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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 or CPS). He requested access to an audio recording of a call made to the non-emergency line, complaining about his taking photographs in the caller’s neighbourhood. The Public Body denied his request for the audio recording, but provided him with a Computer Aided Dispatch record, which summarized the call. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body properly denied access to the audio recording under section 17. 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 or CPS). He requested access to an audio recording of a call made to the non-emergency line, complaining about his taking photographs in the caller’s neighbourhood. The Public Body denied his request for the audio recording, but provided him with a Computer Aided Dispatch record, which summarized the call. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body properly denied access to the audio recording under section 17. Read More...

Transportation and Economic Corridors (the Public Body) made a decision to declare the Applicant’s access request abandoned under section 10 of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  The Adjudicator found that the Public Body did not properly declare the access request abandoned. Read More...

Transportation and Economic Corridors (the Public Body) made a decision to declare the Applicant’s access request abandoned under section 10 of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  The Adjudicator found that the Public Body did not properly declare the access request abandoned. Read More...

The Complainant made a complaint under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act) that Mount Royal University (the Public Body) contravened the FOIP Act when information about the end of the Complainant’s employment was shared in two emails. One email was sent by a dean to department chairs. The email was then forwarded by the chair of a department to other members of that department. The email stated: I am writing to inform you that [the Complainant’s status has changed]. We are working to ensure that [the Complainant’s] students this semester and next are supported.… Read More...

On behalf of a company (the Applicant), an individual representing the Applicant, made an access request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act) to Justice and Solicitor General (now Public Safety and Emergency Services) (the Public Body) for “. . . all records in the possession of the Director of Law Enforcement with respect to the SCAN unit members’ observations of any activities and any complaints of activities taking place on or near the property “. The Applicant’s representative made the access request after the Applicant received a letter from the Public Body informing… Read More...

Public Safety and Emergency Services (the Public Body) made a decision to declare the Applicant’s access request abandoned under section 10 of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  The Adjudicator found that the Public Body did not properly declare the access request abandoned. Read More...

The Edmonton Police Service (the Public Body) made a decision to disregard the Applicant’s access request under section 9(1)(a) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA).  During the inquiry, the Public Body stated it no longer relied on section 9(1)(a) but provided submissions supporting a disregard decision under section 9(1)(e).  The Commissioner determined that a review of a decision to disregard an access request under section 9 of ATIA must be based on the reasons provided to an applicant by a public body at the time the decision was made, and by failing to notify the Applicant that it had… Read More...

Forestry and Parks (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)(c) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  Subsequently, the Public Body notified the Applicant it had extended timelines under section 16(4) for the time necessary to comply with the requirements of section 36 of the Act.  The Adjudicator confirmed the extension taken under section 16(1)(c).  The Adjudicator also confirmed the extension taken under section 16(4), only for the related records. Read More...

The guidance will help Albertans protect their information and assist various entities that collect the information on the cards. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta is working to develop guidance due to changes that will soon come into effect for Alberta driver’s licences and identification (ID) cards. The Alberta government announced yesterday that starting on July 2, it will begin issuing driver’s licences and ID cards that will also incorporate personal health numbers and, when applicable, Canadian citizenship markers. “Our office has been in discussions with the government regarding this matter and has been aware… Read More...

The poll results align with the position held by the OIPC for decades. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Diane McLeod, is encouraged by the results of a recent online poll done in Alberta on behalf of the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (BC FIPA). The poll was conducted by Ipsos, a global market research and polling company. News releases issued by BC FIPA and Ipsos indicate that Albertans want enforceable privacy protections for voter information collected, used, shared, or retained by political parties, candidates, campaign organizations, and their agents. The poll shows substantial support for… Read More...

The Custodian of Radius Health and Healing (the “Custodian”) requested authorization under section 87(1) of the Health Information Act (HIA) to disregard an Applicant’s access request. The Commissioner found that because of its repetitious nature, the access request was an abuse of the right to make requests and granted the Custodian authorization under section 87(1)(a) of the HIA to disregard the Request. Read More...

The Applicant made an access request to the Edmonton Police Service (the Public Body) under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP Act). The request was for records about an incident that was reported in the media about a police officer parking a marked police vehicle in a parking spot designated for persons with disabilities. The Public Body responded to the request, informing the Applicant that it located responsive records relating to part of the request. Specifically, the Public Body stated that file PSB2015-0453 is responsive to the Applicant’s request. The Public Body withheld these records in… Read More...

Lac La Biche County (the Public Body) made a decision to extend the timelines for responding to the Applicant’s access request by 30 business days under section 16(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act (ATIA or the Act).  The Adjudicator confirmed the extension taken under section 16(1)(b). Read More...

Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the FOIP Act), the Applicant made an access to information request to the Calgary Police Service (the Public Body). The Public Body responded to the access request withholding information under section 17(1) of the FOIP Act and on the basis that it was non-responsive. The Applicant sought a review of the Public Body’s response to the access request, including whether it conducted a proper search for records. The Adjudicator found that the Public Body complied with the FOIP Act. Read More...

FAQs are in response to numerous emails and phone calls from concerned Albertans and contain information about Albertans’ privacy rights under PIPA and the role of the Commissioner The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed a Frequently Asked Questions document for Albertans concerned about the recent online publication of the List of Electors. On April 30, 2026, Elections Alberta informed the OIPC of the alleged breach of the List of Electors (LoE) by a third party. The LoE contains the personal information of millions of Albertans, including full names, addresses, postal codes, phone numbers,… Read More...

Following the incident involving the List of Electors (LoE) that was made public on April 30, 2026, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) began receiving calls from many Albertans raising concerns about their personal information being included in the LoE and what recourse they may have as a result of the alleged breach. To address these and other concerns, the OIPC has created this document to help Albertans learn about what they can do, who to direct their questions to, and more information about the role and powers of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. We ask… Read More...

The joint investigation examined whether OpenAI’s collection, use and disclosure of the personal information of individuals in Canada, in relation to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, complied with federal and provincial private sector privacy laws. The investigation examined the workings of certain versions or models of ChatGPT that were in use at the time the investigation began in 2023. These models were ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4. The investigation concluded that the initial development of ChatGPT was not compliant with provincial and federal privacy laws and identified a number of privacy issues that were present in the training and deployment of… Read More...

Investigation will be conducted under Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and will look into allegations against the Centurion Project Ltd. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta, Diane McLeod, has launched an investigation into allegations that the Centurion Project Ltd. has collected, used and disclosed personal information derived from the Alberta List of Electors, which, if true, may be in violation of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The Centurion Project was notified of the investigation on May 6, 2026. “Section 36(1)(a) of PIPA authorizes me to conduct an investigation on my own motion to ensure compliance with any provision… Read More...

A report was issued today summarizing a joint investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta, along with its counterparts in Quebec and British Columbia, as well as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). The investigation concluded that the initial development of ChatGPT was not compliant with provincial and federal privacy laws and identified a number of privacy issues that were present in the training and deployment of certain ChatGPT models. The report contains a number of recommendations and also notes that OpenAI has begun to take steps… Read More...