Mamawi Atosketan means “working together” in Cree. Working together depends on trust, and part of that trust is taking good care of the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information the Mamawi Atosketan Centre collects, why we collect it, how we use, share and protect it, and the choices you have. Please read it together with our Terms of Use.

Last updated: September 23, 2026

1. Who we are and who is responsible

The Mamawi Atosketan Centre (“MAC” or “the Centre”) is a ministry of The Alberta Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (the “Alberta Conference”), a registered charity. The Centre is in Maskwacis, Alberta, on Treaty 6 territory. In this policy, “we,” “us” and “our” mean the Centre and the Alberta Conference acting on its behalf.

The Alberta Conference is responsible for the personal information the Centre collects and holds. We have named a privacy contact to answer questions about this policy and to receive requests and concerns: Lynn McDowell, who can be reached at 587-815-8785 or lmcdowell@albertaadventist.ca. Full contact details are in section 20.

We handle personal information in keeping with Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and the other Canadian privacy laws that apply to us.

2. What this policy covers

“Personal information” means information about an identifiable person, such as your name, your contact details or a photo in which you can be recognized. This policy applies to personal information the Centre collects:

• through this website, 1mac.ca, including its forms;
• when you contact us by email, by phone or in person;
• when you take part in our programs and events, or ask about volunteering or working with us; and
• when you give to support the Centre.

It does not apply to websites or services run by others, even when we link to them or show their content on our pages (see section 9 and section 18). The Alberta Conference’s own website has its own privacy policy. Information about people employed by the Alberta Conference is handled under the Conference’s employment policies.

3. Information we collect and how

Information you give us

Most of the information we hold comes directly from you: when you fill in a form on this site, email or call us, sign up for an event, or talk with a member of our team. Depending on how you connect with us, it may include:

• Messages and questions: your name, email address, phone number and whatever you choose to tell us.
• Event and program sign-ups: the names and contact details of the people taking part, the ages of children taking part, an emergency contact, and any needs you tell us about, such as accessibility needs, dietary needs or allergies.
• Volunteering and working with us: your contact details, experience, availability and references, and anything you send us, such as a résumé. Some roles, especially those involving children or vulnerable people, need screening such as reference checks or a criminal record check. We will explain what is needed before we ask.
• Donations: your name, mailing address, email address and phone number, the amount and date of your gift, where you want it directed, and how you gave. Card and banking details are handled by the payment service you use (see section 6).
• Email updates: your name and email address, if you sign up to hear from us.

Please share only what is needed. If you give us information about someone else, such as a family member you are registering for an event, please make sure they, or their parent or guardian, are comfortable with that.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, ours receives some technical information automatically when you visit:

• Server and security logs: your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, the date and time, and the page that referred you. Our website host and security tools use these logs to keep the site running and to protect it from misuse.
• Cookies and similar technologies: small files or stored data that help the site work (see section 9).
• Embedded content: when a page includes content from another service, such as a YouTube video, that service receives information from your browser (see section 9).

We use this technical information to run and protect the site and to understand how it is used overall. We do not use it to build a profile of you.

Information from others

Sometimes we receive personal information from someone else, for example from an online giving service that processes your gift so that a receipt can be issued, from a parent or guardian registering a child, or from someone who names you as a reference.

4. How we use information

We use personal information only for the purposes listed below and any other purpose we explain to you when we collect it:

• answering your questions and requests;
• planning and running programs and events, including keeping everyone safe and letting you know about changes;
• welcoming and coordinating volunteers, and responding to people interested in serving with us;
• receiving and directing gifts, thanking donors, issuing official donation receipts and keeping the financial records a registered charity must keep;
• sending updates about the Centre’s work, events and needs to people who have signed up for them or who have recently given or volunteered (see section 10);
• sharing the Centre’s story through photos, video and stories, with consent as described in section 7;
• running, securing and improving this website; and
• meeting our legal obligations.

