​

Who we are and what this policy covers

T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation ("T. Buck," "we," "us") is a non-profit organization based in British Columbia that works to protect fish habitat and support sustainable fisheries and fishing communities. We collect only the personal information we need to run our programs, accept donations and memberships, and stay in touch with supporters.

This policy explains what personal information we collect through bucksuzuki.org and in the course of our work, how we use and protect it, and the choices you have. It applies to our website, online store, membership and donation pages, email lists, event registrations, and program and bursary applications.

We follow British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and, where it applies, Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). By using our website or providing personal information to us, you consent to the practices described here.

​

What we collect, and how

Most of what we collect is information you give us directly. We also collect a small amount of technical information automatically when you visit our website.

Information you give us

• Donations: your name, email address, mailing address, donation amount and frequency, and any comment you add. Payment card details go directly to our payment processor (see below) and are not stored by us.

• Memberships: your name, email address, mailing address, membership type, and payment information handled by our payment processor.

• Online store: your name, email address, shipping and billing addresses, order details, and payment information handled by our payment processor.

• Email lists: your name and email address when you sign up for our newsletter or updates.

• Contact forms and email: your name, email address, and whatever you include in your message.

• Program and bursary applications: the information requested on the application, which may include your name, contact details, community, fishing or vessel background, education, and supporting documents.

• Events, surveys and consultations: your name, contact details, and the responses you choose to share.

• Photos, video and stories: if you share a photo, video, quote or story with us for use in our communications, we keep it along with your name and consent.

Information collected automatically

When you visit bucksuzuki.org, our website platform (Wix) and its analytics tools collect standard technical data such as your IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, referring website, and date and time of visit. This is collected through cookies and similar technologies (see Cookies and website analytics).

​

How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purposes you gave it to us, or for closely related purposes you would reasonably expect. Specifically, we use it to:

• process donations, memberships and store orders, and send confirmations and receipts

• issue official donation receipts for income tax purposes, where applicable

• maintain our membership and donor records

• send newsletters, updates, event invitations and appeals, where you have agreed to receive them

• respond to your questions and requests

• review and administer program and bursary applications

• run events, surveys and consultations

• share photos, stories and quotes you have given us permission to use

• understand how our website is used so we can improve it

• meet our legal, accounting and reporting obligations, including to the Canada Revenue Agency

If we want to use your information for a new purpose, we will ask for your consent first.

​

Donations, memberships and store payments

Payments on our website are processed through our website platform, Wix. When you donate, buy a membership or place an order, your card details are entered on a secure, encrypted payment form and sent directly to the payment processor. We never see or store your full card number.

We receive and keep the details we need to record the transaction: your name, contact details, the amount, the date, and what the payment was for. We use these to issue receipts, fulfil orders, maintain membership records and meet our accounting obligations.

For eligible donations we issue official donation receipts in accordance with Canada Revenue Agency requirements. We keep donation records for the period the CRA requires.

If you set up a monthly donation or a recurring membership, the payment processor stores your payment method so it can charge the agreed amount on schedule. You can cancel at any time by contacting us at tbsef@bucksuzuki.org.

​

Email and other communications

We only send newsletters, updates and appeals to people who have asked for them or who have an existing relationship with us as a donor, member or program participant, as Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation allows.

Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link. You can also unsubscribe at any time by emailing tbsef@bucksuzuki.org. We will act on your request within 10 business days.

We may still send you transactional or service emails you have not opted into, such as donation receipts, order confirmations, membership renewals, and replies to your messages.

We send our emails through Wix. That service records whether emails were opened and which links were clicked so we can see what our supporters find useful.

​

Cookies and website analytics

Our website is built on Wix, which uses cookies to make the site work, keep you logged in to your member account, remember your cart, and protect against fraud. These essential cookies cannot be turned off without affecting how the site works.

We also use analytics cookies, through Wix Analytics, to understand how visitors use the site: which pages are popular, how people find us, and what devices they use. This information is aggregated and does not identify you personally.

Some pages embed content from third parties such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. These services may set their own cookies when you interact with that content, under their own privacy policies.

You can control cookies through the banner that appears on your first visit and through your browser settings. Blocking all cookies may stop parts of the site, such as the store and member login, from working. For more detail on the cookies Wix uses, see Wix's cookie policy.

​

Who we share your information with

We do not sell, rent or trade our donor, member or email lists to anyone.

We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the organization, and only as much as they need to do their job:

• Wix, which hosts our website, store, membership plans, donation form and contact forms

• our payment processor, which handles card payments

• our email service, which sends our newsletters and updates

• accounting, bookkeeping and auditing providers who help us keep our financial records

• cloud storage and productivity tools we use for day-to-day work, such as Google Workspace / Microsoft 365

These providers are contractually required to protect your information and to use it only on our behalf.

We may also disclose personal information when the law requires it, for example in response to a court order, or to the Canada Revenue Agency as part of our charity reporting. If we ever reorganize or wind up the Foundation, personal information may be transferred to a successor organization with similar purposes, and this policy would continue to apply.

For programs delivered with partner organizations, such as the BC Young Fishermen's Network or the Seafood Business Accelerator, we will tell you at the point of collection if your information will be shared with a partner.

​

How we store and protect your information

We keep personal information in password-protected accounts with access limited to staff and contractors who need it for their work. Our website and payment forms use encryption (HTTPS) to protect information in transit.

Some of the service providers we use, including Wix, our payment processor and our email service, store data on servers outside Canada, including in the United States. While it is there, it may be accessible to the authorities of that country under their laws. We choose providers with strong security practices and contractual commitments to protect your information.

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, or as the law requires. As a general guide: donation and financial records are kept for at least seven years to meet CRA requirements; membership records are kept while your membership is active and for a reasonable period afterward; email list information is kept until you unsubscribe; and program and bursary applications are kept for seven years after the program or award cycle ends. After that, we securely delete or anonymize the information.

No system is perfectly secure. If we learn of a privacy breach that creates a real risk of significant harm to you, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities as the law requires.

​

Your rights and choices

Under British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you, learn how we have used it, and know who we have shared it with

• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete

• Withdraw consent to our collection, use or disclosure of your information, subject to legal or contractual limits. We will explain the consequences of withdrawing, for example that we can no longer process a monthly donation

• Unsubscribe from our emails at any time

• Ask questions or complain about how we handle your information

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer using the details at the end of this policy. We will respond within 30 business days, as PIPA requires, and we may need to verify your identity before releasing information. We do not charge for access requests from individuals unless the request is unusually large, and we will tell you in advance if a fee would apply.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia at info@oipc.bc.ca or 250-387-5629.

​

Children

Our website is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 19 without a parent or guardian's consent. Some of our programs, such as the Buck Suzuki Legacy Bursary, may involve applicants under 19; in those cases we ask for parent or guardian consent as part of the application. If you believe a child has given us personal information without that consent, contact us and we will delete it.

​

Changes to this policy

We review this policy from time to time and update it when our practices or the law change. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. Significant changes will be noted on this page, and where appropriate we will let members and donors know by email.

​

Contact us

Questions, access requests and complaints about privacy go to our Executive Director:

 

T. Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation
PO Box 55, Prince Rupert, BC V8J 3P4
Email: tbsef@bucksuzuki.org