Privacy Policy
Effective Date: [TO BE SET ON LAUNCH] | Last Updated: [TO BE SET ON LAUNCH]
1. About This Policy
Alberta Constitution Project respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy is governed by the Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta), S.A. 2003, c. P-6.5 ("PIPA"); the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada), where applicable; the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (Alberta); and the Canada Elections Act.
2. Who We Are
Alberta Constitution Project is a citizen-led public engagement initiative dedicated to informing Albertans about the legal authority for constitutional reform under the Constitution Act, 1982, and facilitating public consultation. We are not a registered political party, constituency association, or candidate, and we do not benefit from the political-entity exemptions under PIPA. We are fully subject to PIPA.
3. Scope (Four Sites, One Database)
This Policy applies to personal information collected through four websites operated by Alberta Constitution Project: albertaconstitution.ca, albertaconstitution.org, albertacommonwealth.ca, and albertacommonwealth.org.
Important: Information submitted through any of these websites is stored in a single secured database operated by Alberta Constitution Project. Your information will be accessible to our authorized personnel across all four sites. We consolidate this data so we do not contact you multiple times if you visit more than one of our properties. By submitting your information through any of these sites, you consent to this consolidation.
4. What We Collect
We follow the data minimization principle. When you sign up, we collect your first name and last name (optional), email address (required), and postal code (optional, for regional engagement analysis). We may also collect your reform priority preference. We derive your approximate electoral riding (provincial and federal) from your postal code for regional engagement analysis and to send you locally relevant updates. We may automatically collect limited technical information (IP, browser type, pages visited) for security and aggregate analysis. We do not use technical information to identify you personally except in cases of suspected abuse.
Vote Compass: If you use the optional Vote Compass, available to signed-in users, we also collect your answer to each Vote Compass question (your level of agreement and how important the question is to you, each on a five-point scale, or your choice to skip) and the three-axis position those answers compute. These answers reflect your personal views; your individual answers and position are visible only to you and our authorized personnel and are never published in a form that identifies you.
5. Why We Collect Information
Under PIPA Section 11, we collect for purposes a reasonable person would consider appropriate: to send updates and consultation opportunities; to understand geographic distribution of public interest in aggregate; to invite participation in consultative events; to meet legal obligations; to protect our systems; to derive electoral riding information for sending locally relevant updates and understanding regional distribution of interest; and to calculate and show your individual Vote Compass position and to produce aggregate, non-identifying statistics about participants' views.
We will never: sell your information; share for commercial marketing; use your information for purposes materially different from those stated without your consent.
6. Legal Basis
Under PIPA Section 7, we rely on your express consent. By submitting the signup form, you provide that consent. You may withdraw at any time by emailing our Privacy Officer or using the unsubscribe link in our communications.
7. Sharing
We do not sell or rent your information. We share only with: (a) trusted service providers bound by contract; (b) across our four websites as described above; (c) where legally required. We do NOT share with political parties, candidates, campaigns, commercial advertisers, or data brokers.
8. Cross-Border Transfer
Some service providers may store data outside Alberta or Canada. Where this occurs, we take reasonable steps under PIPA Section 5 to ensure comparable protection. By submitting your information, you consent to this transfer where necessary.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards: encrypted transmission (HTTPS/TLS), encrypted storage, access controls, regular security reviews. If a breach occurs creating real risk of significant harm, we will notify you and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta as required by PIPA Section 34.1.
We use hCaptcha to protect our signup forms against automated abuse. hCaptcha may collect certain browser and device data as part of its verification process. hCaptcha is operated by Intuition Machines, Inc., and its own privacy policy governs its processing of data. We chose hCaptcha for its privacy-focused approach and GDPR compliance.
10. Retention
Under PIPA Section 35, we retain information only as long as necessary or required by law. Active data is kept while you remain subscribed. Aggregated, de-identified data may be retained indefinitely.
11. Your Rights Under PIPA
You have the right to: (a) access information we hold (Section 24); (b) request correction (Section 25); (c) withdraw consent; (d) complain to our Privacy Officer or to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta (410, 9925 - 109 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 2J8; 780-422-6860; oipc.ab.ca).
12. Children's Privacy
Our websites are not directed at children under 14. For users 14 to 17, parental consent is recommended.
13. Political Nature Disclosure
In the interest of transparency: this is a public advocacy and education initiative focused on constitutional reform within Canadian Confederation. We take positions on the legal authority for such reform (Section 38 of the Constitution Act, 1982; Section 45 of the Constitution Act, 1982). We do not take a predetermined position on what specific amendments should be pursued. We are not affiliated with any political party, candidate, or campaign.
14. Elections Laws
We are committed to compliance with the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (Alberta) and the Canada Elections Act. Section 9.1 of the EFCDA confirms that "transmitting political views through a non-commercial basis on the Internet" is excluded from the definition of political and election advertising; our websites operate on this non-commercial basis. If our activities cross the $1,000 threshold, we will register as a Third-Party Advertiser with Elections Alberta.
15. Changes
Material changes will be communicated by email to subscribers and by prominent notice on our sites for at least 30 days.
16. Contact
Privacy Officer: Josh Sehn, Alberta Constitution Project, Box 20118 Kensington PO, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 8M4. Email: privacy@albertaconstitution.org. We respond within 30 days.
