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Freedom of Information and Protection of PrivacyAnnual Report 2012-13
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June 2014
Honourable Gene Zwozdesky
Speaker
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
325 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Dear Sir:
In accordance with section 86 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I submit the 18th
Annual Report of the operation of this Act for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013.
Respectfully submitted,
Don Scott, QC
Associate Minister
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Message from the Associate MinisterAs our digital world continues to grow, so does the desire to have information at our fingertips. Expectations of
how government should work and what information should be available to the public have changed. To this end,
governments are being called on to provide an increasing amount of information, while at the same time being
expected to safeguard privacy. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act helps balance
those expectations.
The information access and privacy landscape continues to change with the advent of new technology and services.
As a government, we are constantly exploring ways to ensure the rules and practices around information disclosure
and privacy protection meet the needs of the day. We are also looking at new ways to make government business
more transparent, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of information sharing.
In addition to overseeing administration of the FOIP Act and supporting all provincial government departments,
Service Alberta provides resources and guidance for the FOIP programs of all public bodies in the province. In
2012-13, the FOIP Help Desk responded to 1,100 inquiries about the Act, while the program provided training to
more than 1,000 people. In this fiscal period, the provincial government received more than 4,250 FOIP requests,
close to 600 more than the previous year. Of those, 85 per cent were completed within 30 days. These numbers
illustrate the ongoing challenges with this service model.
Balancing access to information with the protection of privacy is a complex matter; even more so in today’s
technology driven world. To ensure we are meeting our obligations to citizens as well as public bodies, we must
keep current with the changing nature of information and the challenges that affect this sector now and into the
future. As Minister of Accountability, Transparency and Transformation, I present the 2012-13 FOIP Act Annual Report.
Don Scott, QC, MLA
Associate Minister of Accountability, Transparency and Transformation
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Table of Contents
Minister’s Message 5
Providing Access to Public Records 8
Top 10 Requests for Information in 2012-13 10
Privacy Compliance 12
Increasing Capacity in Alberta’s FOIP Community 12
Publications and Resources 13
National Initiatives 13
Information Released to Albertans 14
Disclosure of Information from Environment and
Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) 16
Fees 17
Why Information was not Released 18
Response Times 19
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Number of FOIP requests received during the last 5 years
Requests to Provincial Government Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
2012-13 Total Number Access Requests: 4,257
* Excludes requests for correction of personal information
* Excludes requests for correction of personal information
Requests to Local Public Bodies
2012-13 Total Number Access Requests: 3,735
Service Alberta provides leadership, guidance and support
to public bodies subject to the FOIP Act, including provincial
government departments, agencies, boards and
commissions, as well as a range of local public bodies
operating across Alberta. All public bodies are responsible
for protecting the personal information in their custody and
ensuring appropriate access to information through the
application of the FOIP Act. Service Alberta’s leadership
assists these public bodies in fulfilling that responsibility
through training, coordination and provision of resources.
Providing Access to Public Records
In 2012-13, individuals seeking their own personal information
submitted approximately 41 per cent of the FOIP requests
received by provincial government bodies. Requests from
individuals and organizations seeking general information on
government comprised the other 59 per cent. For local public
bodies, approximately half of requests were for personal
information and other half for general information.
1,684
1,771
1,644
1,453
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2009-10
2008-09
1,628
2,493
2,027
1,897
■ PersonalInformation
■ GeneralInformation
1,730 2,527
1,8552012-13 1,880
1,366
1,549
1,739
1,243
2009-10
2010-11
2011-12
2008-09
863
970
1,050
777
■ PersonalInformation
■ GeneralInformation
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Sectors that received access requests
Requests to Local Public Bodies
2012-13 Total Number Access Requests: 3,735
* Excludes requests for correction of personal information** Includes municipalities, improvement districts, special areas,
regional service commissions, drainage and irrigation districts, housing management bodies, Métis Settlements/General Council, and public libraries
Who made access requests
Requests to Provincial Government Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
2012-13 Total Number General Access Requests: 2,527
Requests to Local Public Bodies
2012-13 Total Number General Access Requests: 1,880
For local public bodies, the sector that received the most
general requests was local government at 1,219 requests,
followed by health care bodies at 339 and post-secondary
institutions at 142.
