Our commitment
In this Privacy Statement, the term “personal information” means personal information as defined in section 1(q) of Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act (PPA).
The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) is committed to respecting your privacy and protecting your personal information when administering the Securities Act (Alberta), as well as when you visit our websites (ASC.ca and CheckFirst.ca) to browse for information, make inquiries, utilize our online tools and calculators, register for events or receive communications from us, or to otherwise conduct business with us.
Legal authority. The ASC collects, uses and discloses personal information to administer the province’s securities laws and execute its strategic plan.
Section 4(c) of the PPA, as well as the Securities Act, authorizes the ASC to collect, use and disclose personal information to supply our websites, online tools and services, communications, as well as other ASC programs. The ASC is also authorized to collect, use and disclose personal information when performing duties and exercising powers in the Securities Act.
The ASC does not sell any personal information in any circumstance or for any purpose.
Collection. Personal information about you that the ASC collects may include the following:
- information that you provide to us through our websites to access services, submit complaints or whistleblower reports, report wrongdoing, utilize tools, or subscribe to receive information from us, such as your name, address, telephone number, email addresses and other contact information;
- preferences such as how individuals use the websites and what they would like to see on the websites;
- information necessary to administer and enforce the Securities Act; and
- as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Accuracy. We make every reasonable effort to keep your information accurate and up-to-date. Whenever possible, we take in your information exactly as provided and avoid any potential errors that may arise when re-keying data.
You may be asked to verify your personal information and, if required, provided with an opportunity to update or correct it.
You may request access to our records that include your personal information; you may also request corrections to your personal information. In both cases, we will address the request in accordance with our applicable obligations under the PPA and Alberta’s Access to Information Act (ATIA). If you request corrections to your personal information, we will verify your identity and request supporting records to prove the correct personal information.
Use. The ASC may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- to contact you to send information you have requested;
- to send you newsletters and other electronic communications that you have subscribed to;
- to respond to your questions and requests;
- to conduct and administer surveys, promotions, or other outreach initiatives;
- to administer and enforce the Securities Act; and
- as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Disclosure. The ASC may disclose your personal information to third parties in the following circumstances:
- to administer and enforce the provisions of the Securities Act;
- as necessary for the ASC to meet its other legal, regulatory, insurance, audit, processing and security requirements; and
- as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Our websites (ASC.ca and CheckFirst.ca) are essential platforms for fulfilling our mandate and executing the ASC Strategic Plan. ASC.ca offers industry information and promotes transparency in our regulatory work, while CheckFirst.ca helps advance public understanding of investing and how to protect yourself from investment fraud.
Browsing activity. Certain browsing information may be collected to help the ASC evaluate our websites and determine how they are used. For example, we may collect your IP address, browser type, operating system, domain name, access times, pages viewed, and referring website addresses. This information may be combined with that of other visitors to the websites and used for the management and improvement of our websites. For example, we may use such information to assess which areas of the websites are most commonly accessed. The ASC may use service providers to help us collect and analyze this information, and we may share this information and other information of this type with service providers retained by the ASC to assist in the development and administration of the websites.
Security. We protect your personal information in our custody or control using reasonable physical, electronic or procedural security measures appropriate to the sensitivity of the information, which may include safeguards to protect against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. We also maintain various contingency plans that include regular data back-ups that may utilize offsite resources.
Protected transmission. We use secure servers to receive any personal information you may provide us online. Credit Card payment information is processed through a secure third-party service provider. We do not maintain your credit card data on file.
When you visit our websites, we collect a limited amount of statistical information which does not personally identify you. We may use both session and persistent cookies which are small files that are created by a web site, sent to your browser, and stored on the hard drive of your computer. A session cookie expires after you leave the website whereas a persistent cookie remains until it expires.
Cookies are used to make it more convenient for you to move around the site when you visit that site; for example, they can remember your web viewing preferences such as choice of language or accessibility options. They can also assist us in monitoring traffic patterns so that website content and design can be improved for visitors.
We maintain and dispose of our records, including any personal information you may provide to us, in accordance the Government Organization Act and the Records Management Regulation, as well as the PPA and its regulations as applicable.
If you would like to request access to our records containing your personal information, or other records that may be covered by the ATIA, you may submit a request here.
Contact Us
For more information about the ASC's privacy policies and practices, please contact the ASC's Privacy and Access Officer at:
Telephone: (403) 297-6454
Toll-Free: (877) 355-0585
Main Fax: (403) 297-6156
E-Mail: [email protected]
Mail: Alberta Securities Commission
Suite 600, 250-5th Street SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 0R4