Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 5, 2024

Alberta Bureau for International Education Ltd. (“ABIE”, “we”, “us” and “our”) respects and upholds individual rights to privacy and the protection of personal information, while balancing such rights with our need to process your personal information to manage our business and deliver our services. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains our practices for processing your personal information. It does not apply to our employees’ personal information, business contact information, anonymized information or other information exempted from applicable privacy laws.

This Policy applies to our website located at www.albertainternational.ca and all associated sites, interactive applications, online services, email communications, advertisements, computer servers and networks linked to www.albertainternational.ca by ABIE, its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, the “Website”). This Policy describes how we may collect, use, disclose, retain, dispose of and otherwise process (collectively, “process”), and how you may correct, update and access, your personal information that you provide or that we may collect through the Website, and the content, services and products available on or provided through the Website (collectively, with the Website, the “Services”)

PLEASE READ THIS POLICY CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES, OR OTHERWISE BY CHOOSING TO PROVIDE US WITH YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, YOU AGREE TO THIS POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT THIS POLICY, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY CEASE USING AND ACCESSING THE SERVICES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHICH REQUIRE YOU TO PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION.

Gathering and Storage of Analytics

As is true of most websites, we gather some information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type and language, Internet service provider (ISP), referring and exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data (“Aggregated Data”). Aggregated Data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data in law as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Website feature. However, if we combine or connect Aggregated Data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this privacy policy.

We use Aggregated Data to understand and analyze trends, to administer the site, to learn about user behavior on the site, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. We may use Aggregated Data to help us develop, deliver, and improve our Services, and in our marketing efforts.

In some of our email messages, we use a “click-through URL” linked to content on the Website. When users click one of these URLs, they pass through a separate web server before arriving at the destination page on our Website. We track this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, you should not click text or graphic links in the email messages.

Pixel tags enable us to send email messages in a format customers can read, and they tell us whether mail has been opened. We may use this information to reduce or eliminate messages sent.

Collection and Use of Personal Information

For the purposes of this Policy, “personal information” means any information about an identifiable ‎individual or any information that can be used, either alone or in combination with other information, to ‎identify an individual (for example, an individual’s name, mailing address, telephone number and email ‎address), but excludes any information that is exempted by applicable privacy laws. For example, in ‎Canada, personal information generally does not include any business contact information that is ‎processed solely to communicate with that person about their employment or profession. The types of information we receive and collect depends on how you use our Website. Our Website has ‎optional features which, if used, require us to collect additional information to provide such features. ‎You will be notified of such collection, as appropriate. If you choose not to provide the information ‎needed to use a feature, you will be unable to use the feature.‎ For example, a user must provide a valid email address to subscribe to our newsletter on our Website.

You may be asked to provide your personal information anytime you are in contact with ABIE or any of its affiliates. ABIE and its affiliates may share this personal information with each other and use it consistent with this Policy. They may also combine it with other information to provide and improve our products, services, content, and marketing efforts.

What personal information we collect

When you contact us, sign up for one of our events or subscribe to our newsletter, or access any other Service available on the Website from time to time, we may collect a variety of information, including your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, contact preferences, and in case you purchase any products or services, your credit card or payment information.

We only collect personal information that we need. We encourage you to not provide us with any personal information beyond what is necessary and as requested by us.

How we use your personal information

We only process your personal information in the manner and to the extent permitted by applicable law. We may process your personal information to

to analyze user experience and operate, provide, improve and maintain our Services;
to assist in our marketing efforts;
to verify and authenticate your identity;
to maintain accurate records;
to ensure that the Website and the Services are optimized for your benefit;
to provide you with requested information or respond to your queries;
to communicate with you to provide the Services and information about us, including our newsletter and information about our events;
to solicit your feedback regarding your experience with our Website and Services;
to comply with internal policies and procedures, and other legal and regulatory requirements;
to provide personal information to our strategic partners (as described below); and
to protect us and you from fraud and error and to safeguard our business interests.

We will not process your personal information for other purposes without your consent, except where authorized or required by law.

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise provide us with your e-mail address or mailing address, we may send you information on ABIE’s latest news, product and service announcements, and upcoming events. If you no longer wish to be on our mailing list(s), you can opt out at any time.

Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information

We also collect non-personal information − data in a form that does not permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose.