If we want to use your information for a new purpose, we will ask you first, unless the law allows or requires the new use without consent.

5. Consent and your choices

We ask for your consent when we collect personal information, and we tell you why we need it. How we ask depends on the kind of information and how sensitive it is:

• Express consent. We ask you directly, for example with an unchecked box on a form or a signed permission form, before we feature you in the photos, videos or stories we share, or collect sensitive information such as health details. Signing up for email updates on this site is also always your choice.
• Implied consent. When the purpose is obvious and you choose to give us information, such as sending a message you want answered or registering for an event, you agree to our using it for that purpose. If you give to or volunteer with the Centre, we may also send you occasional updates about its work, and you can opt out at any time (see section 10).

You can withdraw or change your consent at any time by giving us reasonable notice (see section 20). We will explain what that means for you. For example, we may not be able to register you for an event without your contact details. Withdrawing consent does not affect records we must keep by law, such as donation records, but we will stop using them for anything else.

The law allows personal information to be collected, used or shared without consent in limited situations, such as an emergency that threatens someone’s life, health or safety, or when a court order requires it. We rely on these exceptions only when they are needed.

6. Photos and video

Photos and video help us share the story of what we are building together. We also want everyone to feel safe and comfortable at the Centre.

• We let you know. When photos or video may be taken at an event, we will tell people, for example with signs, an announcement or a note on the registration form.
• You can say no. If you would rather not be photographed or filmed, please tell the photographer or an event host. We will do our best to leave you out, and we will not publish images of you that we know you asked us not to use.
• We ask before featuring you. Before we use a photo, video or story in which you are clearly the focus to promote the Centre or to raise funds, we ask for your permission.
• Children and youth. We ask a parent or guardian before featuring anyone under 18 in this way, and we do not name a child alongside their image without a parent’s or guardian’s permission.
• Ceremonies. Some ceremonies and teachings must not be photographed or recorded. We follow the guidance of Elders, Knowledge Keepers, families and hosts, and we ask everyone attending to do the same.
• Taking images down. If you would like a photo or video of you or your child taken down from our website or social media, contact us and we will promptly remove it from the channels we control and stop using it. If you ask, we will also delete it from our files. We cannot recall printed materials already handed out, or copies that others have saved or shared.

Guests may take their own photos at events. We ask everyone to respect other people’s wishes, but we are not responsible for images taken or shared by guests.

7. Children and youth

We take extra care with information about children and youth.

• We do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13. Our registration and giving forms are meant to be completed by adults. If we learn that a child under 13 has sent us personal information without a parent’s or guardian’s consent, we will delete it, unless we need to keep it to protect the child’s safety or the law requires us to keep it.
• A parent or guardian must register anyone under 18 for our programs and events, and give any permissions needed, such as for photos.
• We collect only what we need to keep young people safe and involved, such as emergency contacts and any health or allergy information a parent or guardian chooses to share with us.
• A parent or guardian may ask to see or correct a child’s information, or withdraw consent on the child’s behalf, as the law allows.

8. Cookies, embedded content and analytics

Cookies are small text files that a website saves in your browser. Similar technologies, such as browser storage, work in much the same way. We keep their use to a minimum.

Cookies that make the site work

WordPress, the software that runs this site, uses cookies when a site administrator signs in. If comments are open on a page and you leave one, your name and comment are shown publicly, and WordPress also stores your email address, IP address and browser details to help detect spam. If you choose, a cookie remembers your name and email for next time. Forms and security tools may also use cookies or similar technologies to work properly and to block spam and attacks. We use these only to run and protect the site.

Content from other services

Some pages show content provided by other services. When your browser loads that content, the service receives your IP address and basic information about your browser and the page you are on, and it may read or store cookies or similar data on your device under its own privacy policy. These services may include:

• YouTube (Google), for the videos on our Videos page and elsewhere on the site. YouTube receives information when a page with a video loads, and more when you play a video. It may set cookies or store data on your device, and it may link your viewing to your Google account if you are signed in.
• Google Fonts, for some of the typefaces used on this site. To display them, your browser requests them from Google’s servers, which receive your IP address. Google states that its Fonts service does not set cookies.
• Google Maps, where we show a map. Google receives your IP address and may set cookies.

