Privacy Policy

Our privacy policy applies to the use of digital communications by this office.

Scope

Our privacy policy describes the information we collect via the Association of British Columbia Forest Professional’s (ABCFP) website and how we collect and use that information.

Personal information

Personal information is recorded information about an identifiable individual.

Personal information includes:

  • an individual's name;
  • address;
  • birth date;
  • e-mail address; and
  • phone number.

Collection

ABCFP is responsible for regulating the practice of professional forestry in BC.

ABCFP collects personal information for the purpose of operating its registration, monitoring, enforcement, and information programs. ABCFP is authorized to collect personal information via this web site under section 26(c) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), for the purposes described above.

When you send us electronic mail, we collect your e-mail address and your message so that we may reply to you. We recommend that sensitive personal information not be sent unencrypted over the Internet or by e-mail.

When you visit our website, the web server collects a small amount of information to facilitate its operation. For example, the website advanced search function collects information to remember the information you submitted for the search. We do not capture or store your IP address while you visit and use our website.

ABCPF uses Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, which are all public, third-party social media providers. Personal information that you might provide to those providers are not hosted on our server. We recommend that our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube followers familiarize themselves with the social media provider’s terms of service and privacy policies.

Web analytics

ABCFP uses Google Analytics, a third party service to analyze non-identifiable web traffic data with the purpose of improving the services we offer. ABCFP does not own the data that is generated through Google Analytics. The collected data will not be shared with any other party for any other purpose. ABCFP may collect the following information to assist us with improving the website:

  • the pages accessed on our site and links you clicked on;
  • the date and time you visited the site;
  • if you use our advanced search tool, the search terms you used;
  • the referring site (if any) through which you arrived at this site;
  • your operating system (e.g., Windows XP, Mac OS X);
  • the type of web browser you use (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, etc.).

IP addresses are anonymized so that they cannot be used to identify individuals. Our web analytics will also respect any "do not track" setting you might have set on your browser. Our website may use session cookies, which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you sign out or close the browser session.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file containing certain pieces of information that a website creates when you visit the site. It can track how and when you use a site, which site you visited immediately before, and it can store that information about you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.

There are two types of cookies, session cookies and persistent cookies.

Our website may use session cookies which are stored in temporary memory and are not retained after you sign out or close the browser session.

Use

ABCFP only uses the personal information collected from the web site for the same purpose that it was collected. ABCFP will not use your personal information for another purpose without your consent.

Sharing

ABCFP may only disclose your personal information if it is done for the same purpose that it was collected. ABCFP will not share your personal information for another purpose unless ABCFP has your consent to do so. In limited circumstances that are outlined in section 33 of FIPPA, ABCFP may be required, or authorized, by law to disclose your personal information to another party.

 

Links

Our website contains links to other sites. When clicking on a link, we encourage you to examine the site's privacy policy and make your own decision regarding the information provided.

How to contact us

If you have questions about this privacy policy, you can contact:

Dean Pelkey, ABCFP director of communications, at 604-331-2321.

You can also e-mail us at webmaster@abcfp.ca or write to us at:

Association of BC Forest Professionals, Suite No. 602 – 1281 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 3J7

Social media policy

Our privacy policy applies to the use of social media by our office.

The Association of BC Forest Professionals uses social media to share news and engage in conversations about forest management and other related issues to the practice of professional forestry.

Our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube social media accounts are managed by communications staff on behalf of ABCFP, with access by third party vendors.

We update and monitor our social media accounts on weekdays during office hours (Monday - Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm), but we may monitor and respond outside of normal office hours.

We read all @replies and Direct Messages sent to us and will respond to as many as possible.

Content

Through our social media accounts, we aim to keep you informed about the activities of our office, as well as recent developments in forestry issues, practices, and policies.

Our social media content includes:

  • news releases, speeches, photos, and other publications issued by our office;
  • links to information and articles about forestry, regulation or policy changes within the forestry sector, and forestry news in other jurisdictions; and
  • information about upcoming events or educational opportunities.

We retweet, share and post news, links, and content we think are relevant to our work and of interest to our followers.

Retweets and postings on social media sites do not imply endorsement by the ABCFP or the individual staff of the ABCFP.

Following/followers

We follow social media accounts that are relevant to our work and our mandate. This could include the social media accounts of individuals as well as organizations, public and private, who comment on forestry issues.

Our decision to follow a particular social media account user does not imply an endorsement of any kind.

Commenting

If you wish to comment in our social media posts, it will be in accordance to each social media account. Many will require an account to access their platform.

Complaints

ABCFP does not accept complaints of any kind via social media.

Complaints from the public or other members about member conduct can be submitted through our complaints process.

Concerns or complaints about a social media post can be submitted in writing by any of the following methods:

  • Email: webmaster@abcfp.ca
  • Mail: Suite 602 – 1281 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 3J7

(Please note that e-mail is not considered a secure method of transmission. If you are concerned about the confidentiality of information, including your personal information, in transit, you should send us your information via a secure means.)

Questions/comments

If you have questions or comments about our use of social media, please contact ABCFP:

  • Phone: 604-331-2321;
  • Email: webmaster@abcfp.ca or
  • Submit in writing to:
    Suite 602 – 1281 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC, V6E 3J7