BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
Three regional municipalities are working together to come into compliance with new privacy legislation from the province set to take effect June 11.
Beaverlodge, Wembley and Sexsmith are joining together on a joint initiative to create a shared privacy management program. Sexsmith council was the last to pass a motion to enter into the partnership and hire a consultant to help them along at the May 19 regular meeting.
In June 2025, the Government of Alberta repealed the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) in favour of two new acts — the Access to Information Act (ATIA) and the Protection of Privacy Act (POPA). Public bodies, like municipalities and school boards were given a year to prepare for the new rules for handling public requests for information and how information is classified, managed and stored.
POPA calls for public bodies to institute formal privacy management programs and while expectations on implementation are a little hazy, they must be able to confidently demonstrate what records exist; where sensitive information is stored; who has access to it; how long it is retained; and how it is securely disposed.
The act also introduced strict protocols regarding information breaches along with formal processes for conducting privacy impact assessments before new systems or technology is introduced.
It also prohibits the sale of personal information for any reason.
Sexsmith mayor Kate Potter said it’s a big job, especially for smaller municipalities and following discussions between themselves, all three found they were facing similar challenges implementing the changes and were all interested in a joint effort that would allow the ability to share knowledge and costs and develop consistent practices amongst themselves.
“It is a huge challenge for us. The expectations of the new privacy laws, while I understand the intent behind them and what they’re trying to do, have just placed an exorbitant burden on municipalities and other organizations as well, who have to meet the same expectations,” she said.
“It’s one of the realities of being a small municipality, is that you don’t have the resources that larger municipalities do, and so if we can work together on things, it sets us all ahead.”
ATIA and POPA essentially divided FOIP in half, with POPA’s focus now exclusively on data collection and safeguarding it. The ATIA focuses strictly on the public’s right to access records.
New access to Information requests are like FOIP requests but ATIA grants the ability to disregard requests judged to be abusive, repetitious or excessively broad. There are also exemptions for cabinet confidences and legal matters.
Note, there is also a $25 fee to file a request.
ATIA requires public disclosure of frequently requested information like contracts and policies and also gives the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner the power to issue binding orders and conduct audits that it didn’t have before.
The new acts also include considerations for the rapid expansion of digital data and storage since FOIP became law in 1995.
The towns agreed to work with Montreal-based consultants Open North, whose work focuses on “building the capacity of organizations to make better decisions about managing their data so that it is useful, actionable, secure, and trustworthy throughout its entire lifecycle,” according to their website.
“Working alongside governments and civic-minded organizations of all sizes, we provide data expertise to enhance decision-making, drive innovation, optimize public and civic services, and address society’s most pressing challenges.”
There is a one-time cost of $14,994 per municipality, which includes the gap assessment, program development, policy framework and implementational support. There may also be future costs associated with training.
Larger municipalities in the region have also been implementing their own privacy management programs and overhauled many of their systems and policies to come into compliance with the new acts.
The County of Grande Prairie, for instance, updated its privacy policy in July 2025 based on the new legislation and has been actively updating policies and its intake systems for handling requests. The City of Grande Prairie has been doing the same, and both have each appointed their own access to information coordinators, as directed by the new legislation, to focus on requests and to make sure the legislation is followed.
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