To learn more, see Google’s Privacy Policy.

Analytics

If we use a website analytics tool, such as Google Analytics, we use it only to understand how the site is used overall, for example which pages are visited most and what kinds of devices people use. We do not use analytics to identify individual visitors or for advertising. You can block analytics through your browser settings or with Google’s opt-out browser add-on.

No advertising trackers

We do not add advertising, retargeting or social media tracking pixels to this site. Visiting the website of a faith-based ministry, or giving to it, could reveal something personal about you, such as your beliefs, background or community connections. That is why we choose not to use tools that follow people across the internet for advertising. Embedded services such as YouTube are run by others, and they may use the information they receive for their own purposes, including advertising, under their own policies.

Your choices

You can set your browser to block or delete cookies and to clear stored site data. The site will still work, but embedded videos or maps may not load, and forms that rely on spam protection may not send. Your browser’s help pages explain how.

9. Email updates

If you sign up for email updates, we will send you news about the Centre’s work, events and needs, which may include invitations to give.

• Signing up is always your choice, and our sign-up boxes are never checked for you.
• We send updates to people who have signed up for them. We may also send occasional updates to people who have recently given or volunteered, as Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) allows.
• Every update identifies the Centre and the Alberta Conference, includes our mailing address and contact information, and has an easy way to unsubscribe.
• We act on unsubscribe requests within 10 business days, as CASL requires.

Some fundraising messages sent by or on behalf of a registered charity are exempt from CASL’s consent rules. Even so, every update we send includes a way to unsubscribe. Unsubscribing does not stop messages you need, such as replies to your questions, donation receipts, or information about an event you have registered for.

10. Who we share information with

We share personal information only as needed for the purposes in this policy, and only with:

• The Alberta Conference office, which manages the Centre’s finances, issues donation receipts, and supports its administration and communications.
• Other Seventh-day Adventist ministries that work with the Centre on a particular program or event, only as needed for that program and in ways you would reasonably expect, or with your consent.
• Service providers that help us run the site and our ministry, such as website hosting and security, email delivery, online forms, event registration, video hosting, and online giving and payment processing. We share only what each provider needs to do its work, and we remain responsible for personal information that a service provider handles for us.
• Others when the law requires or allows it, for example to the Canada Revenue Agency when charity or tax law requires it, in response to a court order or other lawful demand, or when needed to protect someone’s life, health or safety in an emergency.
• Anyone else, when you ask us to or give us your consent.

We never sell, rent, trade or lease personal information, including donor and contact lists.

12. Information stored outside Canada

Some of the service providers we use store or process personal information outside Canada, mainly in the United States and, in some cases, in other countries where they operate. These can include providers of online giving and payment processing, email delivery, website hosting and security, and video, map and font services such as YouTube and Google. We use them to receive gifts, send email, run and protect this website, and show videos, maps and typefaces.

While your information is outside Canada, it is subject to the laws of that country and may be accessed by its courts, law enforcement and national security authorities. If you have questions about how our service providers outside Canada handle personal information, please contact our privacy contact (see section 20).

13. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes it was collected for, or as long as the law requires:

• Donation and receipt records: as long as Canada Revenue Agency rules for registered charities require. For most financial records, this is at least six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to.
• Messages and questions: as long as needed to respond and follow up.
• Event and program records: as long as needed to run the event and follow up, and longer only when needed for safety, insurance or legal reasons.
• Email update lists: until you unsubscribe. After that, we keep only what we need to make sure you are not emailed again.
• Photos and video: in our archive while they help tell the Centre’s story, unless you ask us to remove them (see section 7).
• Website logs: for a limited time set by our website host and security tools.

