The province has announced changes are forthcoming to the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA) and Access to Information Act (ATIA) in order to clarify and streamline the legislation.
According to a release on March 20, the amendments being done through Bill 46: Protection of Privacy and Access to Information Statutes Amendment Act are being done with feedback from public bodies after draft regulations were made available in January and February.
“Bill 46: Protection of Privacy and Access to Information Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 is another step forward in our commitment to modernizing our privacy legislation to better protect the privacy of Albertans," said Nate Glubish, Minister of Innovation and Technology via the release. "Ensuring clearly worded legislation supports the Alberta government’s commitment to implementing the strongest privacy protection and the strictest penalties for privacy violations in Canada.”
The release notes that the supporting regulations for POPA and ATIA will be ready later in the spring and be proclaimed at the same time as the two acts.
More details will be released about the two acts closer to when the two acts are proclaimed.
POPA and ATIA were passed in December 2024 to replace the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIP).
The release concludes noting some of the changes, including:
- Clarifying privacy protections and safeguards for disclosure by specifying disclosure of non-personal data and data derived from personal information must comply with POPA and are not subject to access to information requests under the ATIA.
- Clarifying that disclosure of non-personal data provision is not intended to restrict the reporting, summarizing or publication of aggregate or statistical information.
- Explaining that provisions related to data matching and non-personal data do not apply to the Office of Statistics and Information to ensure there are no impacts to their current practices.
Other amendments include adjusting wording in both POPA and ATIA to align and adding new regulatory powers to support subsequent amendments for legislation that references FOIP.
