New PIPA Team Leader Announced

July 25, 2003

Frank Work, Information and Privacy Commissioner, is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Denham has been hired as team leader responsible for the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

Denham was hired in anticipation of the passage of PIPA this fall and has extensive experience with information and privacy issues in both the public and private sectors. The PIPA Team will be based out of Calgary, sharing an office with the provincial Auditor General. The immediate mandate of the PIPA Team will be to work with the private sector to achieve compliance with the legislation.

Currently, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Government of Alberta are working together on educational material for the private sector. This material is expected to be rolled out this fall.

Denham is expected to begin her role as PIPA team leader in September. Bill 44, the Personal Information Protection Act was introduced in the Alberta Legislature on May 14, 2003 and will govern the collection, use, and disclosure of employee and consumer information in the private sector.