Privacy Policy

Policy on the Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

1. Definitions:

For the purposes of this Policy:

“We”, “us”, “our”, “Baker” refers to Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Brokerage.
“Client” or “You” means an individual who has sold, purchased or leased, may sell, purchase or lease, or is otherwise involved in a transaction for real estate or related services with Baker, regardless of whether a formal representation agreement has been signed.
“Personal Information” means recorded information about an identifiable individual, including but not limited to an individual’s name, birth date, home address, personal email address, and home telephone number.
“Business Contact Information” means information used to communicate with an individual in relation to their employment, business, or profession, such as a businessperson’s name, position or title, business telephone number, business address, business email, and business fax number. Under section 4(1.1) of PIPEDA, Baker’s obligations under this Policy do not apply to Business Contact Information that is collected, used, or disclosed solely for the purpose of communicating with an individual in relation to their employment, business, or profession. If Business Contact Information is used for any other purpose, this Policy applies to it.
“Service Provider” means a third party that processes personal information on behalf of Baker, such as IT vendors, marketing agencies, or other contractors who assist in delivering our services.
“Consent” means the voluntary agreement of an individual to the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information. Consent can be expressed or implied but must be meaningful and informed.

2. Openness: Our Privacy Commitment to You

At Baker, we are committed to respecting your privacy. We acknowledge we are responsible for the personal information under our control. This Policy explains how we collect, use, and disclose personal information. This policy is available upon request and on our website at https://baker-re.com/privacy-policy/ This Policy applies to Personal Information collected from and about

individuals who are or may become Clients of Baker and;
individuals or organizations with whom Baker works.

Baker supports this commitment through a Privacy Management Program that includes a designated Privacy Compliance Officer with senior management support, privacy training for all staff, a breach response plan, and procedures for handling complaints and access requests.

In delivering our services, we ensure that third-party service providers who receive personal information on our behalf protect it in a manner consistent with this Policy.

This Policy does not apply to non-identifiable aggregated data, which we may use for any lawful purpose. From time to time, we may make changes to this Policy to comply with applicable law and/or because of changes to our Privacy practices.

3. Consent, Collection, Use & Disclosure of Personal Information

3.1 Consent

Unless permitted or required by law, we will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information without your consent.

By providing personal information to Baker, you consent to its collection, use, and disclosure in accordance with this Policy.
If you do not agree with these terms, do not provide personal information. Note that some services may not be available without it.

Withdrawing Consent: You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations. Contact our Privacy Compliance Officer (Section 8) to do so. If you withdraw consent, we will explain what that means for your ability to receive our services. Note that we may be required to retain certain personal information even after withdrawal, for as long as mandated by law — for example, to satisfy our obligations under federal anti-money-laundering legislation or applicable brokerage record-keeping requirements. Withdrawal does not reverse disclosures already made in connection with a completed transaction.

3.2 Collection of Personal Information

We collect only the personal information necessary to:

Market and sell or lease properties for developers and owners.
Locate, assess, and qualify properties for purchasers.
Facilitate Agreements of Purchase and Sale, deposits, assignments, and closings.
Verify your identity and satisfy our obligations under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (FINTRAC).
Comply with applicable laws, including brokerage record-keeping requirements under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 and tax legislation.
Send you marketing communications about properties and projects, where you have consented to receive them.
Respond to complaints, inquiries, and regulatory or legal proceedings.

Examples of Collected Information:

Full name and contact details (address, phone, email).
Baker may use AI-powered tools to record, transcribe, and summarize client meetings, collecting audio, transcripts, summaries, and meeting metadata. No recording occurs without your express consent; you may decline at any time without affecting the services available to you.
Financial details relevant to a transaction, including deposit information.
Government-issued identification and related information (such as date of birth and occupation) required for FINTRAC identity verification.
Transaction documents, including Agreements of Purchase and Sale and, where applicable, assignment agreements.
Property preferences and related instructions.

Note: Where a transaction involves a minor (for example, as a co-purchaser or beneficiary), we collect only what is necessary for that transaction and require consent from a parent or legal guardian for any individual under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors for any purpose other than the transaction in which they are involved.

3.3 Use of Personal Information

We use personal information solely for the purposes for which it was collected, as described in this Policy, including:

Delivering real estate services and facilitating transactions.
Satisfying identity verification and record-keeping obligations under applicable law.
Sending marketing communications, where you have consented to receive them.
Managing disputes, complaints, and regulatory or legal proceedings.

We do not sell or trade personal information.

