Thank you for visiting the Make it your BIZ_NIZ! Web site of the Autorité des marchés financiers and reading its confidentiality policy..

• Cookies
• Information sent automatically
• If you send personal information
• Protection of your identity
• Links to other sites
• Use of the Internet by children and teenagers
• Policy compliance, comments or complaints

The AMF is aware of your concerns about protecting personal information on the Internet and wishes to meet its obligations under An Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, the Archives Act and An Act to establish a legal framework for information technology.

Cookies

This site does not place any permanent cookies on the hard drives of visitors’ computers, only a temporary file required for the ASP (Active Server Pages) navigation session. This temporary file in the RAM is automatically deleted when the visitor leaves the site. In addition, no personal information is gathered without the prior consent of the Internet user.

You can deactivate the acceptance of cookies at any time using the options available on your browser. This could, however, deprive you of certain on-line services or advanced functionalities.

Information sent automatically

Information sent automatically between computers does not allow you to be identified personally. It is only gathered because of technical requirements inherent to Internet navigation and is used for statistics.

You should be aware that when you access the www.tesaffaires.com, Web site, information is automatically exchanged, without any intervention on your part, between your computer and the AMF’s server. The following information, which does not identify you personally, is exchanged at that time:

1. The domain name (for example, "xyzcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "university.edu") if you access the Internet through a university, and your IP address (an IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet access provider every time you surf the Internet) used to access our site;
2. the type of navigator (for example, Netscape or Explorer) and operating system (for example, Winodws or Mac OS) used to access our site;
3. the date and time you access our site;
4. the pages you visit; and if you reach our site through another site, the address of that site (referencing site).

This information is only gathered because of the technical requirements inherent in surfing the Internet. This exchange of information is required for the server to send you a file compatible with the computer equipment you are using. The AMF also keeps the information required to keep track of the number of visitors, the pages visited most often, the technology used by site visitors, the referencing sites and the country of origin of Internet users.

If you send personal information

In accordance with An Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, if we ask you for personal information you will be informed of the following :

1. the name and address of the public body for which the request is being made;
2. of the use to which the information will be put;
3. of the categories of persons who will have access to the information;
4. of the fact that a reply is obligatory, or that it is optional;
5. of the consequences for the person concerned or, as the case may be, for the third person, in case of a refusal to reply;
6. of the rights of access and correction provided by law?.

If you choose to send us personal information—by e-mail or by filling out a form and submitting it through our web site—we will only use the information required to respond to your message and follow up on it. E-mail messages are treated with the same degree of confidentiality as regular mail. Only authorized staff of the AMF has access to the information and they may only use it where that is required to carry out their duties.

Personal information which the AMF has is used only for the purposes for which it was gathered. It is archived or destroyed in a secure manner when it is no longer necessary, as required by law.

The personal information you send us is only sent to another government agency in cases in which it is legally authorized.

If you send us a question and personal information which should have been sent to another agency, we will tell you the name of the agency to which you should send it and we will destroy the information you sent us.

The information sent will in no event be used to create user profiles and will not be sent to any private organization.

We draw your attention to the fact that the sending of information through our web site or by e-mail is not secure. We advise you either not to send personal information or to take appropriate steps to make it secure.

Protection of your identity

You should take reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality of your e-mail address and the password you may give us to access part of the web site reserved for authorized persons. The AMF cannot be responsible for their unauthorized use and you should be especially careful not to disclose it to others. Your password is personal, since it is used to identify you. It is up to you to maintain the exclusivity of that identifier.

Should the confidentiality of this information be compromised, please let us know as soon as possible in order to avoid the possible fraudulent use of your identity.

Links to other sites

Our site includes links to other sites including private organizations, the Québec government sites, and other government sites. The linked site is presented in a new window. Note that the information exchanged is no longer subject to our confidentiality policy, but to that of the linked site, where applicable.

Use of the Internet by children and teenagers

The Autorité des marchés financiers is aware of the Internet’s potential as a tool for learning, awareness and reference and that it may thus contribute to the development of your children and teenagers. However, the AMF would like to warn parents about the possible risks of unsupervised use of the Internet and encourages them to use appropriate care and provide the necessary supervision so that their child does not provide personal information without being sure of the identity of the other person. We recommend that you properly inform your children and teenagers of the security and confidentiality rules so that they will use the Internet safely.

In this respect, we encourage you to read the document entitled Information highway, caution school zone available on the Commission d’accès à l’information web site.

Policy compliance, comments or complaints

Should you wish further information on this policy, if you have comments to make about it or if you would like to make a complaint because you feel that the AMF’s policy has not been followed, you may contact us.

If you have any comments or questions, you may use the "Contact" section of our web site at any time.