York Pride is committed to protecting the privacy, dignity, and well-being of everyone who participates in Project Affirm. Sharing lived experiences with policing can be emotional and vulnerable. We take this responsibility seriously and handle all personal information with care, confidentiality, and respect.

All information collected as part of Project Affirm is used solely for community research, training recommendations, and improving safety and accountability within York Region.

Nothing you share will ever be made public or shared outside authorized York Pride personnel.

1. What Information We Collect

York Pride collects information only with your knowledge and consent. Depending on your comfort level, this may include:

A. Conversation Recordings

• Audio recordings of your meeting

• York Pride scribe notes documenting your experience

B. Your Experience or Story

• Your description of an incident, concern, or pattern

• How you engaged with frontline officers or the institution

• How the interaction affected your safety and well-being

C. Optional Police Information

You may choose to provide:

• A police report number

• Names of officers involved

• Dates or locations of the interaction

If you grant written permission, York Pride may request access to relevant police notes to understand how the incident was documented or handled. This step is entirely optional. This will require your approval of data from York Regional Police to be shared with York Pride 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action team members for this specific project.

D. Contact Information

• Legal Name (First/Last) - This is attached to police reports

• Your preferred name - York Pride members will use this name when speaking with you about your participation.

• Email or phone number

• Your preferred method of communication

This information is used only to schedule meetings and provide updates.

2. How Your Information Is Stored

York Pride stores all Project Affirm information on a secure, password-protected physical drive accessible only to the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action Plan team. The device will be locked in a fireproof safe. This device is separate from York Pride's year-round digital infrastructure and is not accessible to the board or planning team.

This includes:

• Audio recordings

• Scribe notes

• Police reference numbers (if provided)

• Follow-up documentation

For this project, York Pride will not use protected/unprotected cloud services to store data and will not share your information with internal departments, volunteers, or external partners.

Your information will never be:

• Shared publicly

• Posted online

• Distributed to partners

• Used for marketing

• Stored in any system outside the secure drive, locked in a safe

3. Who Has Access to Your Information

Access is strictly limited to:

• The Program Manager, 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action Plan

• The Program Coordinator, 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action Plan

No other York Pride staff, board members, volunteers, or external partners have access to your identifiable information.

When recommendations are developed, all identifying details are removed before any information is summarized or shared with York Regional Police.

4. How We Use Your Information

Your information is used for three purposes:

A. Understanding Community Experiences

To identify themes, barriers, safety concerns, and gaps in policing that affect Trans and Non-Binary residents.

B. Developing Recommendations

To build accurate and meaningful recommendations for York Regional Police to integrate into:

• Training

• Digital resources

• Incident reporting practices

• Frontline support procedures

C. Improving Community Safety

To help shape systems where Trans and Non-Binary people feel seen, heard, and protected.

We do not use your information for advocacy that you do not consent to. All findings will be anonymized.

5. Your Rights as a Participant

You have the right to:

A. Withdraw at Any Time

You can leave the project at any time without providing a reason.

B. Request Correction or Deletion

You can request:

• A correction

• A copy of your own information

• Full deletion of your personal data

Data Retention and Deletion Requests

York Pride will retain your information for the whole duration of the project labelled as: 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action Plan, through "activity C" Key Activity C: Strengthen partnership with York Regional Police (YRP) to develop better supports for trans and non-binary victims of hate, known as "Project Affirm" and its required reporting period. In the participant's original data privacy consent form, signed before the session, the participant agrees that data cannot be deleted before April 30, 2027, and that York Pride must maintain all research materials until that date to meet the federal government of Canada's reporting and compliance obligations.

After April 30, 2027, you may request the deletion of your personal information at any time.

In accordance with grant requirements, York Pride must archive project data for up to six years after the reporting period ends. This means that project records will be securely stored until April 30, 2032, unless you request that your personal information be removed after April 30, 2027.

All archived information is stored securely and never shared outside the authorized project team.

C. Decline Any Question

You never need to share anything you do not want to share.

D. Decline Audio Recording

You may choose to have your session documented only through written notes.

E. Decline Access to Police Notes

You are never required to provide police report numbers.

Your comfort and safety are always the priority.

6. How to Request a Copy or Deletion of Your Data

You can contact the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Action Plan team at any time to request:

• Copies of your information

• Corrections

• Removal of your data

• Confirmation that deletion has taken place

Contact:

jacob.gal@yorkpride.ca

nicholas.kashef@yorkpride.ca

Requests are processed within 10-28 business days.

7. How We Share Findings

When project findings are shared with York Regional Police, they will include:

• Summaries of themes

• Patterns of concern

• Gaps in officer training

• Recommendations for improvement

All findings are presented without any personal details.

No names, no audio, no report numbers, no identifiable information.

8. Consent Process

Before any conversation begins, participants receive a short consent form outlining:

• What will be collected

• How it will be used

• How it will be stored

• Your rights

You may withdraw consent at any time.

9. Questions or Concerns

If you have concerns about data privacy or the project, you can reach out directly to the project leads. York Pride is committed to transparency, safety, and trust.