If we combine non-personal information with personal information, the combined information will be treated as personal information for as long as it remains combined.

Cookies and Other Technologies

The Website, online services, interactive applications, email communications, and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. A cookie is a small file that may be placed on the computer or device that you are using the access the Website that uniquely identifies your browser or device. Cookies typically do not contain data that directly identifies you.

These technologies help us better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our website people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. To ensure that the Services are optimized for your use and future communications between you and us, we may save your user data in the form of cookies or log files and use those cookies or log files to collect standard internet log information about how and when you access and use our Services. This information may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address and location data, weblogs, time zone, date, your language preferences, browser used, web addresses visited, other communication data, searches conducted and pages visited.

We treat information collected by cookies and other technologies as non-personal information. However, to the extent that IP addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, we also treat these identifiers as personal information.

We also use cookies and other technologies to remember personal information when you use our Services. Our goal in these cases is to make your experience with ABIE more convenient and personal. Knowing information about your computer or device helps us personalize your experience, and provide you with better customer service. We may also use cookies and other technologies in online advertising campaigns to track responses to our ads.

Some of our cookies and other tracking mechanisms are strictly necessary for the Services to function as intended, while others are not strictly necessary and are designed to optimize your experience, help us understand our users better, and for advertising purposes.

You can manage your cookie preferences in your browser’s settings, but please note that if you refuse or disable cookies please note that certain features and functionalities of the Website will not be available once cookies are disabled. Your consent for the use of non-strictly necessary cookies is implied unless you withdraw your consent – which you can do at any time using your browser settings.

Certain sections of our Website and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and to track other related Website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of a certain section and verifying system and server integrity).

Disclosure to Third Parties

We will not share your personal information with any third party, except as indicated in this policy, or as required by law. We may disclose your personal information for the purposes described in this policy in the following ways:

To our employees, contractors and agents on a need-to-know basis;
To our affiliates, strategic partners and service providers (as described below)
To law enforcement, government or regulatory bodies, or other lawful authorities, as required by law; and
To third parties, in in accordance with applicable law, in connection with a corporate reorganization, a merger or amalgamation with another entity, or a sale of all or a substantial portion of our assets or securities, provided that the disclosed information continues to be used solely for the purposes permitted by this Policy by the entity acquiring the information.

Strategic Partners

At times ABIE may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with ABIE to provide Services, or that help ABIE market its products and services. Personal information will only be shared by ABIE to provide or improve our Services and marketing efforts, and will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.

Service Providers

ABIE shares personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, delivering Services to you, managing and enhancing customer data, and conducting customer research or satisfaction surveys. Our service providers may be located outside of Canada, and you acknowledge that personal ‎information ‎‎may be processed and stored in foreign jurisdictions with different (and perhaps weaker) ‎privacy laws, ‎and ‎that the governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies in those ‎jurisdictions may be ‎able ‎to obtain disclosure of that personal information through the laws of such ‎foreign jurisdiction.

Other Third Parties

It may be necessary − by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for ABIE to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate.

We may also disclose information about you if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or protect our operations, users or clients. Additionally, in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale we may transfer any and all personal information we collect to the relevant third party.

Protection of Personal Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. We protect the personal information in our custody or under our control using commercially reasonable physical, technological and organizational safeguards designed to prevent unauthorized access, collection, use disclosure, copying, modification, destruction or similar risks. We will take reasonable commercial measures, through contractual or other reasonable means, to ensure that our strategic partners and service providers implement a comparable level or protection. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is completely secure. As such, despite our safeguards and protocols, we cannot fully guarantee the security of your personal information and you should always exercise caution when disclosing personal information.

Legal Basis for Processing Your Personal Information

We will process your personal information only with your knowledge and consent, except where ‎exempted, authorized or required by applicable laws. The form of consent may vary depending on the ‎circumstances and the type of information being requested. Your consent may be express, with clear ‎options to say “yes” or “no” (such as by being asked to check a box to indicate your consent), or implied ‎‎(such as when you provide us with your address through a form or email seeking information and we ‎use those means to respond to your request). Your consent can also be provided by your authorized ‎representative. Taking into account the sensitivity of your personal information, purposes of collection, ‎and your reasonable expectations, we will obtain the form of consent that is appropriate to the personal ‎information being processed. When we process your personal information for a new purpose, we will ‎document that new purpose and ask for your consent again.

