privacy policy
privacy policy overview
APEGGA PRIVACY POLICY
APEGGA’s privacy policy and website privacy policy are published on this website. These policies result in part from our obligations under two Alberta Acts - the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act as well as the recently passed Alberta Personal Information Protection Act. In its role of protecting the public, APEGGA must balance the requirements of helpful disclosure to the public with the privacy needs of its members. You are encouraged to refer to these privacy documents below, or at any time that you may have a question or a concern. You may also obtain more information about APEGGA’s privacy policies or practices by contacting the Deputy Registrar, or by email at privacy@apegga.org.
APEGGA, PIPA and PIPEDA
Background
As of January 1, 2004, new rules will apply to all organizations that collect, use and disclose personal information about individuals. The purpose of this paper is to provide a sketch outline of APEGGA responsibilities that will apply in the future under PIPA – the Personal Information Protection Act of Alberta, and PIPEDA - the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and Act of the Government of Canada..
PIPA was introduced by way of Bill 44 in the Alberta legislature and was given first reading in the spring sitting. The Alberta government had the Bill approved in its fall 2003 sitting. It is quite clear that insofar as APEGGA’s status as a “Professional Regulatory Organization” its regulatory activities in Alberta will be subject to PIPA rules.
Regular updates on privacy legislation in Alberta can be obtained from:.
Activities
Beyond Alberta and Regulatory Mandate
http://www.APEGGA’s activities
include a number of things well beyond a strictly regulatory mandate. There are
also regulatory activities that go beyond the borders of Alberta, such as examinations
for other associations and inter-association transfer application information.
APEGGA members may participate in member benefits that have been negotiated by
the Engineers Canada. These are considered to be commercial activities. The federal legislation
that has a bearing on these APEGGA activities is the Personal Information Protection
and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This Act was passed in 2000 and initially
applied only to the federally regulated private sector. However, on January 1,
2004, it will also apply to commercial activities undertaken in the provincially
regulated private sector, unless provinces pass legislation that the federal
government deems "substantially similar" to the federal Act. The federal privacy
commissioners office views the regulatory licensing activities under a provincial
statute as falling under this umbrella in the absence of applicable provincial
legislation.
Canadian provinces have an option to either pass equivalent legislation that covers professional licensing or become subject to PIPEDA. Since many provinces have no intention of working on their own privacy legislation, it follows that many of the associations within Canada will be subject to PIPEDA effective January 1, 2004. Therefore we can expect that exchanges of information with sister associations and with the Engineers Canada will be subject to PIPEDA.
A recent conference held by the Alberta government for professional associations was assured that the new acting federal privacy commissioner has ruled that the draft Alberta legislation is “substantially equivalent” to the federal Act. This conference also suggested that professional regulatory organizations may wish to develop their own “Personal Information Code”. APEGGA has developed a summary version of this policy as its code. Note that this Code is useful in communicating our commitment to privacy principles to members, but final determination of compliance is subject to PIPEDA and/or PIPA depending on the specific circumstance involved.
APEGGA Personal Information Code
APEGGA respects the privacy of its members and is committed to protecting their personal information. In this privacy statement “personal information” means information that reveals a distinctive trait about you, helps to identify you and is not available in the public domain. It does not include business contact information, or the information provided to issue and maintain professional status or any other class or category of registration under the Engineering, Geological and Geophysical Professions Act. This Act is our legislated mandate under provincial statute, and any activity under that Act is subject to the obligations set out in the EGGP Act and in the Personal Information Protection Act of Alberta.
APEGGA adheres to the privacy standards of the Canadian Standards Association regarding collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal information. Compliance with these principles is verified regularly and revised as needed. Your contact information is collected, maintained and disclosed to approved providers of member services with your consent in keeping with these principles. The principles in summary are:
1. Accountability
APEGGA is responsible for personal information under its control and has designated its Deputy Registrar as the individual for APEGGA’s compliance with the following principles.
2. Identifying Purpose
The purpose for which personal information is collected shall be identified by APEGGA at or before the time the information is collected.
3. Consent
The knowledge and consent of an individual is required for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate. In its investigation of member conduct or the investigation of an applicant’s suitability for registration, specific information may be kept confidential from the member or applicant in order to protect the integrity of the investigation process.
4. Limiting Collection
The collection of personal information will be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by APEGGA. The information will be collected by a fair and lawful means.
5. Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention
Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as required by law. Personal information shall be retained only as long as necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes.
