Frank Work, Q.C., Information and Privacy Commissioner, publicly releases an Investigation Report finding that the City of Calgary did not violate Part 2 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act when it released information contained on a building permit granted to the complainant.
The City of Calgary sells lists of recently issued building permits. Among other information, building permits contain the name of the person or business applying for the permit (known as the applicant) and the construction site address. If the applicant is an individual this is considered personal information. The Investigation Officer found that the FOIP Act allows for the disclosure of personal information on building permits if the release is limited to the name of the applicant and the nature of the permit. The nature of the permit includes the construction site address.