Privacy Policy
Alberta Science and Technology (ASTech) Leadership Foundation Privacy Policy
For the purposes of this Policy, "ASTech" refers to the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation, a society under the Societies Act (Alberta) and related committees and activities of ASTech.
ASTech recognizes the importance of privacy and the sensitivity of personal information. We are committed to protecting personal information we hold. This Privacy Policy outlines how we manage your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
Your privacy rights
From January 1, 2004, certain organizations, which are considered to be engaged in commercial activities, must comply with the Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta). These obligations may extend to many organizations, including ASTech. This Act gives you rights concerning the privacy of your personal information.
ASTech is responsible for the personal information we collect and hold. To ensure this accountability, we have developed this policy, and trained our contractors and staff about our policies and practices.
Why does ASTech need personal information?
ASTech provides a range of educational, community and awareness raising activities, services and products to the community. ASTech collects personal information in order to serve the community better and to improve our understanding of that community's needs and preferences. We collect personal information for the following purposes:
* To identify you when you contact us
* To improve our understanding of your needs and preferences
* To establish and maintain our relationships with you
* To provide specific and ongoing services or products to you
* To help administer the accounts, services and products provided to you by ASTech now and in the future
* To plan for improvements in our ability to serve our community’s needs
* To provide information and offers related to our activities, services and products
* To provide information and offers which may be of interest to you in complementary services or products we may provide or make available to you
* To effectively and efficiently manage and develop activities, services, products and operations
* To effectively and efficiently manage compliance with the applicable by-laws and other commitments made by ASTech
* To meet legal or regulatory requirements or in emergency situations
We also collect personal information so that the information we use will be as accurate, complete and current as is necessary for the purposes for which it is to be used.
We may use or disclose your personal information for management, analytic, planning or other purposes. In such cases, the information has often been sufficiently aggregated such that any individual cannot be reasonably identified.
As we continue to develop ASTech, we might acquire or develop relationships with other organizations in order to better serve our goals. In such transactions, personal information generally is one of the transferred or disclosed assets, but remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Policy (unless you consent otherwise). We may transfer or disclose your information, including personal information, in connection with any acquisition, merger, reorganization or other fundamental change.
ASTech will collect your personal information for these purposes and for other purposes, of which we would inform you of at the time of collection.
In addition to the uses inherent in the list of reasons we collect information, described above, we may request and use personal information from you in connection with your receipt, use of, or participation in, our special events, social functions, surveys, forums, subscription registrations, content submissions, requests for suggestions, or additional information (including via email to us), and in connection with other activities, services or resources we make available to you from time to time. You may advise us that you do not wish to receive such information or materials or be invited to such functions ("opt out"). You may choose to opt-out at any time, even after you have provided personal information, by following the procedures we describe below in this Privacy Policy. Please note, however, that if you later opt-out, you will not receive any of the information or benefits that may be associated with such activities, materials or functions.
If you do provide us with personal information for any of these activities, we may use it to conduct our activities described in this Privacy Policy.
We do not disclose your personal information to third parties who are not involved in the provision of any specific activity, product or service offering with us and only then in a manner that is consistent with our Privacy Policy, or as regulated by law.
What personal information do we collect?
Personal information is any information that identifies you, or by which your identity could be deduced. If we did not collect, use, retain and disclose your personal information we could not provide you with services or products.
How do we collect your personal information?
We collect nonpublic personal information about you that is provided to us by you or obtained by us with your authorization or consent. We collect information by lawful and fair means. Wherever possible we collect your personal information directly from you, at the commencement of our relationship and in the course of our relationship.
Sometimes we may obtain information about you from other sources, such as, for example:
* Your employer or a business you are associated with and who has a relationship with ASTech
* A third party with whom you have or are seeking to establish a relationship
* From a government agency or registry
Consent
In most cases, we shall ask you to consent specifically, if we collect, use, retain or disclose your personal information. In many cases, we may ask for your consent in writing, but in some circumstances, we may accept your oral consent. Sometimes, your consent may be implied through your conduct with us.
Choice/opt-out
If you do not wish to obtain our newsletters or materials, be invited to seminars, functions or other events or to be informed about new services and timely developments you have the opportunity to opt-out of receiving such communications or invitations. ASTech provides several options for you to opt-out of these communications. You may:
* E-mail us at info@astech.ab.ca
* Telephone us at (403) 220-9130
Use of your information
We use your personal information to conduct our activities and programs, to provide other services and products, to administer our relationships and to include you in any direct marketing activities such as circulation of newsletters or materials, invitations to special events, seminars, functions or other events on current issues, new services or timely developments. You may advise us that you do not wish to receive such information or materials or be invited to such functions ("opt out"). You may choose to opt-out at any time, even after you have provided personal information, by following the procedures we describe in this Privacy Policy. Please note, however, that if you later opt-out, you will not receive any of the information or benefits that may be associated with such activities, materials or functions.
Disclosure of your personal information
We do not disclose any non-public personal information about attendees to our events to anyone, except as expressly or impliedly authorized by those individuals to enable us to enhance our relationship with them, or as permitted by law or this policy. ASTech does not, without your consent, disclose your personal information to any third party to enable them to market their products and services to you.