6. Accuracy
Personal information will be as accurate, complete, and up-to-date as is necessary for the purpose for which it is to be used.
7. Safeguards
Personal information will be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information.
8. Openness
APEGGA will make readily available to individuals specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information.
9. Individual Access
Upon request, an individual will be informed of the existence, use, and disclosure of his or her personal information and shall be given access to that information. An individual will be able to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the information and have it amended as appropriate.
10. Challenging Compliance
An individual
is able to address a challenge concerning compliance with the above principles
to the Deputy Registrar.
WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY
APEGGA’s Internet Privacy Policy
We respect and
are committed to protecting your privacy. That is why APEGGA has adopted this
Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy lets you know how your personal information
is processed and used. We promise that we will take steps to use your personal
information only in ways that are compatible with this Privacy Policy. The following
policies apply to APEGGA’s websites (including entire APEGGA network),
future newsletters, and opt-in mailing lists owned and operated by APEGGA.
What
information does APEGGA collect and how do we collect it?
Every computer connected
to the Internet is given a domain name and a set of numbers that serve as that
computer's "Internet Protocol" (IP address). When a visitor requests
a page from any website within the APEGGA network, our web servers automatically
recognize that visitor's domain name and IP address. The domain name and IP address
reveal nothing personal about you other than the IP address from which you have
accessed our site. We use this information to examine our traffic in aggregate,
and to investigate misuse of our network or to cooperate with law enforcement.
We do not collect and evaluate this information for specific individuals. Our
web servers do not automatically record e-mail addresses of the visitors.
What
are cookies?
From time to time, APEGGA may send a "cookie” to your
computer. A cookie is a small piece of data that is sent to your Internet browser
from a web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. A cookie can't read
data from your computer hard disk or read cookie files created by other websites.
Cookies do not damage your system. We use cookies to identify which areas of
APEGGA's network you have visited or customized, so the next time you visit,
those pages may be readily accessible. You can choose whether to accept cookies
by changing the settings of your Internet browser. You can reset your browser
to refuse all cookies, or allow your browser to show you when a cookie is being
sent. If you choose not to accept these cookies, your experience at our site
and other websites may be diminished and some features may not work as intended.
Cookies are very limited in scope and can contain only plain text; they do not
contain programming code. They cannot be used to execute or run malicious programs.
Most cookies include expiration dates and those that don’t expire and are
deleted as soon as you close your browser.
How does APEGGA protect my privacy?
When you are on an APEGGA website and are asked for personal information, you
are sharing that information with APEGGA alone. APEGGA will not disclose any
of your personally identifiable information except under special circumstances,
such as when we believe in good faith that the law requires such a disclosure.
APEGGA does not share personal information you provide to us with other companies.
What other information do we request?
We may also request your e-mail address
or mailing address for the purposes of conducting a survey or to provide additional
services (for example, event registration confirmation, subscriptions to e-mail
newsletters, announcement lists or information about conferences and trade shows).
Whenever we request the identity of a visitor, we will clearly indicate the purpose
of the inquiry before the information is requested. We maintain a strict "No-Spam" policy
that means that we do not sell,
rent, or otherwise give your e-mail address to a third party, without your consent
or as permitted by this Privacy Policy.
Will APEGGA disclose the information
collected to outside third parties?
APEGGA will disclose personal information
and/or an IP address, when required by law or in the good-faith belief that such
action is necessary to: 1) Co-operate with the investigations of purported unlawful
activities and conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process
served on APEGGA, 2) Protect and defend the rights or property of the APEGGA
network of sites and related properties, or visitors to the APEGGA network of
sites and related properties, and/or 3) Identify persons who may be violating
the law, or otherwise misusing the APEGGA network or its related properties.
What else should I know about my privacy when online?
The APEGGA web site
contains many hyperlinks to third party websites. APEGGA is not responsible for
the privacy practices or the content of such third party websites or portals.
APEGGA does not share any of the individual personal information you provide
us with the third parties to which APEGGA links. Please keep in mind that whenever
you voluntarily disclose personal information online - for example through e-mail,
discussion lists, or elsewhere - that information can be collected and used by
others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible
to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.
Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your personal
information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you're online.
Your Consent to This
Agreement
By using the APEGGA’s Internet network, you consent to the collection
and use of information by APEGGA as specified above. If we decide to change our
privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always
aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances
we disclose it. Please send any questions about APEGGA’s Privacy Policy
to: webmaster@apegga.org
Links
Regular updates on privacy legislation in Alberta can be obtained.