Health CareBodies
Local Government**
Police Services& Commissions
Post-SecondaryInstitutions
SchoolJurisdictions
■ PersonalInformation
■ GeneralInformation
62
208
1,452
70
63
339
1,219
113
142
67
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
9.8%
4.0%InterestGroups
Media
GeneralPublic
Business70.2%
11.3%
2.6%
0.7%
10.7%
4.7%
ElectedOf�cials
Academic/Researcher 0.8%
2.4%
2.8%
80.2%
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
InterestGroups
Media
GeneralPublic
Business
45.8%
10.1%
31.4%
2.3%
1.0%
9.3%
Academic/Researcher
ElectedOf�cials
41.6%
11.4%
7.2%
1.3%
11.9%
26.6%
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Top 10 Requests of Information in 2012-13Government of Alberta
• Environment and Sustainable Resource Development
received the most general requests.
• Executive Council is new to the Top 10 for 2012-13.
Environment and Sustainable Resource Development 1682Justice and Solicitor General 116Health 115Human Services 68Transportation 65Executive Council 54Education 43Alberta Securities Commission 41Energy 39Treasury Board and Finance 36
Top 10 General Information Requests
• Human Services had the most personal requests,
followed by Child and Family Service Authorities and
Justice and Solicitor General.
Human Services 744Child and Family Service Authorities 519Justice and Solicitor General 211Health 66Transportation 35Education 31Provincial Archives 29Workers’ Compensation Board / Enterprise and Advanced Education 28Alberta Securities Commission 5Persons with Developmental Disabilities Boards 4
Top 10 Personal Information Requests
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Top 10 Requests of Information in 2012-13Local Public Bodies
• The City of Edmonton received the most general
information requests in 2012-13.
• The local public bodies in the top 5 for 2012-13
remain the same from 2011-12, and all saw
significant increases in requests.
• The Village of Glendon and Town of Stony Plain are
new to the Top 10 for 2012-13.
City of Edmonton 363Alberta Health Services 328City of Calgary 217Rocky View County 127City of St. Albert 125Village of Glendon 57Edmonton Police Service 51University of Calgary 48Town of Stony Plain 39Calgary Police Service 34
Top 10 General Information Requests
• The Calgary Police Service, the Edmonton Police
Service and the City of Calgary continue to receive
the most personal information requests.
• Two local public bodies returning to the Top 10 list
this year are Parkland School Division No. 7 and
Lethbridge Regional Police Service.
Calgary Police Service 1104 Edmonton Police Service 299City of Calgary 94Alberta Health Services 55Grant MacEwan University 30City of Edmonton 28Capital Region Housing Corporation 23University of Calgary / Medicine Hat Police Service 19Lethbridge Regional Police Service 18Parkland School Division No. 70 14
Top 10 Personal Information Requests
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Privacy Compliance
In addition to fulfilling access requests, the FOIP Act sets
requirements intended to protect personal information.
Public bodies ensure the rules of FOIP are followed through
good privacy practices. For example, completing a Privacy
Impact Assessment (PIA) on new initiatives makes sure
privacy practices are built in right from the beginning.
Additionally, FOIP offices are available to advise their public
bodies when it is appropriate to share information and when
it is harmful.
Increasing Capacity in Alberta’s FOIP Community
Service Alberta supports the annual Access and Privacy
Conference. The 2013 conference, held in Edmonton on
June 12 to 14, provided many valuable sessions to inform
and develop the FOIP community. Subjects discussed
included professional designation, social media challenges
for public bodies, “bring your own device” policies,
copyright and many other cutting-edge topics. The Privacy
and Information Commissioners of Canada, along with the
Information and Privacy Commissioners of British Columbia
and Saskatchewan, provided speeches and panel discussions.
The conference also featured speakers from government and
agencies, post-secondary institutions, the media, business,
school jurisdictions, and law enforcement.
