Information and Privacy Statutes Amendment Act, 2025

Summary#

• Bill 46 updates Alberta’s Access to Information Act and Protection of Privacy Act. Its main goal is to make it easier for the province’s Office of Statistics and Information (OSI) to collect, combine, and publish data for research and planning.

• It also lets the provincial cabinet make follow‑up changes to other laws and regulations so everything lines up with these updates, and makes a few small wording fixes.

• Key changes:

  • Lets public bodies share “derived data” (data made from personal information after linking and removing names) with the OSI.
  • Allows the OSI to collect personal information directly from people for “data matching” (linking records across programs to create statistics).
  • Exempts the OSI from some limits that other public bodies must follow when keeping and using derived data, and when creating non‑personal data.
  • Clarifies that reports with aggregate, non‑personal statistics can be published, and that these data‑sharing and publication rules take priority if they conflict with the Access to Information Act.
  • Gives cabinet power to make necessary follow‑up amendments to other laws and regulations to reflect these changes.
  • Makes minor wording updates related to court records.

What it means for you#

• General public and program users

  • The province may ask you for information directly through the OSI to help build better statistics.
  • Your data may be linked across programs to create derived data and non‑personal statistics. Names and direct identifiers are not published.
  • You may see more public reports and dashboards with Alberta‑wide and regional statistics.

• Privacy‑minded residents

  • The OSI is exempt from some rules that limit how long other public bodies can keep and use derived data. This could mean some de‑identified datasets are kept longer at the OSI.
  • The law confirms that sharing derived data with the OSI, and publishing aggregate statistics, is allowed even if other access‑to‑information rules would normally limit it.

• Researchers, media, businesses, nonprofits

  • Clearer authority for government to publish aggregate, non‑personal statistics may improve access to data for analysis, planning, and evaluation.

• Public bodies and employees

  • You can disclose derived data to the OSI for its work under the OSI Act.
  • The OSI is not bound by certain collection and retention limits that apply to other public bodies, so internal data‑sharing processes with OSI may change.

Expenses#

• No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Better data, better services: Easier data sharing with a central statistics office helps government plan, evaluate, and improve programs.
• Protects identities: The bill focuses on derived and non‑personal data, so published numbers do not name or single out individuals.
• More useful public information: Clear rules support releasing aggregate statistics the public can use.
• Cuts red tape: Setting priority over conflicting access rules avoids delays and confusion.
• Smooth implementation: Letting cabinet make follow‑up tweaks helps align related laws without long waits.

Opponents' View#

• Weaker safeguards: Exempting the OSI from some limits on collecting, keeping, and using de‑identified data could reduce privacy protection.
• Re‑identification risk: Large, linked datasets can sometimes be traced back to people, even without names, if not tightly controlled.
• Less oversight: Allowing cabinet to change other laws by regulation may reduce debate in the Legislature.
• Unclear limits: People may not know what data the OSI collects, how it is linked, and how long it is kept, and may want stronger transparency and audits.