Privacy Policy

At AOP we are committed to maintaining the accuracy, confidentiality and security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes the personal information that AOP collects from or about you, and how we use and to whom we disclose that information.

AOP has adopted a series of Privacy Policies in order to address the specific privacy concerns of certain groupings of individuals and specific issues relating to the use of our website. This Privacy Policy applies to the personal information of all individuals, unless the personal information:

  • is related to a potential, current or former employee of AOP . Employee personal information is dealt with in the AOP "Employee Privacy Policy"; or
  • is collected, ussed or disclosed while using the AOP website. This personal information is dealt with in the AOP "Website Privacy Policy".If you are unsure of which Privacy Policy applies to you, please contact the office of our Privacy Officer for more information.

Organizations Covered by this Policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to and governs the activities of the AOP Group. All references in this Privacy Policy to "AOP ", "we", "us", "our" and like terms should be interpreted accordingly.

It is AOP 's policy to comply with the privacy legislation within each jurisdiction in which we operate. Sometimes the privacy legislation and / or an individual's right to privacy are different from one jurisdiction to another. This Privacy Policy covers only those activities that are subject to the provisions of US privacy laws, as applicable.

This Privacy Policy has a limited scope and application and the rights and obligations contained in this Privacy Policy may not be available to all individuals or in all jurisdictions. If you are unsure if or how this Privacy Policy applies to you, please contact the office of our Privacy Officer for more information.

What is Personal Information?
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is any information about an identifiable individual, other than the person's business title or business contact information when used or disclosed for the purpose of business communications. Personal information does not include anonymous or non-personal information (i.e., information that cannot be associated with or tracked back to a specific individual).

What Personal Information do we Collect?

We collect and maintain different types of personal information in respect of individuals with whom we interact. This includes:

  • contact and identification information, such as your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address;
  • product and service related information concerning the products and services that we provide to, or receive from, you, including with respect to the service, maintenance and repair of such products;
  • credit and financial information such as your payment methods and preferences, and billing and credit history;
  • business relationship information, including information related to your agreements, preferences, advisors and decision-makers; and
  • customer relationship information such as customer service requests and feed-back and information requested or provided by or from you.

We may also collect market-related information, which may include personal information, concerning market trends and activities impacting our business. This information may include contract terms, financial information and other information for the purpose of market analysis and strategic planning. We may also collect information related to our media, investor and public relations activities and information related to our interactions with financial and other analysts and advisors.

In the course of conducting its business, AOP may monitor the activities of individuals in respect of its operations and its property. For example, some AOP locations are equipped with surveillance cameras. These cameras are generally in high risk areas or plant sites. Where in use, surveillance cameras are there for the protection of employees and third parties, and to protect against theft, vandalism and damage to AOP goods and property. Generally, video tapes recording images are routinely destroyed and not shared with third parties unless there is suspicion of a crime, in which case they may be turned over to the police or other appropriate government agency or authority.

As a general rule, AOP collects personal information directly from you. In most circumstances where the personal information that we collect about you is held by a third party, we will obtain your permission before we seek out this information from such sources (such permission may be given directly by you, or implied from your actions). The third parties that we may collect information from include credit reporting agencies (for the purpose of conducting a credit check where you wish to obtain credit from us).

From time to time, we may utilize the services of third parties (including other members of the AOP Group) in our business and may also receive personal information collected by those third parties in the course of the performance of their services for us or otherwise. Where this is the case, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that such third parties have represented to us that they have the right to disclose your personal information to us.

Where permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, we may collect information about you without your knowledge or consent.

Why Do We Collect Personal Information?

AOP collects personal information to enable us to manage and develop our business and operations, including:

  • to establish, maintain and manage relations with you so that we may provide you with, or receive from you, the products and services that have been requested (for example, we will use your personal information to establish your identity and location so that we may accurately deliver and bill for the products and services that you request);
  • to be able to review the products and services that we provide to you so that we may understand your requirements for our products and services and so that we may work to improve our products and services;
  • to be able to review the products and services that we obtain from you so that we may work with you and so that you may understand our requirements for such products and services and work to improve the products and services that you provide to us;
  • to be able to inform you of our products and services other than those that you have specifically requested, including sending you information promoting our other products and services;
  • to be able to inform you of products and services that other members of the AOP Group or third parties that we have carefully selected as partners may wish to offer you, including sending you information promoting the products and services of those members or partners;
  • to be able to comply with your requests (for example, if you prefer to be contacted at a business or residential telephone number and advise us of your preference, we will use this information to contact you at that number);
  • to protect us against error, fraud, theft and damage to our goods and property;
  • to enable us to undertake our environmental, health and safety activities, including incident planning, response and investigation;
  • to enable us to comply with applicable law or regulatory requirements (for example, we may collect personal information to satisfy the obligations imposed on us by various regulatory boards or agencies to follow procedures mandated by such boards or agencies in respect of the provision of our products and services); and
  • any other reasonable purpose to which you consent.

