The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Maggie Shane

Alberta’s information access and protection of privacy (IAPP) legislation forms a body of laws that govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and regulate the information-handling activities of both private- and public sector organizations. Privacy imperatives are generally viewed as progressive measures encouraging openness and accountability. In practice, however, IAPP provisions often frustrate time-honoured practices, and can be seen as hindering the effective operation of an organization.

The following is the first in a series of occasional articles exploring Alberta’s IAPP laws in their larger context and providing resources for the further navigation of Alberta’s privacy landscape.

All IAPP legislation operating within Canadian jurisdictions is based on defined principles subscribed to by the federal government more than 25 years ago. On September 23, 1980, Canada adopted the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) principles governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. These principles were first enshrined in the federal Privacy Act and Access to Information Act of 1982:

1. Specific purpose (for collection and use)

2. Limited collection (to that data required to fulfill the stated purposes)

3. Data quality (accurate, complete and current)

4. Limited use (limited to purpose except where consented to or required by law)

5. Security safeguards (protect against unauthorized use or disclosure)

6. Openness (respecting policies, practices and scope of data held)

7. Individual participation (access and challenge)

8. Accountability

Beginning in 1995, these same principles formed the basis of Alberta’s IAPP legislation, including the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) in 1995, the Health Information Act (HIA) in 2001 and the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) in 2004.

In 1995, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) was created to act as the independent oversight body for the FOIP act. In the ensuing decade, the OIPC’s purview has grown to include monitoring and enforcing the HIA and PIPA. Today, the OIPC works in cooperation with government and private organizations conducting investigations, issuing orders and undertaking any activity related to monitoring and enforcing Alberta’s IAPP laws.

The OIPC website is an authoritative, comprehensive resource for the investigation of these acts, their regulations, commissioner’s orders and information guides. In addition, full-text viewing of FOIP, HIA and PIPA are available online (www.oipc.ab.ca).

As employees of public bodies, teachers have rights and responsibilities under the FOIP law. The Alberta Teachers’ Association itself is subject to the PIPA as informed by the Teaching Profession Act.

Next time: "How to make an access request."

Maggie Shane is the ATA’s Information and Records Manager.

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