifying details (anonymization) to conduct broader market research and business analysis.

- To make automated decisions: We may utilize automated systems or algorithms to assist in evaluating applications or to streamline our marketing. If a decision that significantly impacts you is made without human intervention, we will inform you and provide a point of contact for any questions.

- To fulfill legal obligations: Complying with regulatory requirements or defending our legal and property rights.

How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We only share it in the following specific circumstances:

- Internal Access: Our employees are granted access to your information strictly on a "need-to-know" basis to perform their job duties.

- Affiliated Entities: We may share data within the DLC Homestead Financial corporate network to fulfill the administrative and business purposes outlined in this policy.

- Service Providers: We partner with external vendors for services like IT hosting, accounting, legal counsel, customer service, and marketing. These third parties are only given the information absolutely necessary to perform their contracted tasks and are legally prohibited from using it for anything else.

- Legal and Safety Protections: We may disclose your data if legally compelled to do so by law enforcement, to enforce our agreements, or to protect the safety and rights of our clients, our business, or the public.

- Business Transfers: If DLC Homestead Financial undergoes a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of assets, your personal information may be securely transferred to the succeeding entity as part of that transaction.

Mobile Messaging (SMS) Privacy

DLC Homestead Financial highly respects your privacy regarding text communications. We do not share, sell, or rent your mobile phone numbers or SMS opt-in consent to any third parties or affiliates for promotional purposes. Your mobile data is used exclusively to provide the specific updates or services you requested from us.

Website Cookies and Digital Tracking

Cookies are small text files saved to your device when you visit a website. They help the site remember your preferences for future visits. We use both temporary "session" cookies (which delete when you close your browser) and "persistent" cookies (which remain until manually deleted or expired).

We utilize the following types of tracking technologies:

- Necessary Cookies: Essential for basic website functions, like logging into a portal or filling out a form. Our site cannot function properly without them.

- Functional Cookies: Remember your personal settings, such as language preferences, to provide a smoother browsing experience.

- Analytics Cookies: Help us measure website performance. We use Google Analytics to understand traffic sources, page views, and visit durations. You can opt out of this tracking via the Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on. Additionally, we improve our service and advertising by using Microsoft Clarity to see how you use our website. By using our site, you agree that we and Microsoft can collect and use this data.

- Advertisement and Remarketing Cookies: We partner with advertising networks, including Google and various social media platforms, to utilize remarketing. These cookies track your browsing behavior across the internet to build an interest profile, enabling us to display relevant DLC Homestead Financial advertisements to you on other websites and platforms you visit.

- Third-Party Links: If our site links to external surveys, job portals, or news articles, those external sites may place their own cookies. We do not control the privacy practices of third-party websites.

Your Privacy Choices

By submitting personal information to us, you consent to its collection and use as described here. In some routine cases, your consent may be implied by your actions. You always have choices regarding your data:

- Adjusting Browser Settings: You can manage or disable cookies through your web browser settings. Please note that blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of our website.

- Withdrawing Consent: You may revoke your consent for us to use or retain your data at any time by contacting us, subject to legal or contractual limitations. However, doing so may prevent us from providing you with certain financial services.

- Managing Marketing Preferences: You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of our messages or by reaching out to us directly.

Your Privacy Rights

Under Canadian privacy laws, you have specific rights regarding your personal information:

- Right to Access: You can ask us whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of those records.

- Right to Correction: If you believe the information we have is inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete, you can request that we amend it.

To exercise these rights, please submit a request to our primary contact listed below.

Data Security and Governance

We have implemented rigorous administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, loss, or alteration of your data. This includes secure firewalls, robust passwords, multi-factor authentication, and comprehensive employee training. We also enforce strict contractual agreements with all third-party vendors to ensure they maintain equivalent security standards, and we have dedicated protocols for managing any potential privacy incidents.

Data Retention and International Transfers

We retain your personal information only as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as legally mandated by financial regulators. We also make reasonable efforts to keep your data accurate and up to date.

Please be aware that some of our technology and service providers operate outside of your home province, and sometimes outside of Canada entirely (such as in the United States). As a result, your personal data may be transferred across borders. When data is stored in a foreign jurisdiction, it becomes subject to the laws of that country, which may allow foreign law enforcement or national security agencies to access it upon request.

Questions and Complaints

If you have any questions regarding this policy, or if you feel your privacy rights have not been respected, please submit a written inquiry to our Owner & Principal Broker:

Catherine Evel
Owner & Principal Broker
Dominion Lending Centres Homestead Financial
Email: catherine.evel@homesteadfinancial.ca
Phone: (905) 690-6834

Updates to this Policy

We regularly review and update this Privacy Policy to ensure it aligns with evolving legal standards, new technologies, and our business practices. Please check the "Effective Date" at the top of this page to see when it was last modified. If we make significant changes, we will notify you prominently via our website or by email. Continuing to use our services after an update indicates your acceptance of the revised terms.

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