What's New

What's New

Important Notice: Do you have questions on the AH, ADSC or Quikcard Breach?

If you have received a notice of a privacy breach of your personal or health information from Alberta Health, Alberta Dental Services Corporation or Quikcard, and you are seeking information about the breach, please contact Alberta Health or Alberta Dental Services Corporation directly  at 1-833-545-2197, Monday - Friday from 6:00am to 6:00pm  with weekend coverage of 7:00am to 3:00pm or call  1-800-232-1997 Monday to Friday between 8am to 5pm.  You may also visit https://www.quikcard.com/cyberincident/ or https://www.adsc.org/cyberincident/  for more information.  Our office is unable to provide you with this information.

If you are seeking information on how to file a privacy complaint or about your privacy rights, please click here.

The most recent website posts:

  • P2024-07
    October 3, 2024
    The Complainant was an elected member of the Council of University of Alberta Student’s Union (the Organization) in 2004. In November of 2020, the Complainant learned that documents containing his personal information about an incident in 2004 relating to his role as an elected member were publicly accessible on the Organization’s website. The Complainant contacted the Organization in November of 2020 and requested that the information be removed from the website. The Organization did not respond to his request. The Complainant submitted a complaint to the Commissioner on November 16, 2020 that the Complainant’s personal information was being disclosed contrary… Read More...
  • F2024-30
    October 3, 2024
    The Applicant made an access request dated February 22, 2024 to the City of Edmonton (the Public Body). The Public Body did not respond to the Applicant as required by section 11 of the FOIP Act. The Adjudicator ordered the Public Body to respond to the Applicant. Read More...
  • F2024-29
    October 3, 2024
    On December 17, 2020, the Applicant made the following access request to Energy and Minerals (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act): ABHA [the Alberta Backcountry Hunters Association] requests all records relating to Alberta Energy’s assessment of the “policy gap risk” and to Alberta Energy’s “review of the coal categories,” as referenced in Alberta Energy’s March 20, 2020 Advice to Minister (AR35437). A copy of this Advice document is attached. The relevant portion is on page 2 of the Advice document, which states: Despite existing land use policies, there is a… Read More...
  • Privacy Impact Assessment Process Changes Now in Effect, as of October 1, 2024
    October 1, 2024
    In September, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta announced that changes were coming soon to the OIPC process for managing Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs). These changes are now in effect, as of October 1st. This affects custodians under the Health Information Act (HIA), public bodies under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) and private sector organizations under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Please read below for more information. You may also view our PIA Frequently Asked Questions page here. Background on Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) Privacy Impact Assessments (or… Read More...
  • Privacy Impact Assessments: Frequently-Asked Questions
    October 1, 2024
    A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is a process for identifying and addressing privacy risks associated with the implementation of an administrative practice or information system that collects, uses, discloses, stores or processes identifying personal or health information. Depending on the type of administrative practice or information system, completing a PIA may be challenging. This page addresses some of the most frequently asked questions that the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) has received about PIAs. The questions are set out in the categories of: General Virtual Care Netcare CII/CPAR PIA Amendments and Updates Information Management Agreements Opening Multiple… Read More...
  • F2024-RTD-06
    September 6, 2024
    The City of Medicine Hat (the Public Body) requested authorization under section 55(1) of the FOIP Act to disregard two specified access request made by an applicant.  The application was dismissed and the Public Body was required to respond to the two access requests in accordance with the FOIP Act. Read More...
  • F2024-RTD-05
    September 6, 2024
    The City of Medicine Hat (the Public Body) requested authorization under section 55(1) of the FOIP Act to disregard 5 specific access requests made by an applicant.  Two separate submissions were made by the Public Body, however, given the similarity of subject matter and reasoning, the Commissioner dealt with both the Public Body’s applications in one decision.  The applications were dismissed and the Public Body was required to respond to the 5 access requests in accordance with the FOIP Act. Read More...
  • F2024-RTD-04
    September 6, 2024
    Carewest (the Public Body) requested authorization under section 55(1) of the FOIP Act to disregard 3 specified access requests made by an applicant. The application was dismissed and the Public Body was required to respond to the 3 access requests in accordance with the FOIP Act. Read More...
  • F2024-28
    August 27, 2024
    On May 13, 2016, an individual (the Applicant) made an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act) to the City of Edmonton (the Public Body) for certain information. The Public Body located 75 pages of responsive records.  On June 9, 2016, the Public Body informed the Applicant that it was providing him with access to the records, but was withholding some information in the records under sections 17(1) (disclosure harmful to personal privacy), 24(1) (advice from officials), and 27 (privileged information) of the FOIP Act.  As well, it advised the Applicant that… Read More...
  • F2024-27
    August 27, 2024
