Investor Information Collection
We regulate securities trading in B.C. People and companies in B.C.'s capital markets give us information, including personal information about their investors, to meet their legal requirements.
We also operate voluntary programs and services designed to benefit you, such as investor education. We collect your personal information to provide you with these services and to maintain contact with you.
Our investigators may obtain an order under the Securities Act that permits them to collect a variety of personal information. This may include information about your trading, investments, finances, loans, and relationships. You must comply with these requests for information and there are penalties for failing to cooperate with an investigation. Legal counsel may represent you to protect your interests.
We collect your personal information for purposes authorized by or under the Securities Act and other legislation, for law enforcement, and to operate and administer our programs and services.
We will not disclose your information to other organizations without your knowledge and consent, except where we have the legal authority or obligation to do so.
We must make hearing exhibits publicly available, but we do not publish them on our website. Keeping your personal information safe from serious misuse, such as identity theft, generally overrides the principle of public disclosure.
We may share your information with other law enforcement agencies, government agencies, and financial regulators, without your knowledge or consent, under the authority of the Securities Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. These agencies are generally subject to similar requirements to safeguard your information.
We will release information to comply with a court order.
People may request your personal information under Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. We will not release your personal information without your written consent if doing so would represent an unreasonable invasion of your personal privacy. We act in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and decisions of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC.
We maintain and dispose of our records according to requirements in the Information Management Act. We have information schedules that manage the lifecycle of our records. We send records with enduring value to the BC Archives for permanent retention. We securely destroy documents to ensure obliteration.
When you provide your information to us to access voluntary programs and services, we will respect your wishes regarding the collection, use, and release of your information. You may withdraw your consent at any time and we will remove your information from our systems. Refusing to provide your information may limit your access to our services and programs. However, we often provide service through multiple channels, including online and personal contact. Some methods require you to provide little or no personal information.