Privacy Notice
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (“FSRA,” “we,” “our”) is an agency of the government of Ontario and we are accountable for the personal information within our custody or under our control as governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of Ontario (FIPPA).
FSRA respects the privacy and confidentiality of our regulated sectors and members of the public whose information we handle.
Collection of Personal Information
FSRA is authorized to collect personal information under FIPPA, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario Act 2016 and the various statutes administered by FSRA.
We typically collect personal information directly from you, unless it is necessary to collect it in another manner authorized by law. We collect personal information such as:
- information that you provide to us, such as via our electronic forms, paper forms, or online portals. For example, your name, personal contact information such as home address, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.;
- information disclosed to FSRA by other parties as permitted by law and required by us;
- preferences such as how users use the website(s) and what users would like to see on the websites; and
- other information that we collect with your consent or as permitted or required by law
that is reasonable and necessary to conduct our regulatory operations, including to provide you with information, a program, or service.
FSRA will obtain your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information where not authorized by law for the applicable purposes and uses described in this Privacy Notice, or other notice provided at the time of collection.
You may withdraw your consent to our collection, use and disclosure of personal information at any time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting us. Note, however, that if you withdraw your consent, we may no longer be able to provide certain information, programs, or services to you. Withdrawal of consent does not apply in situations where consent is not required to collect, use, or disclose personal information. In some cases, withdrawing consent may not be feasible, for example, when data has been anonymized and used in a published output.
If you choose not to use FSRA’s website to provide information to FSRA, you can contact us by telephone, mail or in person. (Note: not all options may be available in every situation).
Use of Personal Information
We use personal information for the purposes for which it has been collected and consistent purposes unless another use is specifically authorized by law. For example:
- to process and respond to your request, inquiry, or complaint;
- to send you newsletters and other electronic communications that you have subscribed to;
- for identity verification. For example, to provide information about your FSRA license;
- for our regulatory activities such as licensing, investigation of fraud or other contraventions of laws, regulations, or rules;
- for recruitment and employment related purposes;
- to conduct surveys or research;
- to create a de-identified or anonymized record or dataset for purposes such as privacy protection and compliance, data analysis, or data sharing; and
- otherwise with your consent or as permitted or required by law.
Disclosure of Personal Information
We disclose personal information where there is legal authority to do so. For example:
- to enforce or apply our Terms of Use and other agreements;
- as necessary to meet legal, regulatory, insurance, audit, processing, and security requirements; and
- otherwise with your consent or as permitted or required by law.
Retention and Disposal of Personal Information
FSRA is committed to protecting individuals' privacy by ensuring that personal information is retained only for as long as necessary and securely disposed of in accordance with records retention schedules and applicable law.
Service Providers and Location of Data
Personal information may be handled and stored in locations other than Ontario, such as in other provinces or countries.
FSRA permits access to or transfers of personal information to third parties that provide services to us, or to you on our behalf, such as data processing, mailing, administrative, website analytics, or other services. We take reasonable measures to ensure that personal information processed by these service providers is protected and used / disclosed as directed by us.
Some of our service providers may be located in foreign jurisdictions and will be subject to the laws of those jurisdictions, which may permit foreign government and national security authorities access to your personal information in certain circumstances.
Security
We protect personal information in our custody or under our control using physical, technological, and administrative security measures, which may include safeguards to protect against loss or theft, as well as safeguards against unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.
Our Website
FSRA may collect certain browsing information to evaluate our websites and determine how they are used. For example, we may collect your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, operating system, domain name, access times, pages viewed, and referring website addresses. The information may be combined with that of other visitors to the websites and used to manage and enhance the website. For example, we may use such information for website use statistics and to assess the most visited sections of the website.
In addition, some external services have been integrated to FSRA’s website such as DoubleClick and AddToAny. These external services rely on cookies.
Use of Cookies
Where your browser’s cookie settings permit us, we are storing cookies on your device to, for example, enhance site navigation and analyze site usage.
When you visit our websites, we collect a limited amount of statistical information which does not personally identify you. We may use both session and persistent cookies which are small files that are created by a web site, sent to your browser, and stored on the hard drive of your computer. A session cookie expires after you leave the website whereas a persistent cookie remains until it expires.
Cookies are used to create a better user experience; for example, they can remember your web viewing preferences such as choice of language or accessibility options. They can also assist us in monitoring traffic patterns so that website content and design can be improved for visitors.
Cookies do not personally identify you. However, they can be disabled using your web browser’s preferences where you choose to visit our website without them.
Analytics
To serve you better, we use web analytics services including Google Analytics and Webtrends to help analyze the use of our website. These tools use cookies to collect and generate information about your visits to our sites (including your IP address) that is transmitted to their servers in an anonymous form for processing. We study patterns of website activity so we can improve our website visitor experience.
No personally identifiable information is collected by FSRA or our analytics services with these tools.
You can opt-out of analytics activity by setting your browser to notify you when a cookie is sent and block analytics cookies if desired. Please consult your browser’s Help Menu for instructions. Visiting our website with analytics cookies disabled will have no significant impact on your browsing experience.
External Sites and Embedded Content
Some sections of our website provide links to other sites or include content that is created and maintained by other organizations for your information. Please note that the privacy practices of these organizations may be different from FSRA’s. Therefore, you should refer to the privacy policy or statement provided by those organizations on their respective websites.
Accessing and correcting your personal information
You have a right under FIPPA to request an update and/or corrections to your own personal information in FSRA’s custody or under FSRA’s control. This can be done through our online service portal. Requests can also be made via mail to the:
Privacy Lead
Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario
25 Sheppard Avenue West, Suite 100
Toronto, ON
M2N 6S6
Individuals also have a right to access their personal information in FSRA’s custody or under FSRA’s control by making an access request under FIPPA. However, certain exemptions from disclosure may apply.
For more information on the process for access, correction, or deletion, you may wish to view the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario’s (IPC) website: Requesting personal information.
You can check what types of personal information may be held by us by searching FSRA’s Directory of Records and Personal Information Banks.
Contact Us
- To make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to FSRA – please see our FOI page.
- To make a privacy inquiry, comment, or to withdraw consent to FSRA directly, please contact FSRA’s Privacy Lead via email: [email protected] or telephone: 416-590-2021.
- To make a privacy complaint or concern to the IPC, visit the IPC’s Contact Us page and access their resources for individuals’.
- For all other types of inquiries, visit our Contact Us page.