How do we Use Your Personal Information?

We use your personal information:

  • for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy; or
  • for any additional purposes for which we have obtained your consent to the use or disclosure of your personal information (which consent may be express, deemed or implied, as explained below).

We may use your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements to do so.

When do we Disclose Your Personal Information?

We share your personal information with our employees, contractors, consultants and other parties (including other members of the AOP Group) who require such information to assist us with establishing, maintaining and managing our business relationship with you, including: third parties that provide services to us or on our behalf; third parties that collaborate with AOP in the provision of services to you; and, third parties whose services we use to perform our services.

Further, your personal information may be disclosed:

  • as permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements. In such a case, we will endeavor to not disclose more personal information than is required under the circumstances;
  • to comply with valid legal processes such as search warrants, subpoenas or court orders;
  • as part of AOP 's regular reporting activities to other members of the AOP Group and to other AOP affiliates outside USA;
  • to protect the rights and property of AOP ;
  • during emergency situations or where necessary to protect the safety of a person or group of persons;
  • where the personal information is public; or
  • with your consent.

In addition, personal information may be disclosed or transferred to another party (including to another member of the AOP Group or an affiliate of AOP outside of USA) in the event of a change in ownership of, or a grant of a security interest in, all or a part of AOP through, for an example, an asset or share sale, or some other form of business combination, merger or joint venture, provided that such party is bound by appropriate agreements or obligations and required to use or disclose your personal information in a manner consistent with the use and disclosure provisions of this Privacy Policy, unless you consent otherwise.

Your Consent is Important to Us

It is important to us that where we collect, use or disclose your personal information we have your consent to do so. Depending on the sensitivity of the personal information, your consent may be implied, deemed (using an opt-out mechanism) or express. Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing. Implied consent is consent that can reasonably be inferred from your action or inaction. For example, when you accept our products or services, we will assume your consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for purposes related to your acceptance and use of those products or services, or for other purposes identified to you at the relevant time.

Typically, we will seek your consent at the time that we collect the personal information. In certain circumstances, your consent may be obtained after collection but prior to our use or disclosure of your personal information. If we plan to use or disclose your personal information for a purpose not previously identified (either in this Privacy Policy or separately), we will endeavor to advise you of that purpose before such use or disclosure.

As we have described above, we may collect, use or disclose your personal information without your knowledge or consent where we are permitted or required to do so by applicable law or regulatory requirements.

Choice/Opt-Out

You may change or withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting the office of our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below. In some circumstances, a change in or withdrawal of consent may severely limit our ability to provide products or services to, or acquire products or services from, you. All communications with respect to such withdrawal or variation of consent should be in writing and addressed to our Privacy Officer.

We assume that, unless you advise us otherwise, by receiving or reviewing this Privacy Policy or by continuing to deal with us, you have consented to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.

How is Your Personal Information Protected?

AOP endeavors to maintain physical, technical and procedural safeguards that are appropriate to the sensitivity of the personal information in question. These safeguards are designed to prevent your personal information from loss and unauthorized access, copying, use, modification or disclosure.

How Long is Your Personal Information Retained?

Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulatory requirements, AOP endeavors to retain your personal information only for as long as it believes is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the personal information was collected (including, for the purpose of meeting any legal, accounting or other reporting requirements or obligations). We may, instead of destroying or erasing your personal information, make it anonymous such that it cannot be associated with or tracked back to you.

Updating Your Personal Information

Since we use your personal information to provide products and services to you, or to obtain products and services from you, it is important that the information contained in our records is both accurate and current. If your personal information happens to change during the course of our relationship, please keep us informed of such changes.

In some circumstances we may not agree with your request to change your personal information and will instead append an alternative text to the record in question.

Access to Your Personal Information

You can ask to see the personal information that we hold about you. If you want to review, verify or correct your personal information, please contact the office of our Privacy Officer using the contact information set out below. Please note that any such communication must be in writing.

When requesting access to your personal information, please note that we may request specific information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information that we hold about you. We may charge you a fee to access your personal information; however, we will advise you of any fee in advance. If you require assistance in preparing your request, please contact the office of our Privacy Officer.

Your right to access the personal information that we hold about you is not absolute. There are instances where applicable law or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide some or all of the personal information that we hold about you. In addition, the personal information may have been destroyed, erased or made anonymous in accordance with our record retention obligations and practices.