Service Alberta organizes regular, half-day information
sessions with government, agencies, boards and
commissions. These occurred four times in 2012-13.
Semi-annual full day sessions are held with each of the
following sectors: municipalities, post-secondary institutions
and school jurisdictions. There were a total of five of these
sessions held in 2012-13. These sessions represent a learning
and development opportunity for FOIP practitioners, as well
as a networking forum. The Office of the Information and
Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) provides an update from their
office at these sessions.
Through a service provider, Service Alberta offers training
for staff and contractors of public bodies. In 2012-13, 55
courses took place with 1,036 public body employees and
contractors trained.
Service Alberta offers a HelpDesk line where local public
bodies, government bodies and members of the public
can call with questions. In 2012-13, there were 1,109 FOIP
HelpDesk queries, along with 495 Personal Information
Protection Act (PIPA) queries.
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Publications and Resources
Service Alberta maintains a catalogue of 40 publications
and informational resources to support FOIP staff across
government and local public bodies, including:
> Assessment Roll (Discussion Paper)> Bulletin No. 1: Fee Estimates> Bulletin No. 2: Fee Waivers> Bulletin No. 3: Access to Manuals and Guidelines> Bulletin No. 4: Disclosure of Personal Information
“Not Contrary to the Public Interest”> Bulletin No. 5: Fund-Raising> Bulletin No. 6: Records of Elected and Appointed
Officials of Local Public Bodies> Bulletin No. 7: Law Enforcement> Bulletin No. 8: Common or Integrated
Programs or Services> Bulletin No. 9: Burden of Proof> Bulletin No. 10: Third Party Notice> Bulletin No. 11: Paramountcy> Bulletin No. 12: E-mail: Access
and Privacy Considerations> Bulletin No. 13: Business Contact Information> Bulletin No. 14: FOIP Amendment Act, 2003> Bulletin No. 15: Disclosure of Personal
Information to Unions: Before a First Agreement
> Bulletin No. 16: Personal Information of Deceased Persons
> Bulletin No. 17: Consent and Authentication> Bulletin No. 18: FOIP Amendment Act, 2006> Bulletin No. 19: Ministerial Expense Claims> Conducting Surveys: A Guide to Privacy Protection> Contractor’s Guide to the FOIP Act (Brochure)> FOIP: A Guide> FOIP Guidelines and Practices, 2009 Edition
> FOIP Tips for Planning a Municipal Census> Frequently Asked Questions about Elections> Frequently Asked Questions from Employees> Frequently Asked Questions for Housing
Management Bodies> Frequently Asked Questions for Métis Settlements> Frequently Asked Question for Municipalities> Frequently Asked Questions for Post-Secondary
Institutions> Frequently Asked Questions for Public Libraries> Frequently Asked Questions for School Jurisdictions> Guide for Developing Personal Information Sharing
Agreements> Guide to Developing Privacy Statements for
Government of Alberta Websites> Guide to Identifying Personal Information Banks> Guide to Providing Counselling Services
in School Jurisdictions> Guide to Using Surveillance Cameras in Public Areas> Human Resources Guide for Local Public Bodies> Managing Contracts under the FOIP Act:
A Guide for Government of Alberta Contract Managers and FOIP Coordinators
> The Right to Information and the Right to Privacy (Brochure)
> School Promotional Video Production (Discussion Paper)
> Using and Disclosing Personal Information in School Jurisdictions
> Video-conferencing in Schools (Discussion Paper)
> Video Yearbooks (Discussion Paper)
National Initiatives
Alberta participates in the national Privacy Subcommittee
reporting to the Public Sector Chief Information Officer
Council and the Public Sector Service Delivery Council.
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Information Released to Albertans
In 2012-13, provincial public bodies processed 4,136 requests in total. The requests to Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) are dealt with separately. Of the remaining 765 general requests,
21.5 per cent were totally disclosed and 41.2 per cent were partially disclosed.
