BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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The amendment updates the wording in the city’s Records Management and Retention Bylaw after the Government of Alberta repealed the former Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, commonly known as FOIP, and replaced it with the Protection of Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.
Kristy Isert, the City of Cold Lake’s general manager of Corporate Services, told council the change was needed to bring the bylaw in line with the new provincial legislation.
“Back in June of 2025, the Government of Alberta imposed new legislation for privacy and access within the province, and that was replacing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act,” Isert said.
The City’s existing records bylaw, which was originally passed in November 2016, was created to guide how municipal records are retained, disclosed and managed.
The bylaw is meant to balance privacy protection, transparency and public access to information, while treating records as an organizational resource rather than the property of individual departments or groups.
“The new legislation is the Protection of Privacy Act, POPA, and the Access to Information Act, ATIA. With the new legislation in place, Our City Records Management Retention Bylaw does reference the old version of that legislation, the FOIP Act,” Isert said.
The bylaw was previously amended in October 2020 to update the fees the city could charge for FOIP requests and to revise its document retention schedule.
“We are recommending that amendments be made to the bylaw to update the references to the new legislative provisions and ensure that our Records Management Bylaw is brought within compliance to our new Privacy Management Program, which will be rolled out at the City in the coming months,” Isert said.
According to the City’s agenda package, ATIA and POPA work together to allow members of the public and organizations to request documents from public bodies, while also maintaining privacy protections for individuals whose information may be included in those records.
Isert said the update does not change the substance of the City’s records process.
Council passed the amending bylaw through all three readings.
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