Terms of Use

These Terms of Use are the agreement between you and GenBuddies, Business Number 000000000RC0001, based in Winnipeg, MB.

By creating an account, requesting a companion, or applying to become a companion, you agree to what is written here. We write in plain language on purpose: if any part of it is unclear, call (204) 555-0100 and we will explain it before you accept anything.

If you disagree with something here, please do not use the platform — and if you are willing, write to hello@genbuddies.ca and tell us why.

• Platform: the GenBuddies website and everything that runs inside it.
• Family: whoever requests the companionship — the senior themselves, a son, a granddaughter, a care worker.
• Companion: the accredited companion who provides the companionship. Companions may be of any gender; see section 4.
• Visit: each booking as arranged, with its own day, time, duration, address and reference code.
• Reference code: the code for a visit (for example, AC-2026-A1B2). It is how our team finds everything about it.

GenBuddies introduces families and companions. We provide the platform, the accreditation process, the support line, and a record of every visit.

Companionship is not health care. A companion does not give injections, does not administer or manage medication, and does not do wound care, bathing, incontinence care, physiotherapy or any nursing procedure. They also do not do housekeeping or overnight shifts.

If what you need is health care at home, please arrange home care or nursing — in Manitoba, start with your regional health authority or Home Care at 204-788-8330. Asking a companion for anything on this list is grounds for them to decline, and for us to end the visit.

To request companionship you must be 18 or older and legally capable of entering a contract. Anyone booking on another person's behalf confirms that person agrees to it — the senior's own wishes always come first, and they may refuse or end a visit at any time, without giving a reason.

To be accredited as a companion you must be 18 or older, reside in Manitoba, and pass the verification described in section 9. Companions may be of any gender. We do not screen applicants by gender, and a family chooses a companion on the strength of the activity, the availability and the profile — not on gender.

An account belongs to one person. Do not lend your password and do not use anyone else's account.

You are responsible for the information you give us and for keeping your password private. We store passwords only in scrambled form — not even our own team can read yours.

Keep your phone number current: it is how your companion and our team reach you. If you suspect someone has got into your account, change the password and tell us at hello@genbuddies.ca.

The family chooses the activity, the day, the time, the duration, the address and the companion. On confirming, the visit is created with the status pending confirmation and is given a reference code.

The companion then accepts or declines the invitation. The visit is confirmed only once they accept, and only then does their phone number become visible to the family. Declining happens and is not a black mark: they may simply not be free at that hour.

The full address is shown only to the invited companion. It never appears on a public profile or in search results.

GenBuddies sets the hourly rate, not the companion. The rate may vary with experience, specialisation and area, and it is shown on screen before the family confirms anything. The current standard rate is $25 / hour.

A 15% service fee is calculated on the cost of the hours and added to the total the family pays. That fee is the platform's and is not deducted from what the companion receives: they are paid the full value of the hours worked.

A 2-hour example: $50.00 in hours + $7.50 service fee = $57.50 paid by the family, of which $50.00 goes to the companion. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

No payment is ever made in cash, by cheque, or by card terminal at the visit itself. If anyone asks you to, tell our team. Money is arranged through the platform; while the payment integration is being finished, our team settles it with you by phone.

A family may cancel or reschedule from their dashboard at any time before the visit, at no charge. On rescheduling, the visit returns to pending confirmation and the companion confirms the new time; the amount is recalculated from the duration you choose.

Inside 24 hours, we would ask you to reschedule rather than cancel: your companion has already set that time aside.

If something comes up for the companion, they tell our team, who speak to the family and look for another companion for the same time.

No companion takes a booking before clearing five requirements, all mandatory and all reviewed by a person on our team:

1. government-issued photo identification;
2. a second piece of identification, checked against the first;
3. a Criminal Record Check including a Vulnerable Sector Check, issued within the last 90 days;
4. current proof of a Manitoba address;
5. two references, each of whom our team speaks to by phone.

Accreditation is free and does not create an employment relationship with GenBuddies. The companion chooses their own days and times, and accepts or declines each invitation.

We may refuse or end an accreditation where documents are incomplete or out of date, where verification turns up a problem, or where the conduct rules are broken. We always say why.

These apply to everyone, families and companions alike:

• respect, punctuality, and keeping to what was arranged;
• no discrimination of any kind;
• no harassment, intimidation or conduct of a sexual nature;
• no arranging work off-platform to get around the record of a visit;
• no asking for or offering money, loans, gifts, property, or access to a bank account or card;
• no using another person's information to open an account.

We hold to zero tolerance. An account under investigation is suspended while we look into it, whoever reported it is not identified to the other party, and where a crime or violence is involved we contact the police. Report anything to (204) 555-0100 or hello@genbuddies.ca, with or without giving your name.

After a completed visit, the family may leave a rating from 1 to 5 and write a comment. Each visit produces at most one review, and it cannot be edited or deleted once submitted.

A profile's average is calculated from the reviews received, with no retouching. We may remove a comment containing abuse, a third party's personal information, or an allegation unrelated to the visit — the rating itself stays.

We carry out the verification described in section 9, keep a record of every visit, and keep our team reachable by phone. We are not physically present at visits and cannot guarantee anyone's behaviour — neither the family's nor the companion's.

The platform does not currently hold an insurance policy covering visits. If that changes, we will say so here, with the insurer's name and the policy number.

Nothing in these Terms takes away rights you have under Manitoba's consumer-protection legislation or under any other law that applies to you.

In a health or safety emergency, call 911 first. Tell our team afterwards and we will handle the rest. If you believe an adult is being abused or neglected, you can also reach Manitoba's Adult Abuse Registry line and Protection for Persons in Care Office at 1-866-440-6366.

We handle personal information in accordance with PIPEDA (the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) and with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.

In short: we use your information to make visits possible, to verify companions, and to provide support. Identification documents and criminal record checks are restricted to the verification team and never appear on any public page. We do not ask for, and will not accept, your Social Insurance Number as proof of identity.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these Terms, telling you why. You may close yours whenever you like by writing to hello@genbuddies.ca — we keep only what the law requires us to keep.

If we change these Terms, we will say so on the platform and update the date at the foot of this page. We give advance notice of any significant change.

Before anything goes near a court, please talk to us: most problems are settled in one phone call to (204) 555-0100. These Terms are governed by the laws of Manitoba and the federal laws of Canada that apply in it. Nothing here prevents you from bringing a claim in Manitoba Small Claims Court, or from contacting Manitoba's Consumer Protection Office.