Under certain circumstances, ASTech will disclose your personal information, such as, for example:
* When we are required or authorized by law to do so, for example if a court issues a subpoena
* When you have consented to the disclosure
* When the services we are providing requires us to give your information to third parties (for example where you are involved in a group that also involves others) your consent will be implied, unless you tell us otherwise
* Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees or enforce our by-laws or policies;
* If we engage a third party to provide administrative or other services to us and the third party is bound by our privacy policy
* If the information is already publicly known
Updating your information
Since we use your personal information to provide activities, services and products to our community, it is important that the information be accurate and up-to-date. If, during the course of our relationship, any of your information changes, please inform us so that we can make any necessary changes.
Is my personal information secure?
We retain records relating to the provision of services and products to our community so that we are better able to manage these activities and to comply with our relationships with various parties or requirements of law. In order to guard your nonpublic personal information, we maintain reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards. ASTech takes reasonable precautions to protect your personal information and ensure it is kept safe from loss, unauthorized access, modification or disclosure.
Web site and cookies
ASTech does not require registration to visit its web site. If ASTech eventually adds a registration requirement, any information we might collect will remain confidential and will not be disclosed to any individual or entity outside the ASTech organization.
If you e-mail ASTech or any of our staff, and with your permission, we may add your e-mail address to our newsletter list.
* If you visit the ASTech web site, only the following nonpersonally identifying information is collected and stored: The name of the domain from which you accessed the Internet (i.e., shaw.ca, etc.)
* The date and time you access our site
* The Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to our site.
This information may be used to measure the number of visitors to the different sections of our web site and to help us make our site more useful to visitors.
The only personally identifying information that is collected and stored about you is that information which you knowingly provide to us. We collect and store information about you when you ask us to respond to you with specific information.
ASTech does not share, rent, or sell information about visitors to our web site to third parties.
We do in some cases track or record your IP address.
A "cookie" is a collection of data that is stored on your computer by your Web browser at the direction of certain web sites. Web sites often use cookies to identify repeat visitors, track purchases, remember passwords, or other similar function. Our web site does not create cookies, instruct your browser to provide information to us, or collect information about you.
Access to your personal information
You may ask for access to specific personal information we hold about you. Summary information is available on request. More detailed requests, which require archive or other retrieval costs, may be subject to our normal fees and disbursement costs. We will seek to identify these costs to you at the time of your request.
Correcting errors
If ASTech holds personal information about you and you establish that it is not accurate, complete and up-to-date, ASTech will take reasonable steps to correct it.
Can I be denied access to my personal information?
Your rights to access your personal information are not absolute. We may and in some cases must deny access when:
* Denial of access is required or authorized by law (for example, when a record containing personal information about you is subject to a claim of privilege)
* Information relates to existing or anticipated legal proceedings against you or an investigation involving you
* When granting you access would have an unreasonable impact on other people's privacy
* When to do so would prejudice negotiations with you
* To protect ASTech and our sponsors and patron’s rights and property
* Where the request is frivolous or vexatious
If we deny your request for access to, or refuse a request to correct information, we shall explain why.
ASTech does not use your Social Insurance Number as a way of identifying or organizing the information we hold on you.
Credit bureaus
To help us make credit decisions about nominated organizations or others who may support our events, prevent fraud, and check the identity of new attendees, we may on occasion, request information about you from the files of consumer reporting agencies.
Communicating with us
If you would have any questions regarding the privacy policy, send an e-mail to info@astech.ab.ca
* If you would like to contact us with feedback or questions, you may: E-mail us at info@astech.ab.ca
* Telephone us at (403) 220-9130.
Any personal information (name, email address, phone number) you provide will be used to help us contact you on your issue.
Your comments and questions will be retained and considered for future web site and service enhancements.
Please include your name and e-mail address in the body of the message.
You should be aware that e-mail is not a 100% secure medium, and you should be aware of this when contacting us to send personal or confidential information.
Can ASTech revise this privacy policy?
Due to the rapidly evolving privacy developments and because ASTech regularly reviews all of its policies and procedures, ASTech may change its privacy policy from time to time. All revisions will be posted to ASTech's web site. ASTech urges you to review its privacy policy frequently.
Requests for access
If you have any questions, or wish to access your personal information, please write to our privacy contact at:
ASTech Foundation
#126 Alastair Ross Technology Centre
3553 – 31 Street NW
Calgary, AB T2L 2K7
If you are not satisfied with our response, the Information and Privacy Commissioner can be reached at:
410, 9925 - 109 Street,
Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J8
Phone: 1.780.422.6860
Employment inquiries
If you apply to ASTech for a job, we need to consider your personal information as part of our review process. We normally retain information from candidates after a decision has been made, unless you ask us not to retain the information. If we offer you a job, which you accept, the information will be retained in accordance with our privacy procedures for employee records.
Web site
Our web site contains links to other sites, which are not governed by this privacy policy. On our web site, like most other commercial web sites, we may monitor traffic patterns, site usage and related site information in order to optimize our web service. We may provide aggregated information to third parties, but these statistics do not include any identifiable personal information. We provide links to other web sites. Since we cannot control other web sites, we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such web sites. Other sites may create cookies on your computer, collect information on you, or use information you offer. Use good judgment in visiting other web sites and consider using software that helps protect your privacy and keeps hackers from entering your computer and/or your local area network.