Privacy Policy

Introduction

Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your information – over the Internet, on the telephone, or through our offices – has always been fundamental to the way we do business at the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia (herein “AME”). We operate on the basis of this Privacy Policy and related procedures that guide the handling of the personal information we collect. We have created this privacy policy in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to protecting the privacy of our members, partners and potential website visitors. This policy and related procedures are consistent with the Canadian Standards Association Model Code for the Protection of Personal Information (herein “CSA Model Code”) and applicable privacy legislation, which may include British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act or Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). GDPR requires that AME protect the personal data and privacy of EU data subjects. If there is any conflict between this Privacy Policy and GDPR, the GDPR principles shall govern in respect of EU data subjects.

Privacy Statement

This policy deals only with personal information handled by AME. Personal information is information about an identifiable individual, excluding business contact information. The following explains how AME handles personal information. AME reserves the right to change this policy, and it may be updated periodically. These changes may affect our use of your personal information. Accordingly, please check for changes regularly.

Accountability

AME is accountable for all personal information under its control. AME’s Privacy Officer is Jonathan Buchanan, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer:

Email: [email protected] 
Telephone: 778-840-0620

Mail: 800 – 889 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 3B2

Any questions about AME’s handling of personal information should be directed to the Privacy Officer. Please see below for more information about the process for referring questions about AME’s handling of personal information.

The Type of Information We Collect

AME collects the following information:

• Name
• Title
• Company
• Address
• Telephone Number
• Email Address
• Date of Birth
• Category of Profession
• Credit Card Number & Expiration Date (where applicable); and
• Specific details related to providing a service and administering membership or registration.

AME collects personal information through various means and at different times, including:

• Directly from you when your complete membership applications, register for events (such as the AME Roundup conference), sign up for newsletters, make purchases, or contact us with inquiries.
• Through our website, when you browse our site, create an account, or interact with online features.
• Via third-party platforms such as event registration systems and payment processors.
• Through cookies and tracking technologies as you navigate our website and interact with our digital advertising.
• From third parties such as sponsors or partners when you participate in joint programs or events.

Please note, under applicable privacy legislation, an employee’s name, title, organization name, business address, business telephone number, and business email address may be considered business contact information when collected, used, or disclosed solely for the purpose of communicating with the individual in relation to their employment, business, or profession. In such cases, the consent requirements stated in this privacy policy may not apply to this business contact information’.

In addition to the above, our website and service providers automatically collect basic technical and usage information when you visit our website, including:

• IP Address
• Operating Software
• Browser Software
• Internet Service Provider (“ISP”)
• Geographic Location
• Referring Link

Article 6.1(a) of the GDPR provides the legal basis for the processing of the above data (that is, by using this website users are providing their consent). The legal basis for the processing of data that is automatically collected is article 6.1b(f) of the GDPR (that is, the processing is necessary for legitimate interests pursued by us); the legitimate interests pursued by the controller being the optimization of AME’s websites and of its services.

Cookies Tracking and Advertising

We or our analytics and web design providers use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your device and website activity (i) to provide website features; (ii) to perform website analytics and improve the website; (iii) to better understand your needs and interests in order to personalize your experience, including remembering your preferences; (iv) to serve advertisements to you on this website and on other websites you visit; and (v) for compliance, fraud prevention and safety purposes. We also share information about website use with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

We may use the following specific technologies and service providers to collect and process information:

• Google Analytics (GA4 (and successors, when introduced)) for website analytics and performance measurement.
• Google Tag Manager to manage tracking tags and scripts.
• Meta Pixel for conversion tracking and targeted advertising.
• LinkedIn Insight Tag for conversion tracking and targeted advertising on LinkedIn.
• UTM parameters to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
• Server-side tracking (Conversion API) for platforms like Meta and Google Ads to improve tracking accuracy.

These technologies may track specific events such as newsletter signups, page visits, and other user interactions on our website. You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie banner that appears when you first visit our website. You may also adjust your browser settings to refuse cookies, though this may limit certain website features.

This data may be transferred outside Canada, including to the United States. Information transferred or stored outside Canada may be accessible to courts, law enforcement and national authorities in those jurisdictions. If you have any questions or wish to obtain further written information about our policies and practices with respect to the collection, use, disclosure or storage of your data by service providers or affiliates outside of Canada, you may contact our Privacy Officer.

Purpose of Collecting Personal Information

The specific purpose for which AME collects personal information will be identified at or before the time the information is collected. AME may collect and use different categories of personal information for specific purposes as follows:

• Contact information (name, email, phone, address): administering AME membership and providing member services; registering for AME events (including courses, conferences and workshops); contacting registrants and attendees about conference logistics and updates; providing membership, advocacy and public outreach updates; notifying members of upcoming AME events and new services; and processing payments for memberships, events, and products.
• Professional information (title, company, profession category): administering AME membership; tailoring content, services, and communications to member interests and professional backgrounds.
• Financial information (credit card details and expiration date): processing payments for memberships, events, products, and member services.
• Date of birth: verifying membership eligibility.
• Device and usage data (IP address, operating system, browser type, cookies, and similar tracking technologies): performing website analytics; improving website functionality and user experience; understanding user needs and interests to personalize content; serving targeted advertisements on our website and on third-party platforms; and for compliance, fraud prevention, and safety purposes.
• Event-specific details: providing requested services and administering event registrations.

