Privacy Policy
privacy policy overview
APEGA PRIVACY POLICY
APEGA’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 and Geoscience Professions Act as well as the recently passed Alberta Personal Information Protection Act. In its role of protecting the public, APEGA 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 APEGA’s privacy policies or practices by contacting the Registrar, or by email at privacy@apega.ca
APEGA, 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 APEGA 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 APEGA’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
APEGA’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. APEGA 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 APEGA 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”. APEGA 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.
APEGA Personal Information Code
APEGA 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.
APEGA 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
APEGA is responsible for personal information under its control and has designated its Registrar as the individual for APEGA’s compliance with the following principles.
2. Identifying Purpose
The purpose for which personal information is collected shall be identified by APEGA 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 APEGA. 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
APEGA 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 Registrar.
WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY
APEGA’s Internet Privacy Policy
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. That is why APEGA 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 APEGA’s websites (including entire
APEGA network), future newsletters, and opt-in mailing lists owned and operated
by APEGA.
What information does APEGA 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 APEGA 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, APEGA 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
APEGA'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 APEGA protect my privacy?
When you are on an APEGA website and are asked for personal information, you
are sharing that information with APEGA alone. APEGA 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.
APEGA 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 APEGA disclose the information collected to outside third parties?
APEGA 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 APEGA, 2) Protect and defend
the rights or property of the APEGA network of sites and related properties,
or visitors to the APEGA network of sites and related properties, and/or 3)
Identify persons who may be violating the law, or otherwise misusing the APEGA
network or its related properties.
What else should I know about my privacy when online?
The APEGA web site contains many hyperlinks to third party websites. APEGA
is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third party
websites or portals. APEGA does not share any of the individual personal information
you provide us with the third parties to which APEGA 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 APEGA’s Internet network, you consent to the collection and
use of information by APEGA 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 APEGA’s Privacy Policy to:
webmaster@apega.ca
Links
Regular updates on privacy legislation in Alberta can be obtained.