3.4 Disclosure of Personal Information

We may disclose personal information to:

The vendor of a property and the vendor’s lawyer, in connection with an Agreement of Purchase and Sale, lease agreement, deposit, assignment, occupancy, or closing.
Financial institutions, for the purpose of verifying mortgage-related documents submitted to us in connection with a transaction.
Cooperating brokerages and their representatives, where a transaction involves another brokerage.
Service providers (such as IT vendors, marketing agencies, and other contractors) under written agreements requiring them to protect personal information consistently with this Policy.
Government authorities and regulators, including FINTRAC where required under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Real Estate Council of Ontario in the course of an inspection or investigation.
Any court, tribunal, or law enforcement body where required by law.
Third parties in connection with a change of ownership of Baker, only as permitted by section 7.2 of PIPEDA.
Other parties, at your request and with your authorization.

When Consent Is Not Required

PIPEDA permits the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information without knowledge or consent in certain circumstances. Baker may collect, use, or disclose personal information without consent where:

required by applicable law or legal process, including a court order or regulatory obligation;
necessary to collect a debt owed to Baker or to pursue legal remedies in connection with a transaction;
necessary to respond to an emergency threatening the life, health, or security of an individual; or
the information is publicly available within the meaning of PIPEDA, and the collection, use, or disclosure is consistent with the purpose for which it was made public.

In all such cases, we limit what we collect, use, or disclose to what is necessary for the stated purpose.

4. Accuracy

We take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is accurate, current, and complete for its intended use. You may update your information by contacting our Privacy Compliance Officer, and we will correct it where we agree it is inaccurate or incomplete. Note: Closed files are not actively maintained.

5. Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations.

Personal information collected in connection with a real estate transaction is retained for at least six years from the date of the transaction, as required under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (O. Reg. 579/05, s. 19) and applicable tax legislation. Client identification and transaction records subject to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act are retained for at least five years and may be retained longer where required by law.

Personal information collected solely for marketing purposes is retained until you withdraw consent, after which it is deleted within a reasonable time.

When personal information is no longer required, we destroy it securely. Paper records are shredded by a professional document destruction service. Digital records are deleted using commercially reasonable secure deletion methods.

6. Security

We implement physical, procedural, and technical safeguards to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification. Access to personal information is restricted to employees, contractors, and service providers who need it to perform their duties. Employees receive Privacy training.

Data Storage and Transfers:

We primarily store, access, and use personal information within Canada.
Some service providers may process or store personal information outside Canada, including in the United States and India. When personal information is stored abroad, it may be subject to the laws of that jurisdiction, including lawful access by foreign governments or courts.

Breach Response:

We maintain an internal breach response policy. Where a privacy breach creates a real risk of significant harm to individuals, we will notify affected individuals and report the breach to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, as required under PIPEDA.

7. Access to Personal Information

You have the right to request access to personal information we hold about you, and to request that we correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.

How to Request:

Contact our Privacy Compliance Officer (see Section 8). We may require you to provide sufficient identifying information to locate your file and verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

We will respond to your request within 30 days of receipt. In some cases, we may extend this by up to 30 additional days where:

responding within the original period would unreasonably interfere with our operations;
we need additional time to conduct consultations; or
we need additional time to convert information to an alternate format.

If we extend the response period, we will notify you within the original 30-day window and advise you of your right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

When We May Decline Access:

We may decline an access request where the information:

would disclose the personal information of another individual that cannot be severed from the record;
is subject to solicitor-client or litigation privilege;
would disclose confidential commercial information that could harm Baker or the competitive position of a third party, and that information cannot be severed from the record;
could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual;
was generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process; or
does not exist, is not held by us, or cannot be found.

Corrections:

If we do not agree that information we hold is inaccurate, we will not change it, but we will note your disagreement in the record. Where we decline to provide access or make a correction, we will provide a written explanation and advise you of your right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

8. Challenging Compliance

We take your privacy concerns seriously. If you have questions or believe we have not adhered to this policy or PIPEDA, please follow these steps:

Contact our Privacy Compliance Officer:
Daniel Rodrigues, Compliance Director
Baker Real Estate Incorporated
3056-3080 Yonge St. Toronto, ON, M4N3N1
416-923-4621
[email protected]

Our Process:

We will acknowledge receipt of your concern promptly.
We commit to investigating and responding to your complaint within 30 days.
If we find the complaint justified, we will take corrective action.

Escalation:
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your concern to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at www.priv.gc.ca.