How access requests were processed
Disposition of General requests, excluding ESRD, by Provincial Government Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
Disposition of Personal requests by Provincial Government Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
41.2%
14.4%TotallyDisclosed
Withdrawn
PartlyDisclosed
RecordsDo Not Exist
14.5%
39.1%
20.0%
10.4%
8.7%
7.3%
NothingDisclosed
Abandoned10.5%
9.6%
3.5%Transfered
2.0%
8.7%
10.0%
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
16.1%
12.4%TotallyDisclosed
Abandoned
RecordsDo Not Exist
PartlyDisclosed
49.9%
16.9%
10.9%
3.4%
0.9%
15.3%
Transfered
Withdrawn3.5%
1.0%
2.0%NothingDisclosed 1.7%
16.5%
49.5%
* Nothing disclosed includes requests for information that is publicly available or requests for records that are exempt from the FOIP Act.
* Nothing disclosed includes requests for information that is publicly available or requests for records that are exempt from the FOIP Act.
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For local public bodies, 31.1 per cent of general requests were totally disclosed and 45.6 per cent were partially disclosed.
Disposition of Personal requests by Local Public Bodies
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
15.7%
9.2%NothingDisclosed
RecordsDo Not Exist
TotallyDisclosed
PartlyDisclosed
65.0%
17.4%
14.3%
2.5%
1.2%
5.7%
Transfered
Abandoned2.5%
0.7%
0.7%Withdrawn1.2%
7.2%
56.7%How access requests were processed
Disposition of General requests by Local Public Bodies
■ 2012-13■ 2011-12
31.1%
6.4%RecordsDo Not Exist
Abandoned
TotallyDisclosed
PartlyDisclosed
45.6%
37.0%
5.3%
7.8%
2.3%
6.1%
Withdrawn
NothingDisclosed 5.2%
2.3%
0.8%Transfered1.0%
7.8%
41.4%
* Nothing disclosed includes requests for information that is publicly available or requests for records that are exempt from the FOIP Act.
* Nothing disclosed includes requests for information that is publicly available or requests for records that are exempt from the FOIP Act.
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2. Routine Disclosure (RD): ESRD regularly identifies and makes information available through routine disclosure. The type of information released through RD includes environmental assessment information that has not yet been digitized and posted online. ESRD received a total of 1,744 requests for information through Routine Disclosure, resulting in 50,293 pages of information being disclosed.
3. Through the application of the FOIP Act: When an applicant is seeking records outside of RD and ESAR, the release of this information follows the standard FOIP process. In 2012-13, ESRD processed 1,660 FOIP requests, resulting in 8,201 pages being released through the standard FOIP process.
As summarized in the following table, ESRD’s disclosure of information through the use of RD, ESAR, and FOIP enhances openness and transparency and streamlines the processing of the large request volumes.
Information Requests to ESRD’s FOIP Office, 2008 to 2012
79,002
4,896 7,845 4,191 6,063
83,738
69,260
91,669
79,699
123,144
64,915
2,956
152,615
50,293
2,013
1,621
1,262
2,028
1,904
1,472
1,881
1,744
1,660
1,091
2009-20102008-2009 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013
Number of FOIP requests received
Number of RD requests received■ Number of pages
released under the FOIP Act
■ Number of pages released under RD
■ Document delivered via ESAR
ESRD receives the majority of requests for general information submitted to the Government of Alberta.
As a result of the large volume of requests received, ESRD processes requests as follows:
1. Environmental Site Assessment Repository (ESAR): Due to the large volume of site assessment requests received, the department developed the ESAR to provide applicants with documents including scientific and technical information about assessed and/or reclaimed sites throughout Alberta. To manage such a high demand of requests for information, these documents have been made available in an online, searchable database. In 2012-13, 152,615 documents were delivered through the ESAR.
Disclosure of Information from Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD)
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Fees
Fees are standard and set out in Schedule 2 of the FOIP
Regulation. In 2012-13, government ministries, agencies,
boards and commissions collected less than $105,000.
The government of Alberta, provincial boards, commissions
received 2,527 general requests in 2012-13 and 1,730
personal requests. Provincial bodies waived approximately
17 per cent of request fees assessed in support of the public
interest or for reasons of inability to pay.
