Safety & Privacy Issues

Institution Privacy Statement

* Effective (May 2005)

We recognize and respect your need for privacy and security as you visit our site. When you visit our site to view any pages, read product information, or use our on-line calculators and tools, you do so without telling us who you are and without revealing any personal information. While we do not collect identifying information about visitors to our site, we do use standard software to collect information for the strict purpose of tracking activity on our site. This allows us to better understand how many people use our site and which pages and features are most popular. The only information we normally collect and store is:

·         The name of your Internet service provider.

·         The web site that referred you to us (if any).

·         The date and time the pages were accessed.

·         The page or pages you requested.

There are instances where you may elect to provide us with personal information. If you fill out one of our feedback or request forms or send us email, you are transmitting the information that appears to you in the form or the message. This will typically include information like your name, mailing address, email address, the kind of request you are making, and any other information necessary to fulfill your request. You never transmit personally identifying information that you do not enter yourself. And this is always your option; this information cannot be collected unless you specifically elect to send it to us. This information is used internally only for the purpose of fulfilling the request or for contacting you directly and is not given or sold to any other organization.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

We hope you find our website useful and informative and are always willing to answer questions and receive suggestions. If you have either, please
Thank you.

* We reserve the right to change our privacy policy. A revised policy statement will only apply to data collected subsequent to its effective date. Any revisions will be posted at least 30 days prior to its effective date.

Online Safety

An estimated 2.2 million households spent almost $2 billion shopping on the Internet in 2001, according to the electronic commerce component of the Household Internet Use Survey (HIUS). These households placed 13.4 million orders over the Internet from various locations.

This level of electronic commerce was up substantially from the year before, although direct comparisons with 2000 data cannot be made. This is because the 2001 electronic commerce component of the HIUS was redesigned to be able to capture Internet shopping from households that regularly used the Internet from various locations, solely for household purposes. In previous years, household electronic commerce data were collected only if the Internet shopping was conducted from home. This survey improvement constitutes a break in the data series, preventing a direct comparison of results of 2001 with those of previous years. (source: Stats Canada)  

Shopping online is safe, safer even than shopping offline if you buy from a responsible and reputable business over a secure web-server. Your credit card information is protected by encryption during transmission and cannot be seen by anyone – not even the seller in some cases. But it’s up to you to make sure you know who you’re conducting business with, what security features they offer, their privacy policy, and their return or refund procedure. (Source: RCMP)

TIPS

Keep the following tips in mind before you enter personal information on a website or decide to make a purchase online:

• Deal with companies you know by reputation or experience. If you aren't familiar with the company, do your research. Find out their address and phone number. Do not conduct business with a company that doesn't list a physical address or telephone number on its website.
  
• Read the terms and conditions of the contract to make sure you understand the delivery options, return policy, and product or service warranty. For international transactions, ask for information about the exchange rate and any applicable duties and taxes.

• Look for a privacy policy. Be sure that you are comfortable with how the company collects, protects, and uses your personal information before you submit any details. Responsible marketers have an "opt-out" policy, which allows you to choose whether your information is shared with third parties.
  
• Ensure the business has a fair and clear process for submitting complaints and/or canceling orders.

• Make sure transactions are secure. Do not enter any financial information if you see a broken-key or open padlock symbol on your Internet browser. This means that the transaction is not secure and could be intercepted by a third party. When the key is complete or the padlock is locked, your browser is indicating a secure transaction.
  
• Remember, unlike secure order forms on a Web site, e-mail messages are not private. Do not send confidential personal or financial information by e-mail.

• Check for endorsement by an association or a quality assurance program. There are several "seals of approval" for Web sites that confirm the credibility of the company and the Web site. For example, the Canadian Marketing Association member logo signifies a company that abides by the CMA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, which includes a comprehensive privacy policy and a section on responsible Internet marketing.

• Avoid spam (unsolicited marketing e-mail) by being careful about disclosing your e-mail address both on and off-line. Check a company's privacy policy to find out whether your e-mail address could be shared with other companies. CMA members will not send you marketing e-mail without your permission and will give you the option to decline to receive further e-mails at any time.

• Talk to your children about online activities. Instruct them to keep their personal information private unless you approve.

Source: The Canadian Marketing Association and Industry Canada (Source: RCMP)