Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Who owns this site?

This website is maintained by the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS), which has exclusive control over the content and has the sole responsibility for the accuracy of its contents and opinions expressed in the site.

Copyright/permission to reproduce

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by PICS for the purpose of providing visitors with direct access to information about the programs offered by PICS and direct access to research results and information related to research endeavours conducted by or funded by PICS.

The material on this site is covered by the provisions of the Copyright Act, by Canadian laws, policies, regulations and international agreements. Such provisions serve to identify the information source and, in specific instances, to prohibit reproduction of materials without written permission.

Disclaimer

Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this website, PICS does not and cannot guarantee its accuracy. Anyone using the information on this site does so at his or her own risk; any loss arising from the use of information on this website is the sole responsibility of the user. PICS will not be responsible for any injury or damage arising from its use.

Your privacy

PICS is committed to providing our staff, researchers, collaborators, and visitors with websites that respect their privacy. This page summarizes our privacy policy and practices.

Our website does not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as your name, phone number or email address. This information is only obtained if you provide it voluntarily, through contacting us via email, or through an online form.

Any personal information you do provide is managed according to the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). This means that, at the point of collection, you will be informed that your personal information is being collected, the purpose for which it is being collected, and that you have a right of access to the collected information. If you have questions regarding Freedom of Information or Protection of Privacy, please email foipp@uvic.ca or 250-721-8258. The Privacy Officer coordinates all formal FOI requests for PICS.

Information collected automatically

PICS logs http requests to our server. These logs capture computer information and navigation data.
Some of the information collected does not identify who you are. Other information, such as your domain name or IP address, may identify you depending on the naming standards followed by your internet service provider. If this concerns you, you may wish to ask them about their policies and practices.

While we make no attempt to link the information captured to the identity of individuals, our logs do identify the following:

1. The internet domain and IP address from which you access our website;
2. The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
3. The date and time you access our site;
4. The pages you visit; and
5. If you linked to the PICS website from another website, the address of that website.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of text information that is sent to your browser when you access a website. Your browser will return this cookie information to the domain where the cookie originated. While we do not regularly use “cookies” to track how our visitors use the site, cookies may be used on some sites to help you fill in forms or track your use of the sites. The length of time that the cookie will reside on your machine will depend upon the specific set-up of the particular sites you visit.

If you are concerned about the use of cookies, you can refer to the help information in your browser software for information on how to disable cookies. If you wish to delete cookies from your machine, consult your browser’s help files for instructions on how to do so.

Google Analytics

Pages at pics.uvic.ca use Google Analytics to interpret our server logs, via cookies (described above), which you may disable. For more information about Google Analytics security and privacy, please see their website.

Security

Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

Links to other sites

The PICS website may contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the content and the privacy practices of other websites and encourage you to examine each site’s privacy policy and disclaimers and make your own decisions regarding the accuracy, reliability, and correctness of material and information found.

Information collected in emails, research project proposal forms, letters of intent, internship application forms, event funding request forms, and other web forms

If you should choose to provide us with personal information — as in an email, web form, sending PICS a letter of intent, or by filling out a project proposal, event sponsorship request, or internship application, and submitting it to us through an email, fax or our website — we will use that information to: respond to your message; help us get information to you; and/or, give you the support you have requested. In accordance with Part 3, Section 26 (c) of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, PICS only collects personal information directly related to developing research and supporting the engagement and outreach activities of PICS.