the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act

As of January 1, 2004, all organizations are required to comply with this new Canadian Federal legislation. Details of the Act can be found at the web site of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Last Revised - January 15, 2008

The Wareham Forge is required to do the following:

1) Appoint a Privacy Officer:

Since the Wareham Forge is registered as a Sole Proprietorship, this task falls to Darrell Markewitz.

2) Collect only the information necessary to carry out activities, and keep it only as long as it is necessary.

NOTE: By contacting the Wareham Forge, any individual or organization is presumed to have given consent for the collection of such information as is required for the Wareham Forge to carry on its business related activities (as detailed below).

Any client of the Wareham Forge can also withdraw consent for the Wareham Forge to hold their personal information. This requires a written request (see contact information below). After receiving a request, your contact information and correspondence will be destroyed (as detailed below) and any drawings, research or production notes will be "anonymized".

3) Inform people of the following:

This published information constitutes the Stated Policy of the Wareham Forge as is required under the Act, effective January 1, 2004. The policy is reviewed and modified as deemed necessary on an annual basis.

a) What information is collected:

In the normal course of business, the Wareham Forge collects information in three categories:

Orders and Invoices - Normally contain a Customer's name, address, phone and e-mail. There is a listing of the goods or services, with the dollar totals and applied taxes. In some cases there may be working notes / drawings of the actual projects. *

Correspondence - The bulk of this is as e-mail. In some cases image files or text documents may also be included.

Project Files - This relates primarily to major commissions or contracts. It is normal practice to gather all information associated with a large project into a single file, which in turn has a hard copy and electronic version. This may include text documents, correspondence, notes, drawings, photographs, and related research.*

(* ) It should be noted that under the Copyright Statement of the Wareham Forge the following materials remain the sole property of the Wareham Forge unless otherwise agreed upon in writing:
- all designs, either proposed or actualized
- all research materials produced
- any supporting documents or production notes
These materials are NOT part of a clients personal information, and are not subject to the Act.

Images - Over the years a large inventory of reference images, many of public events, has been collected. These include slides, prints, and digital still photographs, as well as motion film in a number of digital tape formats. The original materials may have been converted from one media to another to suit various presentation purposes (35 mm slide to digital image for web site, as example).

b) Why data is collected:

- Only that information that is relevant to an individual project or sale is gathered.
- A mailing list is compiled to provide a base for future customers.
- Some personal correspondence my be held if it contains research data.
- Images are held as an ongoing reference collection of past work and public presentations.

c) How is data protected:

All information is held directly by the Wareham Forge. Computers owned and operated on site hold all electronic files. Hard copy is held in the office. The only person with direct access to this information is the owner, Darrell Markewitz. The primary work machines are Macintosh OS and are thus relatively secure from outside intervention.

d) How long is data retained:

Orders and Invoices - These are retained as part of tax records. As required by the Revenue Canada, all hard copies or related computer files are retained for a minimum of SEVEN years before they are destroyed.

Correspondence - The normal practice is to retain personal correspondence no longer than SIX months. Much personal correspondence is only held until the end of the conversation.

Project Files - The bulk of material in a given project file will be retained indefinitely.

Electronic Files - Once every 2 - 3 months files are collected off computer hard drives and burned to CD-ROM disks. Normal practice is to retain these disk copies against future need.

Images - are held indefinitely, with master copies / negatives held in close storage.

e) How is data destroyed:

Hard Copy - Normal practice is for any hard copy to be burned - undertaken directly at the Wareham Forge.

Electronic Media - Normal practice is to remove unnecessary information via the 'trash'. On a periodic basis (about once per month) the hard drive is cleaned using software utilities. Any used disks are reformatted to remove old data before being reused. In the extremely rare case the working computer is to be replaced, the old machine will have its hard drive reformatted to destroy any residual information.

4) Put policies and procedures in place to:

a) Protect personal information:

As detailed above, most customer information is gathered only as required for ongoing business communications - or in the case of actual purchases, as is required by Revenue Canada.

Mailing List - The Wareham Forge does compile a mailing list. This list contains past customers and those who provide their contact information voluntarily. The list has two components, a regular name / address / phone list and a second e-mail list with name and internet address only:
This mailing list is for USE OF THE WAREHAM FORGE ONLY. The Stated Policy is NEVER to provide this list, or any part of it, to a third party.
It is the Stated Policy of the Wareham Forge that this mailing list is to be used sparingly. Only notification of major upcoming shows / course schedules is intended to be communicated through the mailing list.
Any person who requires that they be removed from this mailing list should contact Darrell Markewitz to have this done.

Contact Information - The Stated Policy of the Wareham Forge is NEVER to provide the contact information gathered to any third party. If a referral is to be made, the individual in question will be contacted directly and provided with the information request provided by the seeker (with the seeker's permission). It thus becomes the prerogative of the individual to control any communications with a third party.

Images - In its work in Living History, the Wareham Forge photographs a number of individuals at historic re-enactments. In all cases, an attempt is made to secure permission from those individuals for use of their likeness. Should any individual require that their likeness NOT be used, they should contact Darrell Markewitz to have it removed.

Web Site References - Individual large commission works featured on the web site may sometimes refer to the surname and town of the original customer. This is always done with the expressed permission of the individual. Stated Policy in these cases is never to publish the specific details of customer name or address. Should a referral be requested, past customers will be contacted directly by the Wareham Forge for direct permission before any contact information is released.

b) Allow people to request copies of their information:

Any individual who has past correspondence or been a customer of the Wareham Forge may contact Darrell Markewitz directly to request copies of their information that may be on file (or to ensure that such files have been destroyed). Note that a minimal fee to cover photocopy and postage costs may apply.

c) Allow people to correct their information.

Any individual who finds an error in their contact information should contact Darrell Markewitz for revision.

d) Handle complaints.

Any complaints should be addressed to Darrell Markewitz:


Darrell Markewitz
the Wareham Forge
Hamlet of Wareham
RR # Two
Proton Station, ON
N0C 1L0 - Canada
(519) 923-9219 (voice & fax)
info@warehamforge.ca