AME will not use personal information for any purpose other than identified at or before the time of collection.

Commercial Electronic Messages

AME will only send commercial electronic messages (such as marketing emails and newsletters) where we have your express or implied consent in accordance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL). You can withdraw your consent and unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting our Privacy Officer.

Consent

Except as otherwise set out above, AME seeks consent for all personal information we collect, use and disclose through information provided to individuals prior to collection, or at the time of collection.

If you have voluntarily provided your information to AME, you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure of your personally identifiable information as described in this privacy policy. As required by the CSA Model Code and applicable privacy legislation, AME will not use personal information for any purpose other than that for which you consented. Should AME require personal information for a new purpose, we will contact you to seek consent for that new use.

Limits for Collecting, Using, Disclosing and Keeping Personal Information

AME does not collect, use or disclose personal information of individuals except when individuals give consent as set out above and provide the information on a voluntary basis. There may be occasions where more specific personal information is necessary for us to proceed with a request for information or to provide you with a product or service. In such cases, we will provide you with a description of the information we need and why we need it. In all cases, AME limits the amount and type of information collected to only the personal information that is required to provide the individual with the requested information, product, or service. We collect only information that is voluntarily provided by you and undertake that such information will be kept strictly confidential.

We retain personal information only as long as is necessary to provide the individual with the requested product, service or information and delete or destroy this information after that time. In some cases, however, legal reporting and retention requirements necessitate that AME retain information for a specific amount of time. In general, AME retains information for a period not longer than 6 years.

AME does not sell or trade any personal information with third parties.

AME may transfer information to the following categories of service providers, where information processing is outsourced by AME:

• Event management and registration platforms to facilitate conference and event registration and to communicate with registrants about event logistics.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) systems to administer membership, maintain member records, and send communications to members and other groups.
• Email delivery and marketing platforms to send newsletters, event updates, membership communications, and marketing messages.
• Payment processors to process credit card and other payment transactions for memberships, event registrations, and product purchases.
• Website hosting and cloud storage providers to host our website and store contact, member and event data.
• Analytics and advertising platforms (including Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag) to analyze website usage, measure advertising effectiveness, and deliver targeted advertisements on third-party platforms.
• Web design and development providers to maintain, optimize, and improve website functionality and user experience.

Where personal information is transferred to a service provider for processing, we require the service provider to respect this Privacy Policy, and we restrict them from using or disclosing personal information transferred to them for any purpose other than the provision of services to us for the purposes for which the information was collected.

AME may be required to disclose personal information in the rare event it is ordered to do so by law or to prevent fraud, as permitted or required by applicable legislation.

Any personal information that AME retains is kept in such a manner as to ensure its security and confidentiality at all times.

Safeguarding Personal Information

AME respects the privacy of our members, partners, potential website visitors and internet users and will protect that privacy as vigorously as possible. We store personal information in electronic and physical files that are secure. Our security measures include secure locks on filing cabinets, a secure office space that is alarmed after hours and using industry standard techniques such as firewalls, and restricted access to records and to equipment, including computers. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or receive from us electronically. This is especially true for information you transmit to us via e-mail. We have no way of protecting that information until it reaches us. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best efforts to ensure its security on our servers.

Although we store and process personal information primarily in Canada, we may use services that store or process your personal information outside of Canada, where it may be accessible to law enforcement and national security authorities of jurisdictions outside Canada.

Accuracy of and Access to Personal Information Collected

AME makes every effort to keep personal information as accurate, complete, current and relevant as necessary for the identified purposes.

AME makes readily available to individuals our Privacy Policy and related procedures for managing personal information. We provide access to the Privacy Policy and related procedures to individuals on AME’s website (www.amebc.ca) and in written form. Any questions about the handling of personal information by AME can be raised with our Privacy Officer.

At the written request of an individual, he or she may view or edit their personal information collected by AME. AME will inform the individual of what personal information we have about them, what it is being used for and, in cases where it has been disclosed, to whom it has been disclosed. There may be exceptional circumstances, as provided by the CSA Model Code and applicable privacy legislation, under which AME may not be able to give an individual access to the personal information about her or him held by AME.

We will also delete your personal information if you wish, and you can withdraw consent to us holding the information you provided at any time, provided that the information is no longer required for the purposes it was collected or another legal or business reason.

To make a request, please send a letter, email or fax addressed to our Privacy Officer at the address indicated above. In your request, please include the following information:

Name, contact details, membership number (where applicable), the nature of your request, including whether you wish to view and/or edit information or inquire regarding use and/or disclosure.

AME will reply to your request in no later than thirty days after receipt of the request, or if we are not able to respond within this time period, we will send you a notice of extension. If we are not able to disclose all the personal information we hold on you, we will give you a reason for our inability to do so, unless prohibited by law.

Questions

Any questions or comments about AME’s handling of personal information should be directed to our Privacy Officer. If you still have concerns about your personal information, you may contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia.