Privacy policy

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than an individual’s business contact information when collected, used, or disclosed for the purposes of enabling the individual to be contacted in relation to their business responsibilities.

We collect and maintain different types of personal information in respect of the individuals with whom we interact. This includes:

• contact and identification information such as your name, address, telephone number, and email address;
• personal information concerning the education, products, and other services that you seek from us or that we may provide to you; and
• business relationship information, including information related to your agreements, preferences, feedback, and information requested by or provided to you.

We may also collect information related to our media, donor, sponsorship, and public relations activities.

Perimeter Institute’s operations include activities related to scientific research, training, and educational and public outreach in foundational theoretical physics. As such, Perimeter Institute may also collect personal information from individuals participating in and / or impacted by these activities.

As a general rule, Perimeter Institute collects personal information directly from you. In most circumstances where the personal information that we collect about you is held by a third party, we will obtain your permission before we seek out this information from such sources (such permission may be given directly by you, or implied from your actions).

From time to time, we may use third-party services and may also receive personal information collected by those third parties in the course of the performance of their services for us or otherwise. Where this is the case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such third parties have represented to us that they have the right to disclose your personal information to us.

Where permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, we may collect information about you without your knowledge or consent.

We may collect information related to your visit to our website, including the IP address and domain used to access our website, the type and version of your browser, the website you came from to access our website, the page(s) you entered and exited at, any website page within our website that is viewed by that IP address, and what country you are from. We may use this information to monitor our website’s performance (such as number of visits, average time spent, page views) and for our other business purposes, such as customizing content that we think you might like based on your usage patterns; improving our services; and upgrading our website.

In connection with the foregoing, we send a “cookie” to your browser that may be saved on your computer to track your visit. The cookie acts as an identification card and allows our website to identify you and to record your passwords and preferences. The cookie allows us to track your visits to better understand your use of our website so that we can tailor the website to better meet your needs. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies. However, on most web browsers you may change this setting to have your web browser either: (i) notify you prior to a website placing a cookie on your hard drive so that you can decide whether or not to accept the cookie; or (ii) automatically prevent the placing of a cookie on your computer. It should be noted that if cookies are not accepted, you may not be able to access a number of web pages found on the website.

In addition, we collect the personal information that you submit to our website, such as your name, address, and any other contact or other information that you choose to provide by:

• applying for a position with Perimeter Institute through our website;
• opening or clicking on hyperlinks contained in promotional emails, or corresponding with a representative of Perimeter Institute via email using the hyperlinks created for that purpose;
• signing up for email alerts and newsletters;
• responding to surveys from the institute;
• signing up for downloading materials; and
• donating, buying tickets, or registering for courses, conferences, and events.

Our website may contain links to other websites that may be subject to less stringent privacy standards. If you click on a link to a such a third-party website, a third party may also send a cookie to your browser. We cannot assume any responsibility for the privacy practices, policies, or actions of those third parties. Perimeter Institute is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use, or disclose your personal information. You should review the privacy policies of these websites before providing them with personal information.

Perimeter Institute uses Google Analytics’ third-party audience data such as age, gender, and interests to help us better understand your preferences and online activities. This helps us provide content targeted to your interests and preferences.

Perimeter Institute collects personal information to enable us to manage, maintain, and develop our operations, including, but not limited to:

• to establish, maintain, and manage our relationship with you so that we may provide you with, or receive from you, the services that have been requested;
• to review the services that we provide to you so that we may: (i) understand your requirements for our services; and (ii) work to improve our services;
• to review the products and services that we obtain from you so that we may work with you and so that you may understand our requirements for such products and services;
• to offer goods and services such as events, ticket purchases, and donation transaction processing;
• to comply with your requests;
• to protect Perimeter Institute against error, fraud, theft, and damage to our goods and property;
• to endeavour to protect the safety of a person or group of persons (by, for example, potentially keeping a record of individuals who may not be welcome to attend our premises for security purposes);
• to comply with applicable laws or regulatory process; and
• any other reasonable purpose to which you consent.

We may use and disclose your personal information:

• as permitted or required by applicable laws or regulatory requirements;
• for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy; and
• for any additional purposes for which we have obtained your consent to the use or disclosure of your personal information.

We may also use or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements to do so.

We may share your personal information with our employees, contractors, consultants, affiliates, and other parties who require such information to assist us with managing our relationship with you, including: (i) third parties that provide services to us; (ii) third parties that assist Perimeter Institute in the provision of services to you; and (iii) third parties whose services we use to conduct our business.

For example, we may share your personal information from time to time with our third-party information technology, data processing, and payment processing service providers so that we may operate our business. As a result, your personal information may be collected, used, processed, stored, or disclosed in the United States and the European Union. As such, your personal information may potentially be accessible to law enforcement and national security authorities of that jurisdiction.

In addition, personal information may be disclosed or transferred to another party during the course of the grant of a security interest in Perimeter Institute’s assets, or completion of, all or a part of Perimeter Institute through, for example, a merger or joint venture, provided that such party is bound by appropriate agreements or obligations and required to use or disclose your personal information in a manner consistent with the use and disclosure provisions of this Privacy Policy, unless you consent otherwise.

Finally, your personal information may be disclosed:

• as permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements;
• to comply with valid legal processes such as search warrants, subpoenas or court orders;
• as part of Perimeter Institute’s regular reporting activities to its affiliates;
• to protect the rights and property of Perimeter Institute;
• during emergency situations or where necessary to protect the safety of a person or group of persons; and
• with your consent.

Once any collected data is no longer in use, it will be disposed of according to industry best practices.

It is important to us that we collect, use, or disclose your personal information where we have your consent to do so. Depending on the sensitivity of the personal information, your consent may be implied, deemed (using an opt-out mechanism), or express. Express consent can be given orally, electronically, or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from your action or inaction. For example, when you enter into an agreement with us, we will assume you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information for purposes related to the performance of that agreement and for any other purposes identified to you at the relevant time.

Typically, we will seek your consent at the time that we collect your personal information. In certain circumstances, your consent may be obtained after collection but prior to our use or disclosure of your personal information. If we plan to use or disclose your personal information for a purpose not previously identified (either in this Privacy Policy or separately), we will endeavour to advise you of that purpose before such use or disclosure.

As we have described above, we may collect, use, or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required to do so by applicable law or regulatory requirements.

You may change or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual obligations and reasonable notice. All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be addressed, in writing, to our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below. In certain circumstances, the withdrawal of your consent may render us unable to continue to provide services where the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information is necessary to provide the service.

We assume that, unless you advise us otherwise, you have consented to the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.

Perimeter Institute endeavours to maintain physical, technical, and procedural safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information in question. These safeguards are designed to prevent your personal information from loss and unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure, copying, modification, disposal, or destruction. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee complete security: for example, unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, (ii) hardware or software failure, and (iii) other events may compromise the security of your personal information at any time.

The security of your personal information is important to us. Please advise our Privacy Officer immediately of any incident involving the loss of or unauthorized access to or disclosure of personal information that is in our custody or control.

It is important that the information contained in our records is both accurate and current. If your personal information changes during the course of our relationship, please inform the Privacy Officer of such changes.

In some circumstances, we may not agree with your request to change your personal information and will instead append an alternative text to the record in question.

You can ask to see your personal information. If you want to review, verify or correct your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer. Please note that any such communication must be in writing.

When requesting access to your personal information, please note that we may request specific information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for, and provide you with, the personal information that we hold about you. We may charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance. If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact our Privacy Officer.

Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute. There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you. In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased, or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices. In the event that we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will endeavour to inform you why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or concerns about how we manage your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer by telephone, in writing, or by email. We will endeavour to answer your questions and advise you of any steps taken to address the issues raised by you. If you are dissatisfied with our response, you may be entitled to make a written submission to the Privacy Commissioner in your jurisdiction.

We have appointed a Privacy Officer to oversee compliance with this Privacy Policy. The contact information for our Privacy Officer is as follows:

Stefan Pregelj
Senior Director, Finance and Operations
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
31 Caroline Street North
Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5

Email: [email protected]

Perimeter Institute may, from time to time, make changes to this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in its legal or regulatory obligations or in the manner in which we deal with your personal information. We will post any revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website, and we encourage you to refer to it on a regular basis.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on [August 3, 2018].

Any interpretation associated with this Privacy Policy will be made by our Privacy Officer. This Privacy Policy includes examples, but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples; therefore where the word “including” is used, it shall mean “including without limitation.”

This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual any rights or impose upon Perimeter Institute any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations imposed by Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable. Should there be, in a specific case, any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and Canada’s federal and provincial privacy laws, as applicable, this Privacy Policy shall be interpreted, in respect of that case, to give effect to, and comply with, such privacy laws.