What's New

Please visit this page regularly for future announcements regarding new content added to this site and other news about Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

July 6, 2009

FOIP News Issue No. 26 is now available! FOIP News is an electronic newsletter that highlights news relating to Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This issue includes information about the 2009 edition of the FOIP Guidelines and Practices, and revised FOIP Bulletins.  It also includes a summary of recent OIPC Orders and Investigation Reports, and much more.

June 17, 2009

The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency Ltd. has been designated as a public body subject to the FOIP Act effective June 15, 2009 (A.R. 164/2009).

June 10, 2009

The 2009 edition of FOIP Guidelines and Practices is now available from the Alberta Queen's Printer. This edition distills a substantial body of rulings by the Information and Privacy Commissioner into a comprehensive, easy-to-use reference tool. This single volume combines section-by-section analysis with practical guidance on administering an access and privacy program within a public body. It includes clear and concise explanations of the way the Commissioner has interpreted the Act in Orders and Investigation Reports.

The new edition of FOIP Guidelines and Practices will be indispensable to all FOIP offices. It incorporates all the recent amendments (including those in the FOIP Amendment Act, 2006), the most significant decisions of the Commissioner, and new treatments of a number of topics, such as

• criteria for excusing fees in the public interest
• exercise of rights by guardians
• disclosure not contrary to the public interest

Also covered are legislative changes, including

• records relating to audits by the new office of the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta
• ministerial briefing books
• disclosure of personal information to a foreign court or tribunal

Copies of FOIP Guidelines and Practices can be purchased online from the Alberta Queen's Printer or by using the order form.

The full text of the manual is also available in the Guidelines and Practices section of this website.

April 8, 2009

The FOIP Act on this website has been updated to reflect the amendments made by the Health Governance Transition Act, S.A. 2008, c. H-4.3, which came into force on April 1, 2009 (Order in Council 146/2009). The amendments repeal the provisions relating to the Alberta Cancer Board in the definition of "health care body."

April 7, 2009

Revised FOIP Bulletins, in PDF format, are now available on the Publications A-Z page.

The majority of the Bulletins, with only a few exceptions, have been revised to incorporate decisions of the Information and Privacy Commissioner up until December 31, 2008 and to reflect changes to section numbers resulting from the 2008 FOIP Regulation. As well, more definitions, examples and practical suggestions have been added to make the Bulletins more useful and most have been given a brand new look.

Substantive additions were made to several Bulletins, including Paramountcy, Third Party Notice and Fee Waivers. Other Bulletins have undergone minimal or no changes, including three that have retained their last date of publication (Disclosure of Personal Information to Unions; FOIP Amendment Act, 2006; and Ministerial Expense Claims). The Bulletin on the FOIP Amendment Act, 2003 has been archived.

It is highly recommended that FOIP Coordinators and other FOIP practitioners download the revised Bulletins. HTML versions of the Bulletins will be published at a future date.

March 18, 2009

Three new entities have been designated as public bodies subject to the FOIP Act: Alberta Enterprise Corporation, Alberta Post-secondary Application System Society and Travel Alberta (A.R. 56/2009). The designation for Alberta Enterprise Corporation and Alberta Post-secondary Application System Society came into force on March 12, 2009, whereas the designation for Travel Alberta comes into force on April 1, 2009.

February 19, 2009

The Access and Privacy 2009 conference will be held June 10 -12, 2009 at the Edmonton Marriott River Cree Resort. The conference program will feature interactive workshops, insightful keynote and plenary speakers and breakout sessions on a number of different topics. For more information, visit the conference website. Early bird pricing will be available until March 30, 2009.

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