Privacy of Information

Privacy and You

As of January 1, 2004, Canadian commercial organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information must comply with the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). The purpose of the legislation is to let individuals know how organizations handle the personal information of their clients. Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta have similar privacy legislation.

As of May 25, 2018, commercial organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information concerning European Union (“EU”) citizens must comply with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). The purpose of GDPR is to protect personal data from risks such as unauthorized disclosure, identity theft or online abuse, for example, and to codify the rights of EU citizens to control who may have their data and how it may be used, and for how long.

Horizons ETFs Management Canada Inc. is committed to protecting its clients’ or investors’ personal information and shall obtain your consent before collecting, using and disclosing your personal information. All personal information is held in strict confidence and we control access to, and the use of, such information according to the practices and procedures set out in this statement.

We will only ask you for information that we need to provide fund management services, to establish your identity, to keep records, to prevent error and fraud, to comply with the law, to assess your eligibility for our products and services, or to respond to inquiries from your advisor, if you have one, and to provide you with the best possible service. Your personal information may also be collected from you directly and used for marketing purposes, including sending you product information, updates, news or other information.

We will not sell your personal information.

What is Personal Information?

*Under PIPEDA, personal information includes any factual or subjective information, recorded or not, about an identifiable individual. This includes information in any form, such as:

– age, name, ID numbers, income, ethnic origin, or blood type;
-opinions, evaluations, comments, social status, or disciplinary actions; and
-employee files, credit records, loan records, medical records, existence of a dispute between a consumer and a merchant, intentions (for example, to acquire goods or services, or change jobs).

We Will Obtain Your Permission

We will only collect, use or disclose your personal information with your consent. You can give your consent in writing, when you open an account, or request or subscribe for information from us, or you can give your consent verbally, electronically or through your authorized representative. We may also obtain it through dealers, credit bureaus or other financial institutions. If we don’t obtain information directly from you, we will ensure that you have given us your consent before we collect and use your personal information.

You may withdraw your permission to collect, use and disclose your personal information at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. However, your ability to access our products and services may be limited and declined should you refuse or withdraw your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. For example, we must decline to accept or administer an account for a person who does not consent to our disclosing personal information to back-office third party providers.

Collection of Personal Information

We collect personal information about you from: (i) subscription forms and other information provided by you in writing, by telephone, in person, electronically or by other means; (ii) your activity on the web site and transactional activity in your accounts, including account balances, investments, withdrawals and fees/commissions; (iii) through your advisor, if you have one, and (iii) other interactions with us, such as discussions with our staff.

As a fund manger, we may use personal information to:

identify the investor;
ensure our records are accurate;
establish and administer an investor’s account(s);
execute transactions;
maintain, store, record and determine investor account holdings and transaction records;
provide investors and their authorized advisors with statements/information;
provide investors with financial statements, tax receipts, proxy mailings, transaction confirmations and other information that may be requested or needed to service their accounts;
provide investors with customer service, updates, and support;
for debt recovery; and
to comply with legal and regulatory requirements.

Whom do we Disclose Personal Information to?

Your personal information will only be used for the purpose(s) for which it was collected. We may, as required by law, share personal information with third party service providers, such as those who print and prepare investment statements. We have legal agreements with third party providers to ensure that they protect your personal information. We may also have to by law provide information for a search warrant, court order or other legally valid request. We may also disclose personal information to help us collect a debt owed by the investor.

Access and Accuracy of Consent to Information

You have the right to verify the accuracy and completeness of your personal information. If you believe that any information we have collected about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct it. Sometimes, we may not be able to provide you with information if it contains references to third parties, is subject to legal privilege, is our proprietary information or relates to an investigation.

Any request to access, withdraw consent to or update information may be made by forwarding a written request to the Privacy Officer. Please include your full name, address, telephone number and account number(s) on any correspondence to us. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible but, in any event, no later than 30 days from receiving your request.

Protecting Client Information

We will maintain the security and confidentiality of personal information. We have policies, procedures and safeguards to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, theft or misuse. Security measures include physical, electronic and procedural safeguards such as passwords and restricted access to our office.

Our employees and service providers have access to personal information to enable them to perform their duties. As a condition of employment, each employee must sign a code of conduct which includes provisions ensuring the confidentiality of personal information.

How Long do we Keep Your Information?

We only keep your information as long as it is necessary to do so. The length of time we keep your information will depend upon the product or service and the nature of the information and will be only as long as it is legally necessary for us to retain sufficient information to respond to any inquiries that may arise later.

You may request a copy of any information we have about you and it will be provided to you within a reasonable amount of time. You may also request that we delete any information we have about you and we will do so to the extent that we are permitted to do so under Canadian law. Certain information, such as tax information, for example, must be maintained for a certain period of time. IF you have requested that you be treated as a ‘do not contact’ party, we will retain that information in order to comply with your request, as long as such request remains in place.

Resolving Your Concerns

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Privacy Officer at privacyofficer@horizonsetfs.com

Horizons ETFs