When we use personal information to make a decision that directly affects you, we keep it long enough for you to be able to ask to see it. When we no longer need personal information, we securely destroy it or remove anything that identifies you.

14. Keeping information safe

We protect personal information with reasonable safeguards suited to how sensitive it is. These include limiting access to people who need it for their work, using password-protected accounts, keeping paper records in secure places, and using a secure (HTTPS) connection for this website.

No website or email system is perfectly secure. Please never send payment card or banking details by email or through a contact form. Unless a form specifically asks for it, such as allergy or emergency-contact details on an event registration form, please do not send other sensitive information, such as health information, by email or through the site. If you need to share something sensitive, call us and we will find a safer way.

15. If there is a privacy breach

If personal information we are responsible for is lost, or is accessed or disclosed without authorization, we will act quickly to contain the problem and reduce any harm. If there is a real risk of significant harm to anyone, we will notify the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta without unreasonable delay, as Alberta law requires, along with any other authority the law requires us to notify. We will also tell the people affected, so they can take steps to protect themselves.

16. Seeing and correcting your information

You have the right to:

• ask to see the personal information we hold about you, and to know how we have used it and who we have shared it with;
• ask us to correct information that is wrong or incomplete. If we do not agree that a change is needed, we will note your request on your file; and
• withdraw or change your consent, as described in section 5.

To make a request, please write to our privacy contact by email or by mail (see section 20). We may need to confirm your identity first. We will respond within the time the law allows, which under Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act is 45 days after we receive your request. If we need more time, the law allows a limited extension. If that happens, we will tell you why, when to expect our answer, and that you can complain to the Commissioner about the extension.

There is no charge to ask for a correction, and seeing your own information is usually free. If a request would be costly to fulfil, for example because it involves many copies, we will give you an estimate first.

In some cases the law allows or requires us to refuse all or part of a request, for example when answering would reveal personal information about someone else. If that happens, we will explain why and tell you how to ask for a review.

17. Respecting community information

The Centre is in Maskwacis, the home of Samson Cree Nation, Ermineskin Cree Nation, Louis Bull Tribe and Montana First Nation. Information about a community, and the stories, teachings, language and images shared by Elders, Knowledge Keepers and families, carry responsibilities that go beyond one person’s privacy.

• We ask permission before recording or sharing community stories, teachings, Cree-language or cultural content, or images of ceremonies, and we follow the protocols of the Nations and families involved.
• We recognize that one person’s permission may not be enough for knowledge that belongs to a family or community, and we seek guidance from the right people before sharing it.
• We credit people and communities as they wish, and we will remove shared content if the person, family or community who shared it asks us to.
• We will not share personal information gathered through the Centre for research without the express consent of the people involved. If the Centre takes part in research with the community, we will seek the guidance of the community’s leadership.

We are guided by the spirit of First Nations principles of information governance, including the First Nations principles of OCAP® (ownership, control, access and possession), which assert that First Nations own and control how information about their communities is collected, used and shared. This is our own commitment. It is not a certification, and it does not mean that any organization has endorsed the Centre.

OCAP® is a registered trademark of the First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC).

18. Links to other websites

This site links to other websites and services, such as the Alberta Conference, giving platforms and social media. Their own privacy policies apply, and we are not responsible for how they handle your information. Please review their policies before you share information with them.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our ministry, our website or the law changes. We will post the updated policy on this page with a new “Last updated” date, and for significant changes we will also let people know, for example with a notice on the site. If we want to use personal information for a new purpose, we will ask for your consent first, unless the law allows otherwise.

20. Questions and complaints

If you have a question or concern about this policy or about how we have handled your personal information, or you want to make a request, please contact our privacy contact. We welcome the chance to listen and to put things right.

Lynn McDowell

Phone: 587-815-8785
Email: lmcdowell@albertaadventist.ca

You can also reach us through our Contact page.