In the event that we cannot provide you with access to your personal information, we will endeavour to inform you of the reasons why, subject to any legal or regulatory restrictions.

Revisions to this Privacy Policy

AOP  may from time to time make changes to this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in its legal or regulatory obligations or in the manner in which we deal with your personal information.  We will post any revised version of this Privacy Policy on our website http://www.aopww.com/ and we encourage you to refer back to it on a regular basis.  Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective from the time they are posted, provided that any change that relates to why we collect, use or disclose your personal information will not apply to you unless you consent to such change.  This Privacy Policy was last updated on November 24, 2008.  

Interpretation of this Privacy Policy

Any interpretation associated with this Privacy Policy will be made by the Privacy Officer.  This Privacy Policy includes examples but is not intended to be restricted in its application to such examples, therefore where the word 'including' is used, it shall mean 'including without limitation'.

This Privacy Policy does not create or confer upon any individual any rights, or impose upon AOP  any rights or obligations outside of, or in addition to, any rights or obligations imposed by USA federal privacy laws, as applicable.  Should there be, in a specific case, any inconsistency between this Privacy Policy and USA privacy laws, as applicable, this Privacy Policy shall be interpreted, in respect of that case, to give effect to, and comply with, such privacy laws.

Legal Notice

AOP  may revise and update this Legal Notice at anytime and without notice. You are cautioned to review the Legal Notice posted at this web site periodically. Your continued usage of the web site will constitute a deemed acceptance of those changes.
 
IMPORTANT

Material contained in the AOP  web-site is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute an offering of securities in any jurisdiction. Information disclosed under the corporate and securities laws of those Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions applicable to AOP  is not intended to be in any way qualified, amended, modified or supplemented by the information available in, through or on this web-site. Due to the technical and security risks inherent on the Internet, and because the document you access may differ from the original depending on your browser software, the information set out in this web-site should not be used for the purpose of making investment decisions with respect to AOP  securities. If you are contemplating trading in AOP 's securities, you should contact Investor Relations to obtain printed copies of the documents you wish to review.
 
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

AOP  maintains this web-site for information purposes only as a service to its customers and the Internet community. AOP  will use reasonable efforts to include accurate, relevant and up to date at the time it is posted. AOP  does not warrant or make any representations or claims as to the accuracy, adequacy completeness and currency or otherwise of the information (including any software algorithms, text, hyperlinks or graphics) provided at this site including warranties of merchantability, non-infringement of intellectual property rights, third party rights, title, latent defects, uninterrupted service, fitness for any particular purpose or freedom from computer viruses.
 
In no event shall AOP  be liable or responsible for any claim, losses or damage, whether direct, special, indirect, moral or consequential, loss of profits or opportunities or legal expenses arising out of the interpretation, reliance upon or other use, authorized or unauthorized, of such information, even if AOP  is advised of the possibility of such damages, losses or expenses. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties so the above exclusion may not apply to you. Information may be changed or updated without notice.
 
All monetary amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
 
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain information contained on this web site is forward-looking information and relates to, among other things, targeted cost savings, anticipated financial performance, business prospects and strategies. For further information on additional risks and uncertainties, you are advised to consult AOP 's Annual Information Form under the heading "Forward-Looking Information".
 
LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEB-SITES

AOP  does not control any third-party web-site and is therefore not responsible for the accuracy of the content of any linked web-site or any link contained in a linked web-site. AOP  provides such links only as a convenience and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, investigation or verification by AOP  of the linked web-site or information contained therein.  Use of such third party web-site will be solely at your risk.   AOP  will not be liable to you for any claims, losses or damages suffered resulting from or arising out of the interpretation, reliance upon or other use, authorized or unauthorized, of such web-site or information.
 
COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARKS

All material found in the pages of this Web-site is protected under the copyright laws of USA and other countries. Certain names, words, titles, phrases, logos, icons, graphics or designs in the pages of this Web-site may constitute trade names, trademarks or service marks of AOP  or its subsidiaries, or the use of which may have been licensed to them. The display of trademarks, tradenames or service marks on pages at this Web-site does not imply that a license of any kind has been granted to anyone else. Any unauthorized downloading, retransmission, republication or other copying or modification of material posted on this Web-site, including trademarks, trade names and service marks, may violate federal, common or civil law trademark law and copyright law, and may result in legal action.
 
INTERNET E-MAIL

Visitors to AOP's web-site are, however reminded that the Internet is not yet a fully secure medium and therefore confidentiality and privacy cannot be ensured. AOP  will not be liable for any damages resulting from the transmission of confidential or personal information.
 
GOVERNING LAW

AOP  controls this site from USA. You agree that the courts and the laws of USA shall apply for the resolution of any disputes relating to this site.