You may refuse to provide consent or may notify us at any time that you wish to withdraw or change ‎your consent to the processing of your personal information without penalty, subject to legal, contractual ‎or other restrictions and reasonable notice, by opting out of the use of your personal information by ‎contacting our us (see below). However, if you withdraw or change your consent, ‎we may not be able to provide you with the Services.

Aside from consent, we may also process your personal information under other legal bases, as ‎permitted by applicable laws

Integrity and Retention of Personal Information

ABIE will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

We will delete, destroy, erase or make anonymous documents or other records containing personal information as soon as it is reasonable to assume that the original purpose is no longer being served by retention of the information and retention is no longer required for a legal or business purpose.

We will keep personal information used to make a decision affecting you for at least one year after using to make the decision.

Accessing Your Personal Information

You have a right to access your personal information that we hold.

Upon your written request, we will provide you your personal information in our possession or under our ‎control. We will also provide your information about the ways in which that information is being used and ‎a description of the individuals or organization to whom that information has been disclosed. We may ‎charge you a reasonable fee for doing so.

We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm you identity and ensure your ‎right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate ‎security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who does not have a ‎right to receive it.

Access may be declined where authorized or required by applicable law. If access cannot be provided, ‎we will notify the individual making the request within 30 days, in writing, of the reasons for the refusal.

Correcting Your Personal Information

We will make a reasonable effort to ensure that personal information we are using or disclosing is ‎accurate and complete.‎ If you demonstrate the inaccuracy or incompleteness of personal information, we will amend the ‎information as required. If appropriate, we will send the amended information to third parties to whom the ‎information has been disclosed.‎ If a challenge regarding the accuracy of personal information is not resolved to your satisfaction, we will ‎annotate the personal information in our possession or under our control with a note that the correction ‎was requested but not made.

Cross Border Transfers and Processing

Your personal information may be communicated, stored and processed outside of your ‎province or territory of residence, in any other province, territory, or country where we have ‎operations or in which we engage service providers. By using our Services you understand that ‎your information will be transferred to provinces, territories, or countries outside of your place ‎of residence, including the United States. You acknowledge that your personal ‎information may be processed and stored in ‎foreign ‎jurisdictions and that governments, courts, law ‎enforcement or government or ‎regulatory agencies in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere may be able to ‎access or obtain ‎disclosure of your personal information ‎under a lawful order or otherwise through the ‎laws of ‎the foreign jurisdiction, irrespective of the ‎safeguards we have put in place for the protection of ‎‎your personal information.‎ In these cases, we will comply with applicable local law requirements relating to the conditions for disclosure or release of personal information.

Children

Our Website and Services are intended solely for users who are at least the age of majority in their province or territory of residence. We do not knowingly collect personal information from or about anyone under the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, and no such person nor any parent or guardian as it relates to such person should provide any of such person’s personal information to us through the Website, the Services or otherwise for any reason and under any circumstances. By using our Website or Services, you are representing that you are at least the age of majority in your jurisdiction of residence.

If you believe that a minor has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us at the address provided below and we will work to delete that data from our systems.

Third-Party Websites and Services

The Website, online services, interactive applications, email communications, and advertisements may contain links to third-party websites, products, and services (“Third Party Services”). If you click on a one of those links, you will be directed to that Third-Party Service. Information collected by third parties, which may include such things as location data or contact details, is governed by their privacy practices, and are provided solely for your convenience and information.

We do not endorse, have no control over, and assume no responsibility or liability for, those Third-Party Services or their processing of your personal information. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties and review the privacy policy of third party website you visit.

Privacy Questions

If you have any questions or concerns about ABIE’s Privacy Policy please contact us by emailing us at [email protected]

Changes to this Policy

This Policy was last updated as of the “Last updated” date set out at the top of this Policy.

ABIE reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of this Policy, at any time and from time to time to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable laws and for any other purpose we deem reasonably necessary. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes.

If we make any material changes to this Policy, we will either (a) notify you by email (sent to the email address listed in our records), or (b) provide a notice on the Website before the change becomes effective. Any change to this Policy will apply to existing information, as well as information collected after the date this Policy is posted or on the date specified in the notice.

Your continued use of the Services following the effective date of any changes to this Policy signifies your acceptance of such changes