What's New

The Applicant made an access to information request under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) to the City of Calgary (the Public Body) on November 6, 2025. By January 9, 2026, the Public Body had not responded to the request and the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body failed to comply with the timelines in section 13(1). As the Public Body had responded to the Applicant during the inquiry process, the Adjudicator did not order anything further. Read More...

An Applicant made a request to Alberta Executive Council (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) for all records related to communications referencing both a named employee and “freedom of information.” The Public Body responded to the Applicant, stating that it located 1760 pages of responsive records. The Public Body provided some records to the Applicant, withholding information under sections 4(1)(d) and (q) (records to which this Act applies), 6(4)(b) (information rights), 17(1) (disclosure harmful to personal privacy), 24(1)(a) and (g) (advice from officials), 27(1) (privileged information) and 29(1) (information that is… Read More...

Monarch Child & Family Therapy (the “Organization”) requested authorization under section 37(b) of PIPA to disregard an Applicant’s access request. The Commissioner found the access request was vexatious and granted the Organization authorization under section 37(b) of PIPA to disregard the Request. Read More...

Requirement for privacy management programs in effect next June. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed new resources to help public bodies comply with the requirement to establish and implement a privacy management program (PMP) under Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation. The new resources outline the privacy management program requirements for public bodies under POPA and its regulation and build on earlier best-practice guidance from privacy commissioners in Alberta, British Columbia, and Canada. “By following the approach described in these resources, public bodies will be better prepared… Read More...

Introduction In a world that increasingly depends on technology and personal information, organizational accountability is essential for maintaining public trust. This guidance explains what it means for a public body to be accountable today and how to establish a Privacy Management Program (PMP) to support that responsibility. It outlines the requirements for public bodies under Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation (M-Reg) and builds on earlier best-practice guidance from privacy commissioners in Alberta, British Columbia, and Canada in Getting Accountability Right with a Privacy Management Program. By following the approach described in… Read More...

Introduction Purpose of this guidance Public bodies[1] in Alberta are required to comply with the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and its associated regulations the Protection of Privacy (Ministerial) Regulation (M-Regulation) and the Protection of Privacy Regulation (Regulation). POPA governs the collection, use, disclosure and management of personal information[2] in the custody or control of public bodies. They are also required to provide access to individuals who request access to their own personal information… Read More...

An individual (the Applicant) made an access request to the Workers’ Compensation Board (the Public Body) under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for certain information. The Public Body provided the Applicant with a fee estimate of $4198.50. The Applicant requested a full fee waiver based on fairness and public interest grounds under sections 96(5)(a) and (b) of ATIA. The Public Body denied the fee waiver request. The Applicant asked the Commissioner to review the Public Body’s calculation of fees and its refusal to waive the fees. Following the review, the Applicant requested an inquiry. The Adjudicator found that the… Read More...

An individual (the Applicant) made an access request to the Workers’ Compensation Board (the Public Body) under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) for certain information. The Public Body provided the Applicant with a fee estimate of $162, which was for the time estimated to search for responsive records. The Applicant requested a full fee waiver based on fairness and public interest grounds under sections 96(5)(a) and (b) of ATIA. The Public Body denied the fee waiver request. The Applicant asked the Commissioner to review the Public Body’s calculation of fees and its refusal of the fee waiver request. Following… Read More...

The City of Calgary (the Public Body) made decisions to extend the timelines for responding to the Applicant’s access request by a total of 90 business days under sections 16(1)(b) and 16(2) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA).  The Adjudicator confirmed the first extension taken under section 16(1)(b) but reduced the extension of time taken under section 16(2) for the Public Body to respond to the access request. Read More...

Alberta Health Services Provincial Health Corporation (the Public Body) made a decision to extend the timeline for responding to the Applicant’s access request by 30 business days under section 16(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA).  The Adjudicator confirmed that the extension of the time limit complied with ATIA. Read More...

The Applicant made an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act) to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body). The Applicant stated: We would like to request access to the investigative materials related to CPS File No. CA16606537 incident involving [the Third Party] and its ensuing PSS investigations numbered #16-1313 and #16-1391, including relevant video recordings and photographs The Public Body responded to the access request on June 12, 2020. It stated: I collected 1700 pages of records, 3 in car digital video recordings, audio / visual interviews of various members who… Read More...

An Applicant made an access request to the City of Calgary (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act), on April 16, 2025. The Public Body agreed to process the request as a “continuing request” under section 9 of the FOIP Act, and provided the Applicant with a schedule for processing the continuing request. On February 6, 2026, the Applicant confirmed that they had not received the third scheduled response, and requested a review by this of office of the Public Body’s failure to respond. The Adjudicator ordered the Public Body to respond… Read More...

An Applicant made an access request to the City of Calgary (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act), on April 16, 2025. The Public Body agreed to process the request as a “continuing request” under section 9 of the FOIP Act, and provided the Applicant with a schedule for processing the continuing request. On February 6, 2026, the Applicant confirmed that they have not received the second scheduled response, and requested a review by this of office of the Public Body’s failure to respond to the access request. The Adjudicator ordered the… Read More...

The Applicant made an access to information request for their personal information under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body) dated August 20, 2025. By November 26, 2025, the Public Body had not responded to the request and the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body failed to comply with the timelines in section 13(1). The Adjudicator ordered the Public Body to respond to the access request as required by ATIA. Read More...

On October 2, 2025, the Applicant made an access request to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body), under the Access to Information Act (ATIA). On November 25, 2025, the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond to the request. The Public Body conceded that it failed to comply with timelines under ATIA. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body did not respond to the Applicant and ordered it to respond to the request as required by ATIA. Read More...

New resources will also be a useful reference for other jurisdictions. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has launched a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Template and a PIA Completion Guide that align with the current requirements of the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and its regulations, which came into effect in 2025. The completion of PIAs by public bodies is mandatory under POPA in certain circumstances. Some of these PIAs must be submitted to the Commissioner for review and comment. The purpose of a review by the OIPC is to assess whether the public body… Read More...

OIPC Launches POPA PIA Template and POPA PIA Guide for use by public bodies. Since the enactment of the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA), the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) has developed a new Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) Template (POPA PIA Template) and a POPA PIA Completion Guide (POPA PIA Guide) that align with the current requirements of POPA and its regulations. The completion of PIAs by public bodies is mandatory under POPA in certain circumstances. Some of these PIAs must be submitted to the Commissioner for review and comment. The POPA PIA Template and POPA PIA… Read More...

Results show improvements in some areas along with new concerns. The results of the latest Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) sweep highlight how child-friendly practices can protect children’s privacy online. Along with emerging concerns, the sweep identifies improvements in some regards. The global sweep included 27 data protection and privacy authorities from around the world, including the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta. The sweep examined almost 900 websites and apps that are used by children. While some are designed for children’s use, others are used by the general population but are popular with children. “Children’s… Read More...

The Edmonton Police Service (the Public Body) made a decision to extend the timelines for responding to the Applicant’s access request by a total of 90 business days under sections 16(1)(b) and 16(2) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA).  The Adjudicator confirmed that the extension of the time limit complied with ATIA. Read More...

The Applicant made a request for access under the Access to Information Act (ATIA) to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body).  The Applicant requested information regarding any accesses made in relation to the Applicant’s personal information in access logs, including “entity audit reports” and “universal query administration audit logs” as well as any information regarding the purpose of any such accesses. The Public Body did not respond to the access request. The Applicant requested review of the Public Body’s failure to respond to the access request. At the inquiry, the Public Body argued that ATIA did not apply to… Read More...