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Why Information was Not Released
The following tables summarize the sections of the FOIP
Act cited by provincial public bodies as the basis for not
completely disclosing information. Exclusions are when
records that do not fall under the FOIP Act are requested.
Exceptions to disclosure apply to information to protect the
reasonable personal privacy and business interests of third
parties, to protect the decision-making process or for other
limited and specific reasons outlined in the FOIP Act.
The number of occurrences indicates the number of
requests where a particular section of the FOIP Act was
used. Because several sections may be used on a single
request, the number of occurrences is not related to the
number of requests completed.
Sections of the Act AppliedExceptions
Sections of Number of the Act Used Occurrences
4(1)(a) Court/judicial records 133 4(1)(l) Registry records 43 4(1)(q) Communications between MLAs and/or members of Executive Council 31 4(1)(k) Incomplete prosecution records 12 4(1)(d) Records of Officers of the Legislature 12 4(1)(g) Examination/test questions 8 4(1)(p) Speaker/MLA records in Legislative Assembly Office 8 6(4)(b) Ministerial briefing for a session of the Legislative Assembly 7 4(1)(b) (Quasi) judicial notes, communications, draft decisions 7 5 Other legislation paramount 3 4(1)(o) Personal/constituency records of members of Executive Council 3 4(1)(j.1) Published works collected by a library 2 4(1)(u) Health information as defined in the Health Information Act 2 6(4)(a) Ministerial briefing for a new portfolio 1 4(1)(j) Non public body records in Provincial Archives 1 4(1)(f) Advice to the Ethics Commissioner re: Conflict of Interest 1
Sections of the Act AppliedExclusions
Sections of Number of the Act Used Occurrences
17 Third party - personal information 1092 27 Privileged information 357 24 Advice from officials 335 21 Intergovernmental relations 170 20 Law enforcement 149 16 Third party - business/tax interests 106 25 Harmful to economic or other interests of a public body 71 29 Information otherwise available to the public 55 22 Cabinet and Treasury Board confidences 22 12 Refuse to confirm or deny existence of a record 19 26 Testing procedures, tests and audits 15 19 Confidential evaluations 12 18 Harmful to individual or public safety 10 28 Harmful to conservation 3 23 Local public body confidences 1
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Response Times
Government ministries, agencies, boards and commissions
fulfill a high volume of FOIP access requests within a short
time, ensuring effective access to government information
to Albertans. 85.3 per cent of requests to provincial public
bodies went to applicants within 30 days and 94.7 per cent
within 60 days. For local public bodies, 80.1 per cent of
requests processed within 30 days and 93.3 per cent
within 60 days.
Response times have fallen from 2011-12. This is primarily
attributed to increased volumes. The FOIP Act states that
request must normally be completed within 30 days of the
date it was received. However, the Act allows the head of a
public body to extend this of another 30 days under three
circumstances: if consulting with another public body or
a third party requires more time, if the request isn’t clear
enough to identify which records the applicant wants,
or if the request is for a very large number of records.
Response times
Percentage of completed requests and the number of days to complete the request
Requests to Provincial Government Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
Response times
Percentage of completed requests and the number of days to complete the request
Requests to Local Public Bodies
■ 2012-13 ■ 2011-12
60+ days
31-60 days
30 daysor less
7.4%
4.5%
88.1%
9.4%
5.3%
85.3%
■ 2012-13 ■ 2011-12
60+ days
31-60 days
30 daysor less
11.3%
4.7%
84.0%
13.2%
6.7%
80.1%
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Contact Information
Information Access and ProtectionService Alberta
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Office phone: 780-422-2657FOIP Helpdesk: 780-427-5848Toll free: In Alberta, dial 310-0000 then enter 780-427-5848Fax: 780-427-1120E-mail: [email protected]: www.servicealberta.ca/foipFOIP Statistics: www.servicealberta.ca/foip/resources/statistics.cfm
08/2013 200ISSN 1485-5372