    On February 17, 2022, Energy and Minerals (the Public Body, formerly Energy) received the Applicant’s request for access to:   All records that Alberta Energy withheld on "non-responsive" grounds, in EN000-2020-G-53 and, the parts of all records that Alberta Energy redacted on "non-responsive" grounds, in EN000-2020-G-53. These "non-responsive" items are marked on the attached "Applicant's Copy" in EN000-2020-G-53. By my count, the "non-responsive" pages that Alberta Energy withheld are pages 9, 19, and 22 of the Applicant's Copy; the "non-responsive" redactions are on pages 7, 8, 24, and 28 of that file. Timeframe: February 28, 2020 to June 11, 2020… Read More...
  • F2024-26
    August 27, 2024
    The Applicant requested personal information from the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body) on three occasions. The Public Body did not respond to the access requests. The Adjudicator directed the Public Body to respond to the Applicant. Read More...
  • F2024-25
    July 24, 2024
    An individual made an access request to Alberta Health Services (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) for “arbitration notes (Nov 24-28, 2014) between the Public Body, [Named Entity] and [the Applicant] with presiding Arbitrator [Named Individual].” The Applicant made two requests for the information. The first request was made to the arbitration counsel, an employee of the Public Body, directly, the arbitration counsel emailed a response stating that the records were subject to solicitor-client privilege and would be withheld. The response was never received by the Applicant due to an error… Read More...
  • F2024-24
    July 24, 2024
    An individual made an access request to Public Safety and Emergency Services (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act) for copies of the agendas and minutes of meetings, including all of the related notes, documents and attachments associated with these agendas and minutes, of the three most recent meetings of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP, or the Third Party). The Public Body located responsive records and determined that information in the records contained information the disclosure of which could affect the AACP. The Public Body informed the AACP of… Read More...
  • F2024-23
    July 19, 2024
    On August 16, 2023, the City of Edmonton received an access request made by the Applicant under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. On February 15, 2024, the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond to the request. The Adjudicator ordered the Public Body to respond to the request as required by the FOIP Act. Read More...
  • F2024-22
    July 19, 2024
    The Applicant made an access request dated September 12, 2023 to the City of Edmonton under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. On November 28, 2023, the Applicant requested a review of the Public Body’s failure to respond to the request. The Adjudicator ordered the Public Body to respond to the request as required by the FOIP Act. Read More...
  • P2024-06 & H2024-02
    July 19, 2024
    The Complainant filed two complaints regarding a transfer of his information from Dr. Derick Rautenbach (the Custodian) to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (the Organization). The transfer was made in the context of the Complainant’s disability claim with the Organization. The complaint against the Custodian was made under the Health Information Act (the HIA) regarding disclosure of his health information, while the complaint against the Organization was made under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) regarding collection and use of his personal information. The common circumstance between both complaints was whether the terms of an Authorization signed by the… Read More...
  • F2024-21
    July 15, 2024
    The Applicant made an access request to Justice (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act) for all records relating to a prosecution in which he was the accused. The Public Body conducted a search for responsive records and responded to the Applicant. In its response, the Public Body stated: We are pleased to provide access to 144 pages you requested; copies of which are enclosed. There were a total of 584 pages responsive to your request. Some of the records located contain information that is withheld from disclosure under the FOIP… Read More...
  • F2024-20
    July 15, 2024
    Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act), the Applicant made an access to information request to the City of St. Albert (the Public Body). The Applicant sought the results of soil testing conducted on his neighbour’s (the Owner’s) property. The testing was carried out by Advanced Environmental Engineering Ltd. (the Consultant). The Public Body withheld the entire testing report (the Assessment) under section 16(1) of the Act. The Public Body also withheld some information under section 17(1). At inquiry the Applicant clarified that he only wanted the results of the testing, not the whole report.… Read More...
  • F2024-19
    July 15, 2024
    On July 27, 2023, the City of Edmonton (the Public Body) received an access request from an individual (the Applicant) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act), for certain information. On February 9, 2024, Applicant requested a review by this Office, indicating that the time limit for responding to the access request under the FOIP Act had expired and the Public Body had not provided a response. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body did not respond to the Applicant within the time limit set out in the FOIP Act and ordered the Public… Read More...
  • Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner joins investigation into company that does background checks
    July 11, 2024
    The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta will work with two other privacy authorities in Canada on a joint investigation into Certn (Canada) Inc., a company that offers background check services, including tenant screening services to landlords. Certn is based in Victoria, British Columbia, and offers its services across Canada. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia launched a joint investigation into Certn in early June. Subsequently, the OIPC of Alberta made the decision to join the investigation, after confirming that there is evidence that Certn’s work includes the… Read More...