Privacy Policy
Fortis Inc. (“Fortis” or the “Corporation”) recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information of the individuals who access this website (the “Website”). This Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) outlines the manner in which the Corporation collects, uses and discloses the personal information of individuals (“you”) in the course of operating its business and maintaining the Website.
“Personal information” is a broad term that includes any information about or that can be used to identify an individual, which may include a person’s name and home contact information, social insurance number and other personal identification numbers. Personal information may not include business contact information, including name, position name or title, business telephone number, business address, business email address or business fax number and similar business information or any personal information that is in the custody of or under the control of a public body. Personal information also excludes certain publicly available information, such as information listed in a public telephone directory.
Fortis will comply with the requirements of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada) (“PIPEDA”) and will use fair and reasonable practices to meet its obligations under PIPEDA. This policy and additional information are available on request by contacting the Corporation’s Privacy Officer using the contact information at the end of this policy.
Why We Collect Your Information
Fortis collects, uses and discloses personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances, and Fortis limits the amount and type of personal information it collects, uses or discloses to that necessary for the purposes identified. In general, Fortis collects, uses and discloses personal information to:
- manage the Corporation’s business and operations;
- create and maintain effective business relationships;
- respond to direct inquiries, requests for information and to compile distribution lists for mass marketing and dissemination of corporate information;
- to meet legal and regulatory requirements.
Your Consent
Except in accordance with PIPEDA, Fortis collects, uses and discloses personal information only with consent. However, because Fortis collects only such information as is necessary for its intended purposes, as a general rule its practice is not to request written consent to do so because consent can reasonably be implied in most cases. By contacting Fortis, voluntarily providing Fortis with your personal information or by subscribing to a Fortis distribution list, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. To the extent that you provide personal information of another individual to Fortis, you represent that you have the necessary consent or authority to permit Fortis to collect, use and disclose such personal information for the purposes set out in, and in accordance with, this Privacy Policy. You must advise Fortis in order to withdraw your consent to the Corporation’s continued use and disclosure of your personal information (upon reasonable notice and subject to legal or contractual restrictions). Fortis provides an opt-out opportunity to individuals from its distribution lists.
Information We Gather When You Use Our Site
Visitors to the Website are not required to provide any individually identifiable information, such as a name or address, nor does Fortis collect such information passively by electronic means. However, if you elect to provide Fortis with personal information, such as your email address, Fortis will use it only for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Except with respect to the email news alerts, described below, Fortis does not provide information to third parties regarding individual visitors to the Website. While reasonable precautions are taken to protect all information provided to Fortis via the Website, due to the nature of the Internet, Fortis cannot guarantee that there will not be any unauthorized access to your personal information.
Fortis uses software to automatically collect non-personal information about your visit for statistical purposes. This information, such as the name of the domain from which you access the Internet, the date and time you access our Website, and the information you view while visiting our Website, is used to measure the use of our site, to improve its content, and to diagnose and correct technical problems.
Do we use Cookies?
Some of our Website pages may use “cookies” – small amounts of data that a Website can send to you and that is stored on your computer. Cookies allow our Website to provide you with customized information, or they may recall data so you don’t have to retype it. We may use session ID cookies, which terminate when you close your Internet browser, or persistent cookies, a small text file stored on your computer’s hard drive for an extended time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.
Email News Alerts
Our email news alerts are sent on behalf of Fortis by a third party service provider. When you subscribe on our Website to receive email alerts for Fortis media releases (the “Service”), you consent to your personal information, such as your email address, being provided to a third party to administer the Service. By subscribing to the Service, you understand that it is independent from the Corporation and that the Corporation cannot assume responsibility for the collection or retention of your personal information by a third party.
How do we Protect Your Information?
Fortis retains personal information for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected and/or in accordance with applicable legal or regulatory requirements.
Fortis does not sell, lease, or trade personal information to other parties. Fortis has implemented security safeguards appropriate to protect the confidentiality of the personal information that has been collected which are appropriate to the sensitivity of such personal information, the format of such personal information and the manner in which it is stored. Fortis trains its employees regarding the importance of privacy and confidentiality and limits access to personal information only to those employees necessary to carry out the purpose for which it was collected.
The Corporation endeavors to maintain adequate physical, procedural and technical security for its offices, information storage and destruction, electronic files and on-line systems so as to prevent any unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or alteration of an individual’s personal information. Paper-based files are stored in secure operating premises. Electronic files are maintained in a secure environment with restricted access. Access to more sensitive files are restricted to employees who require access to them.
Access to Your Personal Information
You have the right to access and challenge the accuracy and completeness of any personal information about you in the Corporation’s possession, and to have such information amended, subject to exceptions permitted or required by applicable law. To make an access or amendment request or if you have a question or concern about your personal information or this Privacy Policy, please send a written request to:
- Privacy Officer
Fortis Inc.
PO Box 8837
St. John’s, NL A1B 3T2
To protect your privacy and security, Fortis takes reasonable steps consistent with industry practice to verify your identity before processing such requests, granting access or making corrections.
Changes to the Privacy Policy
Fortis reserves the right to change its Privacy Policy at any time by updating the Privacy Policy on the Website. For this reason, Fortis encourages you to access the Website frequently for the most current version of the Privacy Policy.